I can’t believe that summer is coming to an end! I have to admit
that this summer has been wonderful! Every year since I have started teaching I
have taught summer school. This was the first year I was able to have the
summer off! I. loved. every. minute.
With that being said I am so excited to get back to the classroom.
I have missed it and my students. I know that I mentioned that I will be
looping to third grade this year. That means I will be able to see the same
sweet, smiling faces in two weeks. I am thrilled and I know they are too!
When my third graders come walking thought that door I want them
to love the room! So I decided that a decor change was in order. Not to mention
that I had to move rooms….that was an experience. I went from the front of the
school on the first floor to the back of the school on the second floor! Can
you say, exhausted? So- needless to say- I have a ton of decorating to do!
I decided with my students that we would do a rock and roll theme
for this year. So as soon as the last day of school was behind me I started to
get ideas, create materials, and craft, craft, craft! I will have a ton of new
classroom photos to share with you once I can get into my classroom! That is
not until Monday! I am freaking out just a little okay
a lot! I was able to sneak in two weeks ago before they started cleaning. This
is what I did!
I printed, cut, laminated, cut again and then added ribbon to Hope
King’s word wall cards. One of her classroom decor
units matched my theme and has the same background that I used in some of my
decor products! I totally scored on that one! Cute and matching, what more
could a teacher ask for? =)
Here is how I decided to hang my word wall! I had the perfect
amount of cabinets to hang all the letters! Don’t you love when things work
out? I know I do! I placed two letters per cabinet door, so with 13 doors
each cabinet has two letters. I plan on using the Velcro dots to add the words
on the ribbon.
I also finished putting up a number line on my very skinny
bulletin board! The numbers are from Hope King’s decor unit (the one I
mentioned earlier) fit perfectly in that space! Sorry this picture isn’t
that great… I will take a better one next week once I can get into my room
again! I just loved the visuals she put with each number!
I also started to put up my Rockin’
Responsibilities unit. I didn’t get to finish putting up all the
elements yet, so there is still more to come. I have cute little decor elements
that need to be added, plus the kids names. I know that I am looping but at my
school the population tends to move a lot, so I don’t totally know what kids
ended up staying! I am crossing my fingers all of them did. So to save on time
and ink I haven’t printed their names yet!
The unit is in a Power Point file so it is all editable! I know I
like to customize my materials so now you can too! This is also great because
each year when you get a new group of kids you can just open up your file and
edit away!
In the unit you will find a description of how I plan to use the
responsibilities in my classroom. I love when everyone has a responsibility, so
I created eighteen different jobs. You can choose the ones you like, use all of
them, or redefine the ones I have. It is totally up to you. If you have more
than 18 students, some of the jobs can allow for multiple students doing the
same job. For example, equipment manager cleans up materials. Well, you could
turn this single student responsibility into a multiple student responsibility
by simply assigning one student from each table this title. So this one job is
now four jobs. The file is in Power Point so you can write your own job
descriptions that fits your classroom and students. A great way to get the older
students involved is by having them come up with the descriptions they will be
responsible for!!
In addition there is matching job display cards, a job
application, and an employee of the month display poster! The employee of the
moth is a great way to motivate students to do the best job they can at their
responsibility! They will love seeing their picture up there!
I also did a little door decor. I purchased two bulletin board
collections that I laminated and hung up. I loved the diverse group of
kids that are rockin’ out! You can check out the bulletin board collections
from Amazon by clicking here
and here.
I am also so excited to show you my
new room sign. Julia over at Creative Designs
finished my sign! I love the way it turned out and it totally matches the
bright stripes in all my other room decor elements. I can’t wait to hang it up!
If you need a room sign make sure you check her out!
So to keep up with my rock n roll
theme, I have created materials like CR-A-ZY! Here is a look at some of my new
resources.
I have created a behavior management materials for a guitar clip
chart. I originally saw this idea over at the Inspired Apple.
Abby definitely inspired my creativity for these materials. Her guitar
was so cute I knew that I just had to create one.
I created editable parent reference guides that go over each level
of behavior. This image shows you two different filled out version of the
reference guide. However you do have the option of creating your own reference
guide to fit your classroom needs.
I have also taken the time to create all the templates you will
need to create your own guitar clip management system! That was not easy, so I
hope you really love that I made a guitar base template! Also I made 3 color
combos for you to choose from and a black and white version that you can use
with colored paper! I tried to make it super easy for you to make fit your
classroom decor!
To make rewarding your students for great behavior easy, I have
included classroom cash and wallets! My school hands out money to students as a
school wide behavior management system and they love it! I do have a classroom
store where the kids use their classroom cash to buy things. It creates a great
understanding of money management and they love when they get their cash,
especially when their wallets start to get thick! My students were in love with
the wallets. They are the perfect size to fit in their pencil boxes and it
makes them feel in charge of their money, even if they do spend a lot of
it!! =)
Alright, so moving grades sounded like such a great idea until I
started thinking about how many things needed to change! EEkkk! right?
Something else that I revamped was my guided or small group reading materials.
All of my books are changing! New grade = new levels and new levels means I
need new labels! So I have created a unit will materials for you to organize
your groups as well as materials!
In here you will find twelve different group names. The group
names are centered around the idea of music genres! Each group name has a mini
display which is the size of an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper or a group header
with corresponding student name labels is provided. Then I made rotation pieces
for each group and days of the week labels so you can create a rotation display
board. It’s perfect for pocket carts or bulletin boards. Not to mention it is
great for when you need to make changes to your schedule! Everyone including
the students, classroom aids and administrators that walk through will know
what is going on! Oh I almost forgot to mention that it is all customizable!
You can type your student’s names right into the group and then print it out
and laminate it!
I have also made assignment check-off sheets for easy reading
group grading. I also included a little listen and go assessment sheet that I
use with my students to quickly check in on their reading. It is easy and
provides documentation for when I need it! They best part about it is that it’s
fast, I can usually complete this in three minutes (plus or minus a few
depending on the student, each student is different).
So remember how I needed to create new labels for my guided
reading books, well here they are. I included two options for labeling your
books. You can use the DRA levels A-Z or the Fountas and Pinnell A-70. I am not
really familiar with the Lexile system of leveling texts but if you need that
and can help me though how you level it, I don’t mind creating a Lexile
set. There is really a ton of materials in this unit! I don’t think I showed
a picture of it, but I do include an editable binder cover as well.
Because these units focus around one great theme, I decided to
offer all the materials in a mega rock and roll bundle! If you are interested
in all the material plus MORE, you can pick that bundle up by clicking on the
cover below! It’s even at a discounted price! =)
I think I have overloaded you all with enough for one day! Have a
great night and enjoy getting ready for your students! If you already are back
with your kids, I hope you enjoyed ever second of your first day!
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