Monday 2 September 2013

Classroom Reveal & Freebies!!

     With school right around the corner, my classroom is officially ready and awaiting students! I am so excited for my students to see my first classroom and start using all of the resources that I've put together. In case you don't remember, here is what my classroom looked like before:


miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Panoramic View
There wasn't a whole lot of anything in the classroom when I got there, t
he furniture in the middle of the room wasn't mine.
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Everything that was in the classroom was pretty much focused in this one corner
because it held all the storage for the room.
     Here is what my classroom looks like now, get ready for a picture overload!


miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Panoramic View
from the back of the room
     I will start at the back of the classroom and move clockwise around the room:


miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
My Math Area
(The bulletin board at the back of my room)
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Close-up View of: Do You Think Like a Mathematician?
These posters outline criteria for mathematical thinking and were
inspired by ones created by Sidney at Teaching is a Gift!

miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Close-up View of the Bulletin Board: My Life in Math.
The is going to be our 1st project of the year that I am going to do with 
all 3 of my math classes to get them thinking mathematically. 
Rather than fill out a survey telling me about themselves, 
they have to explain themselves using math equations.
This project was inspired by the "Math About Me" project shared by Jennifer at 4mula Fun!
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Remember the ugly bookcases that were blocking my bulletin board? 
They are now painted and moved to the back corner of my classroom.
I have room for each of my classes to store their supplies!
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
The textbooks for each of my classes are hidden from view 
with a black curtain that I had from when I lived in residence while at university! 
I love having clutter hidden away because I feel like it makes 
the room more calming and organized.
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
The far wall of my classroom. 
I had originally wanted to put up colourful curtains along the length of windows 
but I was informed that it was against our codes so I had to scrap that idea.
I have my desk pushed up almost against the wall to save space in the room.
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
On the far left you can see the microwave stand that I painted 
bright blue to match the bookcases. 
The frame on the wall behind my desk is the SAME shade of blue 
and I found it at the Dollar Store!
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Close-up view of my Bloom's Taxonomy Posters!
I have these up in my room as not only a reminder for myself
but for my students as well. During student teaching I would
reference Bloom's Taxonomy a lot with my students and they would
use it to evaluate their level of mastery. They also used it when
creating their own assessment questions!
These were inspired by the ones created by Jennifer Jones at

miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
My "Organization Headquarters" at the front-left of my room.
The custodians brought this cupboard out of storage for me. 

I painted the doors to match the bookcase and microwave stand 
and added curtains to hide the clutter.
On top, from left to right, I have storage for myself (things to hand out, copy, etc),

 the "Hand-In Box" for students and our "We Missed You" 
station to hold handouts for students who were away.
On the whiteboard, I also have a place to write important notes, homework, etc for each of my classes.
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Here is a view of what it looks like behind the curtains!
I have my teacher resources on the far left and supplies for students on the right
(crayons, markers, scissors, calculators, etc)
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
A close-up of my Hand-In Box, it is hard to see because it is so sunny
but I used binder clips to label each of the drawers so they are easy to
change next semester. I got the idea from this Pin on Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/pin/70087337924300630/.

miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
A close-up of my "Important Info" board that I sectioned off on my
white board. I made each of the labels on Word using clipart from
http://www.openclipart.org/. I plan on using this to display important dates, upcoming
assessments, homework, etc.
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
The interior wall of my classroom.
If you scroll to the very top of the page, you can see what this area
looked like when it was all covered by giant bookcases!
Now it is all open and ready to display student work :)
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
At the right-hand edge of my white board I have this shelving unit that I, again,
covered with curtains. Not only does it hold more classroom supplies, but it
helps create a division between the classroom and the work space 

that I have in the far right-hand corner!
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Here is a peek of what it looks like without the curtain.
Can you see why I was so eager to cover up all of my storage areas!?
I think it looks so nice when it is covered up and out of sight.


miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
Here is the space I created at the far right of my classroom 
(on the other side of the shelving unit).
I had both the futon and the chair from when my husband and I lived
in residence at university and they fit perfectly in the classroom!
I plan on having this space available for students who need a comfortable place 
to work or read independently. You will notice in the previous pictures that I
have clipboards on top of the shelving unit if students need a hard surface to work
on while in this area.

miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
A close-up view of my "What Makes A Good Blog Post?"
checklist for our blogging station. It is a good run-through of
everything a students blog post should have before it is posted!
 
miss l's whole brain teaching classroom reveal, classroom set up, setting up a classroom for blogging, high school classroom, high school classroom setup
My Tech Corner
The back right-hand corner of my room (right beside the door).
I had to have both computers here due to the amount of available hook-ups.
The computer with the chair is my students blogging station with blogging points
on the bulletin board beside them. The computer facing the picture is my own.
________________________________________________________

To celebrate Back-To-School and my First Classroom I am making the following files 
available to you for FREE! 
Simply click on the titles to go to the file :)

- Do You Think Like A Mathematician? Criteria for Mathematical Thinking
  Set of 6 Posters
- Bloom's Taxonomy For Teachers & Students
  Set of 6 Posters
- What Makes A Good Blog Post? Blogging in the Classroom Checklist
  Set of 5 Posters
                             ________________________________________________________

A BIG thank you going out to all of the edu-bloggers out there that inspired so many of the elements in my classroom!
Wishing you all a great year :)

2 comments:

  1. Your room looks great! Very organized - which is why I love it :)

    I found yor blog through another blog! I love being able to connect with so many teachers. Just curious: what are your thoughts on specifically teaching kids how to "attack" math word problems? I had an interesting convo with a MS math teacher who doesn't believe in teaching it any differently or specifically. He feels that kids will start to only use the strategies that I teach and start to try and find patterns rather than look at the problems and using the math they know I solve it. Just curious on another math teacer's point of view bc there's only one math teacher in our school. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Julia! I spent a lot of time organizing it and making it ready for students so I am very happy to hear that someone else likes it and thinks it is organized as well :)

      In regards to your question, I don't know if I am the best person to ask as this year will be my first time ever teaching math (I will have Grade 8, Grade 9, and Grade 10 Essential math courses). As such, I do not have any experience to offer.

      What I can share, however, is the Mathematical Thinking posters I made available at the bottom of my blog post. If you check those out you can see that I ask students to think a lot of different ways about math in order to solve a problem. For example: spot patterns, go back to a strategy you understand to make it work, ask further questions to get more information, etc. I do not expect students to simply solve problems using only strategies that I formally teach them. It is my hope that they are able to make connections and use multiple strategies in order to solve a problem.

      At the start of each section or unit I do provide example questions and ask students how they might solve it. This happens before I ever teach them anything so they are required to rely on their prior knowledge and understanding (not a specific strategy that I taught them). I also utilize math mistakes (questions that are solved incorrectly) to really get students thinking about how they solve math questions. By using these, students have to think about why they do each step that they do and it forces them to think about why someone might have made the mistake that they did.

      I hope that this gives you some insight, sorry I can't be of more help! If you have any questions or want to brainstorm ideas, however, just let me know. :)

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