Classroom Reveal!

Happy Labor Day! I am happy to have a day of rest after two weeks of teaching. It's been a whirlwind but it has been a good start to the year. This is the second year I am teaching third grade math so it's nice to have experience with the standards and topics. In my school, we have had two teachers in third, two in fourth, and two in fifth. We are departmentalized so one teacher would teach math, science, and social studies and the other teacher would teach language arts. 

This year in third grade, we have three teachers, one for writing, one for math, and one for science/social studies. We all teach guided reading groups, which I am happy about because I love reading! We have tried to make the transition to three teachers as easy as possible for our students. They have certainly rose to the occasion! We had to make space throughout our rooms to hold all of the students' notebooks and folders so they won't have to switch classes with an arm full. That has helped significantly with switching classes and not having issues in the locker area. 

Ok enough about the back story...here is the tour!

 Every student has a locker, which really cuts down on the clutter and helps with organization.

This is the view from the locker hallway. My penguin statue is a staple in my classroom for the last 11 years. I also have a little wall of inspiration with pictures of former classes and all the amazing teachers and bloggers that I have met this year. 

This is the view from my teacher desk. I have a separate office, which is great to keep all my personal stuff behind closed doors. The hallway is to bathrooms and to another third grade room. 

This is the view from the bathroom hallway. We still have chalkboards in our classroom so I like to cover them up and use them as bulletin boards. 

These pictures are looking at the back of my room. This is where I will have my small groups for reading and math. I also have a door to the outside, which really helps for fire drills and getting out to recess.

Since we are trying to keep everything in the classroom, I had to come up with some creative ways to store everything. For guided reading time, the students need independent books for Read to Self. One of the teachers in the school was giving away bags with handles, which was perfect for the students books. Then I had all these bags but no where to put them. So I took out the shelf in this bookshelf and replaced it with a shower tension rod...

Ta Da! This is a great place to keep the books and easy access for the students. The only bad part is that the books can't be too heavy or the poll falls off. I keep the bags that are too heavy in a separate box. 

Well, that's the end of the tour for now. It's definitely not a Pinterest perfect classroom but it's a cozy space that I like to teach in. I am excited to grow with my room and have it reflect my students' learning!