Classroom Reveal 2013-2014 (Safari Theme)

So I am just now posting these pictures and we have been in school for three weeks now. But running behind seems to be my life story lately. I have just started graduate school and it is definitely taking a toll on me.

I still have my safari theme this year but I have made quite a few things using powerpoint over the summer. I felt like my class needed a face lift. Also I decided to take the big leap and get rid of my teacher desk AND my students' desks. It has been the greatest decision I have made. I love not having my desk. I have so much more room for my students to read around the room. It has also made me stay organized.

Now, for the kids. I LOVE not having paper falling out of desks. I LOVE the desks not getting separated and turning a different way than I originally put them. Plus I feel like my students are very organized because of this big move. They have a cubby and their book baskets to store their work. I tell them exactly where to put everything and they don't have a desk to shove papers into so they don't do it. Ahhhhh! It's just so wonderful!!!!

Here's my room when you walk in the door! I love the lanterns and parasols. 

This is my standards, math rotations, and homework board.

Here is the link to the daily math signs freebie!!!!

These are my students' cubbies and student supplies.

This is my "Have you Filled a Bucket Today?" display! My kids love it!

Here's my transportation clip chart. I also keep my class rams tickets here. It's part of PBIS.

Here is my NEW bulletin board. I love my CAFE and Vocabulary board! 

This is where I have my safari helper display, my behavior clip chart, and where students keep their rams tickets.

This is part of my library. 

This is my "Show What You Know" board. I use this frequently to assess students.

This is one place I keep my anchor charts. 

Thanks for stopping by! I love comments and new followers!

~Susan

New School Year.......New Kiddos :)

Well fellow bloggers I just finished my first week of my fourth year of teaching and my first year of grad school. Woooooo! it was quite exhausting but I am absolutely loving my classes and the fabulous teachers I have meet. My class is also pretty great! :)

Well I'm trying some new stuff in my room this year and I'm pretty pumped about them!

One of the amazing things I am trying out this year is called "Whole Brain Teaching". If you haven't heard of this before you need head on over to their website and start reading up. https://www.wholebrainteaching.com

Here are five reasons I LOVE using WBT in my room.
1. The kids are super engaged.
2. No more trying lots of different attention getters. Class?Yes! is the best!
3. The students love teaching each other.
4. I love using all the gestures and expression when teaching!
5. The scoreboard is my new best friend!

This is a video I found on Youtube that gives a perfect example of why WBT is so AH-mazing!

The second thing I am trying this year is incorporating the Notice and Note Signposts into my Daily 5 lessons. Another teacher on my grade level and I spent the summer reading the book and adding the signposts to our curriculum map. We tried to think which reading strategies we already taught would be good to introduce with each of the signposts. We plan on introducing the "Contrasts and Contradictions" signpost with character traits and story elements. We can't wait to try this out and have our students thinking deeply about what they are reading! I'll let you know how it goes when we try it. If you haven't read this book and are looking for a professional book, I would recommend this one!

Well that's all for now. I'm going to make it a personal goal to blog at least once a week this year! So tune it for more from Adventures in 4th grade.

It's Official!

Aahhhhhh! I finally booked a workshop in Atlanta, GA to see the "2 Sisters". I'm planning on going to the Cafe workshop in August. I am beyond excited! After reading about the "2 Sisters" for awhile now I finally get to meet them in person!  It will be a couple of weeks before school starts back so I'll be in school mode and ready to learn more about this amazing way of teaching.

Today I also found many cute things on Pinterest that will be very helpful when I start the Daily 5/Cafe in my classroom next year. Here are a few that I really love!


This looks like an efficient way to keep up with who is going to what station! I think I just might have to try this next year! I'm not sure who to give credit to because when I clicked on the link to the page it came up to the page not found message! Thanks to whoever's cute idea this was! :)

This looks like a must have item to teach some of the Cafe strategies! You can find this on Teacher's Notebook for a few dollars! Thanks Cupcakesncuties!

This looks like a great idea! This comes from Go Fourth with Mrs. Owens Class! This comes from "The Book Whisperer". I plan on reading that this summer!

Well that's all for now! I'm off to be productive today! Check back for more adventures in 4th Grade soon!

~Susan

To Daily Five or Not Daily Five

So I've been reading the Daily Five and Cafe books over the last few weeks and would love to implement these ideas into my classroom next year. From all the blogs, proteacher posts, and pinterest pins on the daily five/cafe I truly feel like this would be a wonderful way to teach reading in my class. But I feel a little scared to take the leap because I'm a second year teacher and I've only used the basal. Most of the teachers at my school use the basal. I don't think there is anything wrong with the basal if it works for some people but I have found that I don't particularly like using it. I don't feel like I'm reaching all my students or that I'm being effective. I have talked to several of my team members about this idea and they seem open to trying it. There is only one other teacher that uses it in the school and she loves it. I have been talking about it so much that I am hoping the idea sticks and people will want to try it. From everything I've read it teaches the students to become motivated, independent, and engaged in their reading. When I was in college this was exactly how I pictured my classroom. I love teaching so far and I want to be the best teacher I can be. I want to be effective in my teaching and keep my students wanting to come to class to read and learn. I want my students to be life long learners like I am.  If anyone out there could shed some light with personal experiences/advice I would greatly appreciate it.


Thanks

~Susan~