Mrs. Weber is too tired to blog. She didn't realize this year would go by so fast. It is already midterm of the second nine weeks! ahhh

Interventions

A few of the interventions for my students that will begin tomorrow will be:

writing down words they are unfamiliar with.  I will give them a notebook to record words that may come up during class.  We will also make sure we highlight key words in the directions and also underline important information that we may come across in the reading selections (haven't figured out exactly how we will do that!)  

We will have daily math drills to "drill" facts into them. (I am optimistic about that one...  seriously, I am ).

I will start behavior monitoring ( recording behavior every 15 minutes .. including cause of behavior, how it was stopped)  

So after all that ( and there is a lot more I have to do, just can't think of it now) I will have NO time to actually teach.  Which I am already about a week behind because my kids are like 2 years behind!

Centers

The school is just starting to introduce centers and make sure teachers are starting to integrate them into their classroom.  This is our second week of centers.  I have been in charge of them because I am the one with the most experience with centers.  The first week went well.   Students were very engaged and all were able to eventually complete them.

This week, centers are similar.  The listening center is the same, book just rotate to the next class.  Reading/Writing Center this week is writing a story using 6 of the given words.  Glyph center is a school bus.  Spelling words are being written on miniature diecuts and pasted so that they spell out the words.  The phonics/grammar center has parts of sentence (naming and action) sorts.

 

Centers

We are starting centers next week.  We will begin our full schedule which will include PE, Music, Library, Computer, and Guidance.  It will be nice to finally have a schedule.  It has been a little hard keeping the students occupied for an entire day in the classroom.

We are starting centers next week.  We plan as a team, so all classes will be doing the same centers.  We will have three different listening centers but we will rotate them so our listening center has already been planned for the first three weeks.

Listening Center: 

Diary of a Worm: (story flag) 

Gloria and Officer Buckle (answer questions)

Chester's Way (write a letter to your favorite character)

Reading Center:

Social Studies Trade Books (Book report, answer questions in back of books)

Sight words:

Trace and cut out flowers.  Write each site word on a flower and put in alphabetical order

Glyph:

House Glyph

Phonics:

Short Vowel sounds

Jobs and Procedures

Thursday is the first day of school with the students.  I will discuss the jobs that we are going to need in our classroom.  I will lead the children in the right direction to come up with these jobs: line leader, caboose, calendar, books, messenger, teacher's helper, and pencil sharpener.  Procedures we will review on the first day are coming into class (where to put bags, homework folders, and how to start on morning work.)  We will talk about restroom breaks.  If a student has to use the restroom, they will raise their hands with a thumbs up.  If it is an appropriate time to go I will call their name.  Since one of our classroom jobs is the calendar, each morning, after announcements and the pledge, we will see what day it is and what the weather is like and write the date on the board.  Students will be shown which bucket finished work goes in.  We will talk about appropriate behavior lining up and in the hall.  My school is very strict about what goes on in the hall.  We will also talk about how we get ready to go home in the afternoons.

Tomorrow we get class lists.  Things that we still need to do are names on cubbies, desks, folders (portfolios).  We also need to post the behavior chart (which needs to be addressed on first day of school).  We will eventually fix a bulletin board behind my assistant's desk.

Classroom Door

I wanted my classroom to be inviting and look fun.  I thought about it a lot and then decided to just go with a fish theme outside my door.  It actually turned out really cute.

Bulletin Boards

I have finished the majority of my room.  I have finished my big bulletin boards.  I have a few posters that need to go up.  I still need to do my behavior explanations on the wall and also a big bulletin board outside my room just to get ahead before the students come.  I have one bulletin board already outside of my room.  It is a little alien theme and will say "Out of this world work" or "This Work is Out of this World."  I also need to post the rules but I will make the rules the first day with the students.  My palm tree is right behind my small group reading table and it will say "Reading is an Adventure".  I also finally got my alphabet up.  

Arrangements

Here are a few pictures of the set up of my room.  I will be starting the year with desks in tables.  The room is set up to be conducive for centers.  There is a reading, listening and computer area.  The table for small group instruction will be next to my desk.  The assistants desk will be caddy corner to my desk on the other end of the room.

Centers

Centers consist of two types of Centers.  There are 5 "Must do Centers" each week that are not necessarily Literacy Centers, and then I have the following Centers that are "Free Centers".  The "Free Centers" are for when all independent work and at least 1 "Must do Center" for each day of the week has been completed.  Students are pulled out during either center for reading groups.  All students are actively engaged in learning without assistance.

Each Monday, I assign 5 "Must do Centers".  These centers are housed in tubs.  All "free Centers" are housed in baskets.  Not all "Free Centers" are offered every week.

"Must do Centers"

* Listening Center

*Reading/ Center

*Sight Words

*Phonics /Grammar

*Glyph / Following Directions

"Free Centers"

*Library Center

*Computer Center

*Puzzle Center

*Poetry Center

*Word Center

*Art Center

*Read/Write the Room

*Stamp a/ Sticker Story

*Post Office

*Writing Center