It's finally that time! The first day of school is Monday and I am TOTALLY ready. For Day 1 that is- please do not ask what I am teaching Tuesday because that is still a bit hazy. I figured in honor of Back to School I would post a picture tour of my classroom. Finally, all the Pinterest and googling comes together!
The weeks are closing in for the beginning of school and I have spent countless hours online finding ideas for classroom decor. I am sticking with a simplistic theme because usually I cover almost every available wall space with student work. I think it's really important for the students to feel like it is THEIR classroom so I don't go crazy with posters or other dust collectors.
I am going with a rainbow theme throughout the room so that it is bright, colorful, and engaging.
My seating arrangement will be groups thanks to the push for collaborative learning (which I love). I bought XL fabric book covers (one for each group) to put on the back of a group member's chair. I plan on putting in whatever materials the groups will need for the day in the pocket- including their homework stamp cards and a folder with the handouts for the day. I figure it will take a few more minutes after school to go ahead and pass out handouts but then I won't have to be scrambling around while I am trying to teach. Also- then if a student is absent the extra handouts will already be in the folder located at each group. I have also color coded groups thanks to these book cover colors which adds to the rainbow decor and helps for group assignments and other assessments. Here is what inspired this idea:
