Teachers Have Class

I love teaching!  Teaching is my calling and I feel lucky to have a career I enjoy.  I am in my 7th year of education and I have taught a little bit of everything.  I laugh now when I think back to my first year of teaching and remember thinking I could do it all on my own. . . Boy was I wrong!  Now, I soak up everything I can from educators far more experienced than myself.  I grew up an only child, so I have learned another thing in my teaching career. . . sharing.  I'm happy to have a platform to share ideas with other teachers.  Be sure to check back on Friday afternoons for my Friday Freebie offers!

Literature Circles
One of my favorite things to do with my students are book clubs.  We all know. . . when we love something. . . we want to talk about it!  If students are going to develop a passion for reading, they must be given the opportunity to read books they enjoy and provided time to discuss their reading with their peers.  Conversation is key!  I will explain how I set up my book clubs in a later post, but today I want to share a few resources I use to keep my sanity while facilitating literature circles. 

I print this form out for each literature circle cycle.  I write the book title in the box and then I write the students names next to the number.  The number on this page corresponds to the number written in their book.  This sheet helps me to quickly see which students are in each  group and its a great way to track my books. 

This is a copy of the discussion topics and assignments each group receives.  Students meet once a week to discuss their assigned reading.  During the first 5-10 minutes they discuss their own thoughts and feelings on the text.  The next 10-15 minutes is spent on students discussing one of the topics from this chart.  After the discussion portion, students work independently to complete the activity that goes along with their discussion topic. This document helps keep students on task!

Back to School Basics. . .

I know "school" is an ugly word to use around teachers in August. . . However, I must shamefully admit. . . I am excited for school this year!  I have already spent countless hours preparing a few things I will need for back to school.  Here are a few of my new creations - enjoy! 


Setting Up Class


I am a big believer environment influences learning, so I am always anxious to get my room ready for a new year.  I want my students to feel at home when they walk in the door.  I am in the process of setting up my new classroom and I am so excited about my new theme.  When I taught elementary I used polka-dots with a lot of Mary Engelbreit and in middle school I have done chevron with my school colors. . . this year I was ready for change.  I love the vintage burlap look, and since there is no way my husband is letting me use it at home, it's my new theme at school.  Take a look at what I've been working on and check back for an update.



*Teacher Tip:  Buying everything new every time you change a theme is expensive.  In order to keep cost down, I use black as my base color every year and then just trade out my accent color.  I've done black/red, black/turquoise, and this year it will be black and cream.  When you are making your big purchases (shelves, chairs, lamps, rugs, tables) try to keep them a common and somewhat neutral color.   



6 Weeks Lesson Planner
Now I know this looks basic, but I could not plan my units without this.  I print a blank template at the beginning of each unit and then sketch out my scope and sequence for the upcoming 6 weeks.  I like using this template, as opposed to a calendar, because I want to see the entire 6 weeks at once and I do not want to see all the extra info on each date in my planner/calendar.  Do I follow this exactly? No. Make adjustments? Absolutely!  I just love this as a tool for beginning with the end in mind and mapping my unit.