Classroom Organization

I've seen a bunch of classroom pics online.  I love sneaking in to see what other people have come up with since most of the time I'm just in my little classroom.  So here are a few pics of my class with why I have it set up that way.

This basically what you see when you are in my room.  It's a little crowded...but that is because I use tables (which are very big) and have parts of the room sectioned off.  The kids and I spend a lot of time here so I tried to make it cozy.

Aren't my thought protectors the cutest ever???  My mom and I were getting school supplies one year and I saw these.  So cute!  I would never have paid for these (about $1/folder and it takes 2 to make a thought protector), but my mom got me tons of each folder so I could staple them together and make thought protectors.  And since I'm crazy I tried to match the dog or folder to the table bucket color...of course a golden retriever for the yellow table is a bit of a stretch...but I tried.

 

My calendar wall is like most - has all the same basic things.  At the bottom of calendar wall I have a small shelf with more library book tubs.  My class library has grown to where it is all over the room.  So the math book and days of the week book tubs are by the calendar wall.  I also have a small magnetic calendar from Target that is one of the students' favorite centers to go to when they have free time.

For our word wall I put up the sight words we have learned the week before.  I use Scholastic's Systematic Sight Words.  I like knowing the order and the various activities and assessments that the curriculum uses.  After we have learned the 5-7 words for the whole week I transfer them from my small pocket chart by the rocking chair to up on the word wall.

It seems like we are making an anchor chart, poster, or learning a song/poem ALL the time.  So I used this blank space by my classroom library to move those older charts.  This gives them a few more weeks of hanging up in case a student wants to use them during work on writing or writer's workshop...and here's the thing - they actually do!

I'm going to get on a little soap box about my class library.  After watching a video interview on the Daily 5 / CAFE website I had an 'aha' moment.  So many teachers are leveling their class libraries and teaching their students what level they are and to pick books on that level.  But in real life, not everything is leveled.  My students know what DRA level they are reading on, but that doesn't help them pick books at the school library or public library.  It is my responsibility to teach my students how to look through a book and decide if it is a good fit or not.  Something to think about as you organize your class library.  So....my books are organized by author or topic - Berenstain Bears, Tomie de Paola, Magic School Bus, dogs, sports, science, etc.  I also have the covers facing the students.  It just seems to make sense for them to see the cover and not the spine.  All of my books have a small sticker on the bottom front corner that matches the library box sticker.  Berenstain Bears books have red stickers, Magic School Bus books have yellow stickers, etc.  I just use the garage sale dot stickers for this system.  This makes it easier for students to quickly place the books back in the correct box when they are finished.

Here are the leveled readers and books by phonics skills I have.  These are a compilation of 2 basil adoptions, Stafall books, Reading A-Z books, and any other books I have purchased that follow a phonetic sounds.  I have organized them in the order my district teaches them in instead of just how they were packaged.  There are labels for each section of books with the sound and a list of the basil books that go in that section.  I also have the DRA level listed on the stickers so I know which books to send home with which students.  I don't have all the photocopy books or extra books listed because that would just be an endless list and if I ever move classrooms (Gah!) then I would take those with me while the basil leveled readers would stay.  Until my students reach a DRA 16 I choose the homework books that go home.  I use this system to match up the books I send home.

When I first got in my class I made curtains for several areas in the room.  It helps to cover some of the things around the room that just aren't that nice to look at.  Plus it makes it feel cozier...maybe.  Since I can't sew I used the adhesive strip that you iron to do the edges and attached it to my counter underneath using velcro.  A lot of people think it's a mess under the curtains, but I won't use it if it's chaos.  So here is a sneak peak under the curtain.  I have a bunch of small readers leveled by DRA level instead of the phonics skill like above.  There are also a bunch of materials for word work or small groups.  I need access to them, but don't want them showing all the time.

This is what I call the 'messy zone' in my room.  I love for things to look clean and organized, but sometimes you have supplies for your lessons that you need to be able to reach quickly.  First graders are not known for their patience.  So each week I get out my supplies for the following week for various math games, science projects, etc. and put them here.  I also get my anchor charts that I might be introducing and put them up here for easy access.  So even though it is not pretty to look at...I am in touch enough with reality to know that I need one small messy zone in my room.

   

Here's my writer's workshop set-up.  Again, I used the old containers from some basil samples we received.  The boxes have held up really well and have lots of smaller compartments that I can use.  The supplies were added one at a time as the students learned how to use them: pre-stapled books, list paper, notes, folded paper so students can staple longer or shorter books, name lists, small staplers.  I also saw this idea for a 'finished book' poster in one of the books I was reading and loved it.  I've never used it before this year but it really seemed to work.

Our school's Design Team got together a couple of times over the summer to brainstorm ways to bring our school together.  One of the ideas was to link our class helpers to more real life situations.  Some of the older grades have students get 'paid' for the various jobs and have them connected to actual real life professions.  I love hearing what others are doing and tailoring it to first grade.  Another one of the ideas was to have every child have a job for an extended period of time.  I believe the older grades were doing a semester and actually held interviews.  A semester seems like FOREVER to a first grader.  But I decided to give each student a job for the whole six weeks.  I used to have about 11 jobs and the students had them for one week, then we rotated so everyone had a job about every other week.  This has turned out very well since I don't have to change jobs each week and the students really get to know their job.  It is very sweet to see my 'veterans' help train the new students when they first begin their new job.

Well, that is a sneak peek into my classroom and some of the reasoning behind why it is set up the way it is.  I hope it wasn't too boring or over-whelming.  I just want to give some ideas for when you think about how to set up your room and why you set it up that way.  I also like to share resources that work well for me and my students. 

Happy teaching ~