My Space...Why I have no "desk"

After my first year teaching, I made a big decision. I didn't want the teacher desk I had in my classroom anymore. No, I wasn't trying to upgrade to something new or fancier...I didn't want a desk AT ALL. I came to this conclusion for three reasons;

1. Some of my colleagues had huge desk spaces or "teacher-only" areas that gradually seemed to grow and create messes as the year went on
2. I too had noticed a collection of messes accumulating on my desk...and it had only been 9 months!
3. I only ever sat down at my desk for about 30 min before and after school

So, I took the leap and that summer I had them haul it away. I was determined for my classroom space to reflect the actual ratio of kids : teacher. In other words, if there were 24 of them and one of me, I didn't want to be taking up 50% (or even 30%) of the work space. Honestly, a lot of people don't get it, but I am so glad I did it. Now this year, in a new building, in an open-classroom-type space there is even less square footage than I'm used to, but its fine! Because THIS is my teacher workspace:

Lietrally, from the green tape on the counter to the end of the counter on left, that's my space (including the cabinet below)! Now granted, there are shelves above (which are behind the bird/branch curtains in the next photo) but that's just professional books and drawer organizers of office supplies. 

I am glad I down-sized all that time ago because there is so much more space for my students now. It also causes me to stay organized because I literally have no room for a mess! You don't have to be crazy like me, but I challenge you to think about how space is used in YOUR classroom.

An Up-Close Look at the Classroom Library

I know I've posted on this before, but I've had some questions. So here is the illustrated tour of my second grade classroom library:

First off, the leveled book section...If you want to know more about the levels, how they correlate with F & P or DRA, see this post from the summer. Basically the important things to point out here is that the shelves were $20 each from Goodwill and the plastic bin were $5 for 6 at target. Well, thats not THE important thing....but its one of them :) The numbers on the outside are there to remind the students of how many of the level they should have in their book box at a time. They find out what bins they should take from in reading conferences with me. If you are familiar with levels of reading you know that the very beginning books are extremely short and students usually need 8-10 to keep busy reading. This is why they take a minimum of 8 books from yellow. I know there is discussion from teachers about how many chapter books should really be reading at the same time and so some of you might disagree with 4 lime green books or even 2 teal books in a book box at once. My thinking about that is this; at this very moment, I have 3 books on my nightstand and 2 in my purse. I am reading only 2 of them and the rest are lined up waiting for "their turn"....my students deserve to do the same!

 

You can see in the photos below that the books are not letter or number labeled...I gave that up when I switched my library organization up. Instead, I used colored masking tape on the corners to indicate the level and help with quick organization. Once again, if you want to know more about the color levels, see this post.

As far as the other books go (which I refer to choice books) here are the details:

• I have them separated into literature text (animal characters, poetry, realistic fiction, etc) and informational texts (biographies, magazines, science, jobs, etc.) 
• The books are each labeled in the top corner of the front corner of the cover and the informational text have a start sticker. This is how we tell informational apart from literature. 
• I have the informational book bins on a counter and the literature text on some shelving that wraps around the room. 
• Most students have just one of each kind at a time, sometimes more. 
• The bins themselves are from IKEA and I have found them to be awesome storage for large books like these...

I really like this organization and for sure have had less issues with organization and book treatment this year. Taking the time to label and look for just the right bins was a pain, but I am so glad I did!

Anchor Charts

One of the things I love most about being an elementary teacher is creating things WITH my students that become permanent fixtures in my classroom. Anchor charts are one of those things. There are a few misconceptions out there about these little gems and I would like to address a few...

1. You DO NOT have to draw well or have fancy handwriting to make them...truly...you DON'T
2. They will not be wallpaper if you make them together, keep them within reach of you and your students, and reference even after the unit or lesson
3. They are NOT the same as an electronic projected slide with bullet points and clip art...I don't know why, they're just NOT! No, actually that is not true. I know why. They are more permanent and community created, those are two reasons :)
4. I DO have a goal of some things I would like to have on there, and often guide my students to their understanding of the concept or point through class discussion. I DON'T practice writing before or drawing
5. Post-it correction tape is the BEST FRIEND of anchor chart makers!

Here are a few from my room that we made so far this year....

Math Tool Boxes

I've had a few questions about managing math manipulatives in my classroom from teachers that have stopped by and so I figured I would share what they look like, from the outside in and a little about my rationale for using them.
First off, they are NOT actually boxes (sorry if thats disappointing but I don't currently own 6 tool boxes.) They are cheap (like for 2 for $1 cheap) baskets. I have six total, because I have six student work tables.
This is where they live:

Sometimes I find them out and around the room, but it doesn't bother me because I know my students use them well and know when to use them. The idea is that the whole basket can be taken to the table and you can take out what you need, or even switch strategies in the middle of solving! I love how flexible students are with their thinking when given choices.

As far as the contents, here is what each has:

• 5 number lines (0-30)
• 5 100 charts
• About 40 unifix cubes of the same color 
• A set of place value blocks (4 hundreds, 25 tens, and 20 ones)
• 20-30 clear plastic counting discs
• Assorted coins (quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies)

Like I said, my students have learned to be flexible with these more than I could have even imagined and I'm grateful that we really haven't had sharing issues. Because the truth is, its not necessarily enough of any one material to lead a whole class lesson. I have more a "use what you need" policy and it has worked out fine. Here are some of the ways I have shown/observed students using them...

• Counting out coins to represent amounts in a story problem, especially when needed to find the change given
• Using the counters for simple addition and subtraction with students that are still building number sense and fluency
• Number lines for adding and subtracting or solving "how many more" problems with small numbers
• Unifix cubes stacked to compare amount and solve "whats the difference?" problems
• 100 charts for skip counting support (laminated so we can write on them with dry erase!)
• Place value blocks for adding and regrouping
• Counters or ones cubes for making arrays in repeated addition/multiplication and division

Of course there are MANY more ways they can be used but those are pretty much the most frequent uses. I find that my students start out using them and with a little support can internalize the concepts enough that they do not need them when it comes to assessments. It has also been interesting to see some of my students that are strong in math find ways to model, explain and support for students that are struggling...using the toolkits! It's a fine like to walk between building knowledge and  giving them tools but its so important to be able to grab them when meaning starts to break down, so I am very glad I took the time to put them together and introduce them.