Hi Everyone!
As I was thinking about things to post, I thought of stories from the classroom to motivational quotes. Then, I went on Pinterest and saw the many different "pins" I have saved for when I set up my classroom. In the beginning of the year, and as I continue to sub, I enter into teacher's classrooms and notice what I like about their set-up, what works, and what I think could be arranged differently. I'm sure that each of us have been doing the same thing, and have been creating mental notes or taking pictures of what might works well for us and our teaching style. Of course it depends on the classroom and grade level we are assigned to, but I thought it might be helpful as we are "pinning" our ideas to our Pinterest boards to have an article to keep in mind when we get our first job and need to think about how to set up our new classroom. Happy Thanksgiving, and happy week off from classes! We are almost there!
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/easy-guide-setting-your-grade-k-5-classroom
PS. As so many students and teachers, including myself, are becoming sick I thought this would be appropriate for this time of year! Stay healthy!
http://www.elementarymatters.com/2016/01/ten-ways-to-stay-healthy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+elementarymatters/LpPv+(Elementary+Matters)
These were great pointers Katie. One of the first things we learned in this program was setting up a purposeful environment before the year starts and this seems second nature to us now! While this is true, I feel like it could be overwhelming as first year teachers because we have learned so much and there are so many great options out there! Your pin is a good way to get our ideas back in check :) I know I'm excited to get in my OWN classroom and try things out.
ReplyDeleteStay healthy! We are so close to being done!
Katie I really enjoyed the first link! I agree that going into classrooms I see certain areas of things in classrooms that cause disruptions and could be easily fixed. In my home base classroom I always want to suggest changes but am hesitant because I don't want to be pushy so this just makes me more eager for my own classroom! As for the second article I agree with staying healthy! I learn last year in my internship that I would be starving by the time lunch time came so I made it a point to have a easy snack like an apple or banana in my bag and to have snack when the kids had snack. It makes sense and I noticed that kids get very excited if they have the same snack as me which I feel that will encourage them to have healthy snack more often! Overall great articles!
ReplyDeleteI liked both of your articles, Katie! Classroom set-up is closely tied to the rules and procedures, flow and overall culture of the classroom. When I go into classrooms, I find myself immediately taking notes of things I want to remember for next year! Like your article suggests, there are also so many minor aspects of the classroom set-up which are important to students' overall learning and success. For example, supplies should be easily within students' reach and clearly labeled. Even in November, I see so many students asking the teacher where a certain supply is located in the classroom. These minor details need to be worked out prior to students entering the classroom in September and included in the modeling during the first few weeks of school. This not only saves time for learning, but allows the students' to feel like the classroom is really for them! Also, your tips for staying healthy are so true! It is easy to overlook our health with so many other things to worry about, but it really is most important!
ReplyDeleteI am constantly thinking about how my room will be set up, how I will get materials, if I will have to spend some exorbitant amount of my own money and time, if I'll need to build or buy extra shelving - the list seems to be growing the more classrooms I see. A bunch of the teachers I currently work with have organized classrooms and the flow of the room and desks seems to be fine, but I can't help but notice all of the extra materials and bins full of (for lack of a better term) junk, that are crammed above shelves and tucked in the far corners of the room collecting dust. And while it doesn't interfere with classroom management or movement around the room, I can't help but wonder if they ever have or will use these materials. I dunno. Just hope I don't become complacent.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this. Even though this article was geared towards setting up a classroom for students in kindergarten to fifth grade, all of the different categories can still apply to all age groups.
ReplyDeleteI have also been taking note as to different classroom set ups that I like and dislike. I have also been taking pictures of different things (even though I feel like a creep when I do it sometimes).
It will be so nice to take all of the lessons from classes, pins, pictures, notes, and articles that we have been reading and actually be able to implement them into our classroom set up next year.
Kaitlyn,
ReplyDeleteJust as you've mentioned, I've been saving so many resources and ideas that I can use when it comes time to set up my own classroom. Pinterest is so much fun, especially for all the teaching resources! This article has some really great information on setting up classrooms and will come in handy when we're ready to arrange our rooms next year. As we have learned before, classroom set up can make all the difference, and flows much better if it is set up in a way that is functional/useful for students! Thanks for sharing!
Katie, this link is awesome! I bookmarked it for future reference :) I am constantly pinning all teacher-related things, but you only get so much when you are looking at a tiny picture on Pinterest, and it will be important to keep these in mind when we can't remember all of the set-ups from the classrooms we have worked in over the past 2 years. It is so funny reading this and seeing the tips that it includes - and seeing all that we have learned throughout our QU classes! We have learned so many of these tips throughout our classes, and this link just goes to show that we are so much better prepared than we even think! This is such a great list to compile all that we have learned, and many important tips that we will need to remember when the day finally comes that we setup our own classrooms. Thanks Katie!
ReplyDeleteClassroom environment is so important. We talked a lot in discourse (and all of our classes) about the importance of classroom environment... but we focused a lot on the social / emotional climate, good relationships, trust, comfort. The physical environment is equally important and has effect on all other aspects of the environment. I'm doing my thesis on classroom environment so this article was a great read for me! Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI love this post Katie! It makes me so excited for the future and getting to set up our classrooms next year. I also agree that the classroom environment is extremely important. I want my classroom environment to foster a love for learning, creativity, trust, comfort, friendships, etc. The physical environment is the first thing students are going to see when walk into your classroom, which why is it is so important.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that "pinning" is an awesome way to get great ideas, along with all the ideas we have already seen through our internships. I could go crazy on Pinterest with all the adorable classroom ideas they provide.