August 16, 2013

Back to School Sale

All of the items in my store will be on sale during TpT's Back-to-School Sale!  Don't forget to enter the code BTS13 to get the total 28% off your purchase!  Have a great beginning to your school year!!! :)

August 14, 2013

Classroom Reveal

Update (7/26/16): I have also added some new emoji products to my TpT store to go with the tech. theme! 





WOOHOO! I am finally done organizing my classroom! It's taken a loooong time, but it's finally the way I want it to look.  I chose to do a tech. themed classroom this year.  I saw so many cute ideas on Pinterest, and I think that my students will think that a tech. theme is super cool (at least I hope so...haha).  I am going to start with pictures from the hallway and then work my way around the room.  If you have any questions about the decor, please ask!


I loved the border with the clothespins from last year (I had it on a strip above my students' computers), so I decided to hang it in my section of the hallway this year.  It makes putting up and taking down student work so much easier! I colored the clothespins with permanent marker and hot glued them to the thumbtacks. 

I used my Personalized Teacher Materials: Option #1 to create my sign.



This is in the hallway on the left as soon as you enter my room. Students can hang their Post-Its (exit slips) on the poster before they head out of the room. I revamped my poster from last year.






I added the paper above the computers because it was too big of a blank space.  I laminated the fadeless paper first, and then added duct tape as a border.  Then I attached my Figurative Language Posters. Lastly, I magnetized the back to hang it on the wall.  I put the hooks on last, as a way to display student work.



Here is my awesome garage sale find in action!  I filled it with M&Ms, since students can't have gum in school! :) I am also using the mailbox (which my fabulous custodian painted for me) as a place for students to turn in important notes/letters to me.


I love my team teacher!  She came up with the idea of using Bingo boards for a positive behavior reward system for our students. Each week, I will pick a certain number of students who have demonstrated positive behavior, and they will select a space to write their names (example: B1).  At the end of the month, I will pick a certain amount of winners by selecting Bingo letters/numbers.  For example, if I call G9, the student whose name is on that space will win a prize. It differs from regular Bingo, in the sense that you are not trying to get five in a row. Since I am using a tech. theme, I created a large tablet and made the Bingo board a "Angry Birds Bingo" board.




Let's see how long my desk stays this clean...hahaha 
Note: the iPhone sticky notes (Thank you, Walmart).

I love my new classroom! It is so much larger than the one I had last year.  I was able to create a U-shaped seating arrangement.


I hung up my Writing Process Posters to the left of my whiteboard, but in the front of the room, so students can refer to it easily.  My Genre Posters are on top of the white boards (fiction on the left and nonfiction to the right).  I also put my Inspirational Subway Art posters below my whiteboards.


^Yes, that is a magnetic iPad pad of paper (Thank you again, Walmart). 

Here are my iCan boards.  I am displaying all of the 5th grade CCSS, which I separated by strand.  


Here are my Punctuation Posters.




I am looking forward to using my "Books We Like" board to encourage student reflection on books they will be reading throughout the year. I will be using the thumbs up Post-Its from my last blog post to attach to student work.

I love using a table skirt to hide tons of boxes and random items that I couldn't find room for anywhere else.  Plus, the table cloth adds some color to the room.

Here are my Tech. Themed Classroom Jobs.  I am putting the students' names under the jobs they have.  I took the picture from the side to avoid showing the students' names.

I love how this bulletin board turned out! :)  


I decided to put my students' transportation information on the front of this boring cabinet.


 On the side of the cabinet I have the students' birthday information (square are blocking students' names/birthdays).





I will be using this craftivity on the first day of school:


What is your classroom theme?

August 11, 2013

Back to School Craftivity! & Facebook Fan FREEBIE

I just posted my tech. themed back to school craftivity today.  I can't wait to use it with my kiddos on the first day of school.  I have been tirelessly working on my classroom lately, but I still have a day or two of work left.  I have to say, this is probably my favorite theme so far, and I really love how it's turning out.  I will be posting pictures ASAP!!! Here are two cool items I just found at Walmart earlier today that will complement my classroom theme:





 In other news, I found out on Friday that there will be a third teacher in my grade level, so now I will only be teaching language arts.  I was excited to teach social studies, since it has been a few years since I've taught it (and there are SO many ways I could integrate it with language arts!), but it will also be nice to focus on one subject.  My biggest challenge this year will be thinking of new ways to teach the same language arts concepts, since I have all the same students from last year.  

AND, last, but certainly not least, I just uploaded my first Facebook Fan Freebie.  Like my Facebook page to get the tech. themed/rock n' roll themed "Featured Rock Star" sheet.  You can use this sheet to get to know your students at the beginning of the school year, or you can have them fill it out and display it for their birthdays! Click HERE to be taken to my Facebook page.



August 10, 2013

FLASH FREEBIE-Inspirational Subway Art

This is my first FLASH FREEBIE...Grab it for free while you can!  The set includes 12 inspirational posters to jazz up your classroom decor! Enjoy! Once it is no longer a freebie, I will be charging $3.00 for the set.


August 01, 2013

August Currently

I think this is the first time I actually completed a currently on the day it came out!  Woohoo!