My Classroom!

Today is the first day the students return, so I decided to share a little bit about my classroom this year.

I'm beginning my fifth year of teaching.  Supposedly the fifth year is the "burn out" year.  I definitely do not feel burnt out.  If anything I feel even more excited about my job and the direction my teaching is going in.  However, my classroom was looking a bit burnt out.  I really hadn't updated anything in it since I moved my room two years ago.  Going into this year I really put a lot of effort into making my classroom both aesthetically pleasing and useful to the students.

This bulletin board is at the front of the room.  It has all the important vocabulary and unit questions for the topic we are currently studying.  Although I keep an assignment calendar on my class wiki and the students have a handout with all the due dates on it, I thought it won't hurt to put a calendar with due dates up front also.  Now they have multiple reminders and no excuses for not turning in their work on time!

My "general school info" bulletin board.

Last but not least, my layered curriculum bulletin board.  I'm especially excited about this one.  Since the layered curriculum approach allows students many assignment options I always have a ton of resources for every unit.  Usually I kind of plop them on the front table and they end becoming really disorderly.  Then students are constantly asking me where to find things.  It takes time away from them getting work done, and time away from me assisting them with more important matters.

I was trying to think of the best way to distribute information for their choice activities while keeping it orderly and allowing them to easily check out all the options available.  The folders on the bulletin board solved the problem.  Now all the materials can be easily and readily available.  No one needs to interrupt me checking in with students to ask where to find something.

In addition to looking forward to my new classes and classroom set-up, I'm looking forward to this being my last semester of graduate school, and being advisor the senior class.  I can't believe they're seniors and graduating this year.  Time flies when you're having fun.

Teachers and students - what are you looking forward to most this school year?