I wanted to create a space where I could display student goals, spelling words, vocabulary, and other important Units of Study information. Thus, the Focus Wall was born.
This year my grade level is implementing Units of Study. What is that you ask? Why, Units of Study are ELA standards integrated with social studies and science and aligned with Common Core State Standards. Oh, yes...get excited! I wanted to create a space where I could display student goals, spelling words, vocabulary, and other important Units of Study information. Thus, the Focus Wall was born. I can easily change out the papers from unit to unit. The spelling words are already typed out for the year (the yellow is the regular list and the green is the advanced list). I feel so much better knowing that my students will be able to get to all of our important units of study information all at once. Plus, it's awesome having our spelling words completely finished for the year!
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I wanted to do something different for my outside bulletin board this year. As some of you might remember, last year I went with a neon sunglasses theme (which I loved). This year, I wanted to have a board that featured ideas from Leader in Me, the program my school is adopting this year! I also wanted to do something that would take up more space. I didn't really like how the sunglasses seemed so small and there was so much space between them on the last board. At my school, we have been told we can't have any paper or fabric on our outside boards anymore due to fire codes, which also meant I would be stuck with my faded green bulletin board underneath. Boo. Then, I found some CAUTION tape leftover in my cabinet and this idea was born: I think the yellow caution tape distracts the eye enough from the ugly green board, and I love how I used the scrunch paper technique around the letters to help them pop! This board is also pretty gender-neutral, which I love as well! Plus, if you look closely, you will notice how I wrote "5th Grade Leader" around the edge of each of the names too! Can't wait to show you all the big reveal soon!
Well, I started working in my classroom this week. I forgot how big of a mess I left my classroom back in May...but that's what shoveling stuff into cabinets gets you! On Monday I worked on putting stuff away and "de-cluttering" some of my larger cabinets. I still have a huge to-do list, but luckily some of my high school students will help me check off those to-do's next week! I did start hanging some makeshift bulletin boards on Tuesday. I knew I wanted a 7 Habits bulletin board as well as a new spot for my Woot Wall (read more about my Woot Wall here and here). I wanted the boards to match my theme of black and white, with accents of purple/teal/green too. Here is what I came up with! I love the "Be the Leader" letters above my board. They are felt letters from JoAnn's...and they are $1 each! I like the balance these boards create, and I made them using posterboard hot glued to the wall. Pretty easy! However, my FAVORITE part is the letters above the boards! I used butcher paper to create free scrunch borders around letters that I just printed off Microsoft Word! To make the border, simply cut strips of butcher paper and crumble them up into a ball (just like you were going to throw it in the trash). Then, "uncrumble" the strip and glue or staple the top end of the strip where you want it. Keep scrunching the paper and gluing or stapling to help it stay bunched. This was SO EASY and FREE! I love how it gives this cinder block wall some texture. It really makes the letters pop! I plan on using this technique on my letters in my outside hallway bulletin board too! I think it will make my board stand out! Have you been working in your classroom yet?
Well, March Madness has officially started in our classroom! A few weeks ago, two of my boys inspired me to have a "March Madness" themed bulletin board. We picked several books to face off against each other bracket-style, and have been using Edmodo Polls to see who the winners are each week! Check it out! Here's a close up shot of two of the books that we voted on last week. The Lightning Thief was the clear winner in this round! Who will win the ultimate prize? Only time will tell! How are you celebrating with your students this month?
I've officially blogged two times this week...it's a record people! Last week my students and I watched Kid President's MLK Day video from last year to begin our class meeting talking about Dr. King's message of peace and acceptance. If you haven't watched the video, I highly suggest you do! Afterwards, we closed our eyes and pictured what "peace" looks like. I got the inspiration from this popular Pinterest pin that I pinned a while ago. Then, we drew pictures of what we pictured. Some of my kids were pretty literal and wrote things like "waterfalls" or "sleep" since that is when they felt most at peace, but many of my students dug deeper for this activity. The end result was a beautiful banner for our hallway. (Please ignore the fact that you can't see the "W" in "When." :) I couldn't stand back far enough in our hallway! What did you do to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in your classroom?
It was time for a new look in room 224...it began with our classroom door... I decided to pay tribute to my former English teacher, who had this classic poem by Shel Silverstein posted in his classroom. We learned about poetry last week, so it was a great way to integrate some poetry in my classroom! Then we moved on to the bulletin board outside our classroom... Since we have been learning about leadership, I decided to try the "BE" bulletin board that has been circulating Pinterest for quite some time. I love it! And finally, here is my 7 Habits tree that we put up in our classroom this week! Isn't it awesome? I love the color!
I'm so excited that my school is implementing The Leader in Me this year! I actually read the book last year after attending a conference with my sixth grade principal and I am absolutely thrilled to incorporate the seven habits in my classroom this year! We've been discussing one habit a week, and we are up to habit three: put first things first. My kids wanted to write about one habit that they want to focus on, so I used that opportunity to showcase their habit on our bulletin board! I know the bulletin board isn't necessarily the cutest ever, but it got the job done! And, it's perfect for football season!
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About MeTeacher of leaders. Life-long learner. Space geek. Lover of all things color-coordinated, organized, and cutesy. Categories
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September 2015
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