Teacher Week 2013 Day 2 - Check out my Classroom!

Ok, so it is Day two and you get to tour my classroom! I am excited about my theme this year! If you read my post from yesterday, All About Me, you would remember that I am HUGE NIU Huskies fan! Last year, I started with one bulletin board and a name wall with the Huskies theme. This year, I have added much more! The only thing I am missing is my border on a couple of my bulletin boards because my order hasn't come in yet! I am getting a little nervous because school starts on Monday!! YIKES!!!
So here it is ...your tour of my ALMOST complete classroom!

Welcome to room 34! 

My door...on it you will see my lunch count pocket chart. Attached to the top is where I write the lunch choices each day. Above that is our "Where are we" poster. This tells students and staff where our class is, if we are not in the classroom. 

Here is a closer look at the "Where are we" poster. You can grab this FREE at my TpT store by clicking the picture below!

Next, as you walk in the door, to the right is my Huskie Helpers...classroom jobs. This project is not complete either. I was so bummed when I opened the package of "RED" letters, only to find that they were multicolored, so I didn't have enough red letters to complete the project! I am waiting for my red letters to come in as well! But you will get the gist of it!

Here is a closer look at the helpers...you can find these at my TpT store by clicking on the picture as well!

We continue on to my writing center that sits in front of our word wall. 
 Must have's at the writing center: plenty of paper, several types of writing utensils, and seasonal word cards! 

 

 Following around the wall is our guided reading/small group area. This is where the MAGIC of reading happens...the place where I get to see the LIGHT BULB turn on when a child finally realizes that they can read on their own! 

On the wall, next to the window, you will see I have a special poster hanging up! It is from a very special friend of mine who got me started blogging and eventually on TpT. I am sure many of you have heard of her...Debbie Clement who writes her own blog, Rainbows Within Reach.

Here is a closer look at the poster of her picture book, You're Wonderful

And turning to the left, you will find my Library center, Comfy chairs, lots of books and even some reading buddies.

Just past the library center is the computer center. I have four student terminals that work MOST of the time. I can only hope that we will get iPads soon or even small laptops. But these get the job done for now. Next to the computer center is the storage shelf for the marker/glue tubs and student pencil boxes.

Turning left, we will see the "back of the room".  The back counter, which can sometimes turn into the "collect-all" holds my stereo, picture books that help to teach the Six-Traits and Social skills and a storage unit. 

This is the bulletin board that I will use for posting school rules, unit vocabulary and student work. As you can see, as mentioned earlier, I am missing my border. Once it arrives, it will be put up right away!

 

The storage unit I mentioned holds extra markers, crayons, glue, pencils and erasers. It also houses my "quiet shelf" activities. These are activities that students can choose if they finish early. They are activities that students do quietly and by themselves (i.e. puzzles, whiteboards, coloring books, etc) On the top of the shelf is a timer. I use this timer for nearly every activity. It helps keep me and the students on track throughout the day.

Follow me around the corner again to my dry erase board and desk area. Please do not mind the mess on my desk...just a few things I have to put away yet. You will notice the pocket chart next to my desk, it holds the activities for each day and each subject area. Then below that, sitting on my desk, there is a magazine holder that holds items for next week.

Finally, we are at the last part of my classroom, the meeting area. This is where my carpet, Smartboard, and calendar are located. Below the Smartboard is my new shelf that will hold center activities. To the left of that, you will see a table with the Huskie on it. That table is where students will turn in their work. One basket is for finished work and the other is for unfinished work. I also have a container of highlighters sitting there. Student's highlight their name before they turn in their work...this is to make sure that they have written their name on top of their paper.

 And there you have it! A tour of my classroom! I hope this gave you a couple of new ideas for your own classroom!
I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for Day number 3 of Teacher Week 2013 brought to you by Blog Hoppin'

Here is the schedule for the rest of the week:

Now hop on over to Blog Hoppin' to check out more classrooms! Just click on the button below!