Bulletin Boards on a Mega-Scale!

You know you're a teacher when...

...you get excited about decorating a bulletin board.

Yes, decorating and filling bulletin boards can be fun.  Especially when you've got useful information you want posted in your room.  With my new classroom, I was giddy about having a blank slate with my boards....

Until I saw them.  I failed to realize that some bulletin boards can be of monstrous size, becoming more of a pain in the you-know-what than a fun way to spend an afternoon.  They say good things come in threes.  However, when they are giant, 8 foot bulletin boards, maybe not so much.

Don't get me wrong, I am thankful I've got such a spacious room that can hold bulletin boards of these size, but it's hard to keep them filled and not over-stimulating at the same time.  

My solution was this: put things on the bulletin boards that are useful, clear, and long-term.  I wanted to decrease the necessity to re-do them all the time.

Here's what they looked like at the beginning of the year.  They are now entirely filled with information they have learned since the year began.

I have a content-related bulletin board, a class expectation board, and my favorite - an inspiration board.  I rarely find a poster that has just the right amount of information on them, so I spent a lot of time this summer making my own.  Every....single....one.....  I never said I had much of a life outside of school! :) 

I'm a firm believer in positive messages and the power they can have in your classroom.  I filled the inspiration board with some of my favorite quotes that cover a multitude of feelings that my middle schoolers might have.  Most of them are by famous figures that my students would recognize - Katniss Everdeen, Roald Dahl, Albert Einstein, Peter Pan, Albus Dumbledore, etc.  I love it!

Although my complaining was unnecessary and exaggerated, I truthfully did enjoy creating the boards this summer.  The great thing about these boards are that I CAN change them IF I need to.  

Be inspired, people!

Emily :)

Freshen Up a Little!

Looking to freshen up your room?  Here is a SIMPLE trick!  If you've got bulletin boards or picture frames that are dull and boring, add a trimmer to them!

I have a large, plain  bulletin board hanging near my desk and it stuck out like a sore thumb.  Here is what I started with:

All I did was dig out some black trimmers (also called bulletin boarders) and used some double-stick tape to adhere them to the bulletin board.  You could also paint them, but the trimmers were much more time efficient and totally mess-free.

Just like that, it looks a thousand times better!  Here is the result:

Has a better vibe and makes it appear as though it belonged there.  All that was left to do was to fill the board.  Right now I'm using it as a quick-reference spot for schedules, notes, and reminders.  In addition, it's also a motivation wall where I've put up my favorite quotes, photos, and objects.

Happy trimming!

Emily :)

Classroom Reveal!!!

Drum-roll please.........!

Finally I am posting my classroom reveal to you!  After spending all summer cleaning, organizing, painting, and crafting, my room is un-officially finished.  It's my hope that I can freshen up the typical middle-school classroom and make it more fun without stepping back into an elementary classroom.

Here is a sweep of the room:

North Wall:

East Wall:

South Wall:

West Wall:

Bulletin Boards...

Reading nook...

My work space...

 Behavior management system..."Potato Head Madness"

Whiteboard...

Utility Cart (Sign In binder, hall passes, extra credit, lost&found)...

Student counter (absent drawers/binder, turn-in basket)...

Curriculum file cabinet...

Front counter... (I LOVE having this extra prep space!)

Hope you enjoyed this first glimpse into my room!  For the next few weeks, I will be writing blog posts that explains what some of the stations/posters/objects mean and linking them to this post.

Happy first week of fall!

Emily  :)

Makeover Part 1

I know, I know.  It's been well over a MONTH since I've posted!  Shame on me.  But in my own defense, I've been exhaustively busy.  However, what little free-time I've had outside of work has been devoted to something very worth while and necessary.  Since my last post, I've scrubbed my classroom clean, organized, painted, and organized some more.  In addition, I've also moved into my new home which brings a whole new slew of tasks that need to be done.

Finally, I'm back on track with my classroom.  Before I show you everything I've got going on, I wanted to give you a bit of a sneak peek and show you what I'm using as my foundation for my classroom - a focus wall!

Here is what the focal point of my classroom looked like on the last day of school, before the previous teacher had everything moved out.  This is the first wall you see upon entering the room.

Just your average middle school classroom.  However, it's very large and has ample amount of storage cupboards - four for my own use, and a giant sliding shelf unit for curriculum tools.  I also have two large waist-high counters with cupboards but I'm still working out what needs to go where.

At first, I was a bit overwhelmed.  Where do you begin?  Then I etched out a plan.  I wanted everything in the room to be very "matchy-matchy" since it is such a large room.  I don't want it to over-stimulate my students but still want it to feel comfortable and homey.  So, I started with a color scheme.  There are a million varieties to choose from, and none that I saw on other blogs really sparked my imagination.  Our main school color is red, so I thought I would incorporate it into my color scheme.  The last thing I want to do is paint a giant wall red (a color known to cause anger or excitement - NOT good for middle schoolers :] ).  

Calm and relaxing.  Yes, your light bulbs are probably going off - blue!  I decided to go with a teal/aqua and red color scheme.  Very popular in the crafting world as of late.  I ended up choosing the exact hue by looking for bulletin board trimmers.  I found a pretty teal blue trimmer and a red to match.  It was as easy as bringing a sample of the bulletin board trimmer to the local hardware shop and having the color matched.

But I didn't stop there.  I wanted my blue wall to pop.  It needed some excitement and a focal point.  Instead of explaining it, I'll just show you!

Ta-daaa!  A lovely hue of blue and a large silhouette of a peaceful tree.  It fills up the space nicely and prevents me from having to concoct some sort of wall-art to hang (which would most likely violate a fire code with everything else on the walls).  I drew the tree on the wall first, and then painted it solid black.  I love it!  It was simple enough and didn't cost much - just a night of painting.  

Although this was my first major task (of many), it was a great start to my classroom makeover adventure and I already felt I was on to something from the get-go.  I've been working hard ever since and have much to share with you!  

Keep checking back for updates!  The school year will be here before we know it.  Whether we're ready or not, here it comes!

:)  Emily

Go big or go home

You know the phrase, "Go Big or Go Home" ???

Apparently, my students definitely do.  Typically, the end of the school year brings restless students who can only think of one thing - sweet, sweet freedom.  Boredom, lack of interest, and irresponsibility can be expected.  Sometimes, behavioral issues may increase, but nothing out of the ordinary.

This year, it was much different.

The end of the 2012-2013 school year was in the form of a five-day week.  Yikes.  From what I've experienced, the last week of school is usually a half-week.  I had prepared myself the weekend before the last week to battle restlessness all week and get some real work accomplished.

BIG mistake.

Here are some phrases that I caught myself saying,

"Are you trying to burn all of your bridges before you leave?"

"What made you think that what you did was a fantastic idea?"

"Please stop writing on your arms!"

"No, you may not stand on your desk!"

"Why are you hiding under the bean bags again?"

"Please keep your fingers out of the fan."

"Who took all of the caps off my markers?"

"Did you think before you acted?"

Any sound familiar?  It's as if all rules, expectations, and social skills flew out the window.  A culmination of many chaotic behaviors was this:

Two students showed up to class with their arms taped together.  They (apparently) used an entire roll of masking tape.  I should just stop asking "Why?" at this point.

On Tuesday, I decided to throw in the towel for the last day of actual class.  I wasn't going to fight this losing battle anymore.  Instead, like most times in my life, I agreed to just roll with the punches.  Sugary snacks?  Sure!  Movies?  Why not!  Obnoxious games?  Of course!  Needless to say that last day of class went much better...

I've accepted the oddities and quirks that middle schoolers have. I love that about them.  And next year I'll just prepare myself for the worst and hope for the best for the last week of school.  

I love middle school.  I love the day-to-day insanity of the unexpected.  People will say what they want to say about a teacher's yearly schedule and having the summer off.  But we all know that without those summers, we wouldn't be able to handle the school year with an unexpected sense of calmness.

Cheers to summer to all of you teachers, students, and parents alike!

Emily :)

Goodbye Goodies

As the end of the school year draws near, many teachers are thinking about fun (and inexpensive) ways to say "Goodbye!" to students.  If you are a Pinterest fanatic like me, finding ideas isn't too difficult.  There are loads of great ideas and inspiration you can find there and tweak to make your own creation.

That's exactly what I did.  In order to stay within the means of my minuscule *recent-college-grade-with-student-loans-and-earning-a-sad-teacher-salary* budget, I opted for a crafty gift for some of my small group students that required few purchases and more of my time.  (I also made goody bags for the whole class that I will post later).  In the end, I realized that going the crafty route was much more personal and fun.  

Here's the end result:

I love all of the catchy sayings that go a long with candy or fun toys.  "You are the SWEDISH student", or "I hope you have a KOOL summer," or maybe even "You were a BURST of fun in my class."  

You get the idea.  

So, I took three of my favorite play on words and put them into a message.  (Seen below)

It reads, "(Name), you are such a SMARTIE and it was FUN being your teacher.  Have a BALL the rest of the year!"   This was given to students at the end of Term 2 (thus the "rest of the year") but you could easily replace that with summer.  I was able to buy a pack of Fun Dip for less than $4, an entire bag of Smarties for less than $2, and a bunch of small bouncy balls for less than $3.  I was able to give about 15 students these goody bags for under $10.  They only took about an hour to create and assemble, and they loved them!

I've learned that sometimes, the simple things mean the most to kiddos.  If you put a personal touch into an end-of-the-year gift, it helps keep attitudes positive about school so that students just might want to return again in September!

Emily :)

Your answer is what??

The last month of school.  Teachers are exhausted.  Kids are restless.  Who can blame either?  

Sometimes, however, students are getting a little... spacey.  I spent two weeks with my students studying the 1920s - a perfect fit after researching World War I.  We learned about gangsters, prohibition, women's rights, inventions, etc.  It was a pretty fun unit.  There are a lot of entertainment related topics we covered as well, including slang vocabulary, jazz music, silent films, and dancing.  

This past Friday, I gave my students a quiz on the Roaring Twenties to wrap up our unit.  Here's what a chunk of it looked like:

Take a closer look at number 11:

Do you know it?  Drum-roll please............. "The Charleston" !  I showed all of my students several clips of people dancing the Charleston.  A few of my classes were even able to try a "How-to" video where they tried to learn how to dance themselves.  It was quite comical.

Anyways.  Back to it being the end of the year.  I've noticed that with middle schoolers, especially eighth graders, they tend to "check out" of school a little early.  They were mortified with the fact that I actually DO have things planned for us the last seven days of class time we have left.  As if I would even THINK about teaching them something!  :)

Well, question #11 proved to be quite a tricky one, I guess.  Considering we watched a video and some actually tried to do the dance, it shouldn't have been.  But looking back on the final grades, I have no D's or F's, and most students ended up with an A.  I'll count my losses and instead, show you what I found so funny.......  Brace yourself.....

I'd also like to add that these colorful answers came from ONE class of thirty students.  One class!!!  My other five had the right answer 90% of the time.  It's almost as if this class tried to pull a fast one on me.  Like I said, I'm going to count that one question as a loss - considering it's not an essential learning outcome to this unit, and laugh at these answers instead of cry.  It was a great way to wrap up my week and sure did make me giggle.  

Just wait until we have a little chat about this next week......

Emily  :)

Growing up is for adults

At this point in my life, I consider myself to be an adult.  Legally, you are considered an adult after the age of 18 and I always thought I was the day after my 16th birthday.  Not so much.  I could ramble on about the tough "real-world" experiences I've already had at my young age and how I've always appeared as a 40-year-old in a 20-something's-body.  But the one idea I've come to love and truly accept at my age is that I never want to "grow up".  Who says you can't be a kid for the rest of your life?  Sure, you need to be responsible and respectful and make wise decisions, but there's no fun in being a serious, straight-faced, no-nonsense type of person for the rest of your life.

Plus, I'm pretty sure it's impossible for me to be that way.  Sassy is my middle-name.

Something I've learned about middle-schoolers is that no matter how hard they try to be grown-ups and act like they are adults, they aren't.  Whether they show that to you through UBER-dramatic tirades, a complete lack of responsibility, or their day-to-day resistance of doing the important things (homework, research, etc), they are all still kids.  I started looking at my students like young adults who should know how to do simple tasks on their own.  It only increased my frustration with them to the point where I would think "Are you kidding?  You don't know how to do that?".  Not healthy at all.  They are still KIDS!  Most don't want to be any more, but they are.  I've decided to cultivate that inner child in all of them and make my classroom a fun learning environment where they get to be kids.  Sometimes I can be one, too.  

There is a healthy balance of letting your students be kids and also helping them grow into young adults (as they will be in a few years).  But I always have to keep in the back of my mind that these students need to enjoy the simplicity of life as long as they can.  I'd like to think at this point that my students understand the fine line between having fun and getting down to business.  We laugh, we play, we joke, but we get things done.  That's what middle school is all about.

At this point in my short career as a young teacher, I've noticed three major components to my classroom that helps me keep a healthy balance between my not-yet-an-adult-but-not-still-a-child group of middle schoolers.  

1) Laugh a little each day

I am a sarcastic person.  My boss at my first full-time job in retail used to call me Sassy.  I'm pretty sure she didn't even know my real name.  But you've got to have a great sense of humor if you're a teacher.  Especially in middle school.  But even more-so,  you've got to allow time to laugh.  You can't be serious all the time, and you know that at least once a week a student will say or do something totally ridiculous that you just can't help but chuckle at.

This past week I had my windows open in my classroom with my door shut.  Through some weird law of science, the plaster ceiling tiles would raise off of the grid and float in the air.  It was hilarious.  And the best part about this phenomenon, was that I noticed it before any of my students.  At a natural break in my lecture, I pointed it out.  Together we were able to share in a group laugh that provided much relief and a perfect break in the lesson.  We didn't lose class time, in fact, students were able to loosen up a bit and re-group.  You can't always control what happens, so when silly things come up, let them be silly and laugh.

2) Play-time isn't just for Kindergartners

When I worked with fourth graders, I participated in a school-wide reward system where students who turned in all of their work for the week could have "Friday Fun."  It was a simple yet effective tool that allowed students to strive to hand in all papers, assignments, and projects each week for some unstructured play-time.  But that was with elementary kiddos.  If you teach elementary school, Friday Fun can turn out to be your best friend.

When I transitioned to teaching middle school, I researched different ways I could motivate my students with a reward that seemed age-appropriate.  Unbeknownst to me, Friday Fun is still cool in middle school.  Middle school students still enjoy a good ol' game of Duck-Duck-Goose or Heads Up 7 Up.  Who would have thought?  When I started, I thought that surely some lame game would embarrass them.  Boy was I wrong.  Although there isn't enough time in a week to designate some Friday Fun each week, I do give students an opportunity to have a whole/half class period of fun at the end of each unit.  Typically I'll try and connect what they've learned to that fun activity, but it's not always possible.  Last week I told my students that if they finished their in-class assignment and missing work before the end of class, they could play a class game (of their choice).  Magically, all but two students were finished with their in-class work AND missing work.  Although they all have iPads, they opted to play an intense game of Heads Up 7 Up.  Amazing.

3) Candy is still cool

I'm a sugar-holic.  That's no secret.  I've always got a small jar of Skittles or Gobstoppers or some small candy on my desk for times when I need a sugary pick-me-up.  My students always joke about it and look forward to seeing what I put in my jar once it's all gone.  With elementary students, candy seems to be some magical bribery that works like a charm EVERY. TIME.  "Show me your finished Venn Diagram and pick a chocolate from the basket".  "If you get an A on your spelling test you will get a Jolly Rancher."  "Anyone who finishes their homework before the bell can pick out a Skittle."  It's as if they've been deprived of candy their whole lives and their existence depends on getting that piece of candy.

Guess what?  Middle schoolers are closet sugar-holics, too.  Yes, it's true!  I've got a noisy group of kiddos in  my advisory and sometimes taking them to assemblies is a head ache.  Last week I told my kiddos if they promised to sit next to each other in the assembly and stay quiet, I would give them candy afterwards.  Magically, it worked and I had the most well-behaved class in the school.  It's like crack for kids.  Like I said, even middle-schoolers are still kids at heart.

These tricks won't work for everyone.  Some middle schoolers really might be TOO COOL for you, but in general, if you remember that your students are still just kids at heart (and most teachers, too), it will make your life, and theirs, a lot easier.  The more I loosen up and have fun, the more we get done as a class and the better their grades look.

"You can be child-like without being childish.  A child always wants to have fun.  Ask yourself, am I having fun?" CM

Emily :)

I appreciate YOU!

Hey you, teacher!  Guess what?  I appreciate you A LOT!

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week, as you know.  Even though I hope that teachers are appreciated more than once a week, I think it is great to designate a few days to do a little something extra to say, "I appreciate you!"

I also like to take the opportunity to go an extra mile out of the way to thank my co-workers.  My fellow teaching friends.  It's one thing for a parent, child, principal, community member, etc, to thank a teacher.  But, there are so many reasons why I'm thankful for my co-workers.  They teach me new things, mentor me, serve as counselors after a long week, help with anger management, show me new techniques, and typically end up being good friends outside of school, too.  

Schools don't work if teachers don't work as a team - a family.  Education is all about teaching others and being taught yourself.  A "life-long learner" they call it.  So whether we work together or not, teachers, I appreciate you for everything you do!

Emily :)

Blogging about a blog

Alright, it's been forever since I've posted anything on TeachersPayTeachers.com.  I'll admit I've been slacking.  To be honest, the items that I've sold on there are doing really well!  I may have gotten a little greedy.  But it's not about what you earn, it's about what you share with others!  There are so many files that I've gotten from TPT that I just love and have used several times in my classroom.  The site is such a fantastic community that I have to remember the reason why I am a part of it - to support and learn from my fellow teacher.

I've had the privilege of teaching in a range of districts.  Some who are very advanced technologically (one iPad per student) to a district that can barely accommodate a working computer lab for 30 students.  It's amazing how much you learn by having to teach in schools with such different ranges of access to technology.  Whether you have access to a computer lab or not, students still need exposure to technology.  This world that our students are growing up in is NOT what we grew up with.  In my generation, my school got a computer lab full of gigantic MAC computers that took giant floppy disks and could do barely more than word processing (and didn't have the ability to print, either).  By early middle school we had keyboarding classes and were using the smaller floppy disks.  This is a technology-dependent world and in order to be successful, students should know how to navigate a computer (and arguably, a cell phone).

Here is a tool I used with a group of fourth graders.  We didn't have access to computers and I didn't have a SmartBoard or tablet, either.  Just a whiteboard and the worksheets I created.  So, I decided to integrate technology without actually having it in our classroom.

Create-Your-Own Blog graphic organizer:

You can find this on my TeachersPayTeachers account right here.

I created a graphic organizer that resembled a blog.  Before I handed it out and allowed my students to let loose, we had a mini-lesson about blogs - what are they, how are they used, why they are important, etc.  It was a great discussion and a perfect introduction into the activity.  Surprisingly, some students knew a lot about the topic.  The handout has a front and back (and can be extended to several blog entries).  It has room for a blog title and three entries - each need a title, a written entry, and an illustration.  This can be used cross-categorical with a range of topics.  It can also be multimedia if you give students the option of choosing their own method of creating an illustration (newspapers, magazines, crayon, pencil, photographs, etc).  I had my students create their rough drafts before I gave them a final copy to make using a pen.  We went over what a good blog would look like (I had examples for them that I printed off in color so they could see, and you could easily bring up several blogs if you have access to a computer), and wrote a list of what students should put on their 'paper blog' as they called it.

Reminders included: use a lot of color, write neatly, create a clever title, provide useful information, and make sure your image relates to your topic.

I had a lot of fun using this graphic organizer and making 'paper blogs'.  The students thought it was pretty neat that they were making a blog in fourth grade and enjoyed hanging them up in the classroom for everyone to see.

Technology is great!  Even if you don't have a significant amount of it at your disposal, you can still prepare students for the "real world" using tools such as this.  I hope you find it as helpful as I did!

Emily :)

Memory Books

Throughout college and the multitude of classroom placements I had, I was given a lot of advice from veteran teachers or my cooperating teachers.  A lot of the advice given included something about how they had wished that they had done something when they first started teaching many years ago.

Now being a new teacher myself, I don't want to have those types of regrets (so-to-say) of little projects that I wish I had done.  Now is the time, so I better get going!

The first project I started months ago is keeping a journal of funny things that students say.  One of my favorite shows growing up was "Kids Say the Darndest Things" with Bill Cosby (and originally Art Linkletter).  You truly never know what will come out of a kid's mouth.  They are brutally honest and totally hilarious.  When I did my student teaching internship, I decided to start a notebook where I would write down the kiddo's name and what they said.  Sometimes I'd have to explain the context in which they  used it or the conversation it was with.  It's great to read through a few years from now and get a good chuckle or to look through when you're having a hard day.

The second project I just recently started is a class archive in the form of a memory book.  All you need are some pictures and a photo book. 

Here's what mine looks like:

I made a simple cover for the photo book I had laying around.  Cost me nothing and hardly took any time.  Then, I needed to go through and find the photos I had collected over time of my students.  I had my photos printed at my local drug store for less than $2.50.  Super inexpensive!

Here is what my pages generally look like:

I know the photograph looks funny, and that's because I with-held some personal information for privacy reasons.  You get it.  Each page has two 4x6 inserts and a middle section for captions.  The top has the name of the school (since I've moved a bit and I'm sure I will within the next 50 years), the grade level, any special information (special education class, multiage group, etc), and the school year - it looks funny in the photo since I blocked it out.  In the middle section, I put the names of the students as you would see it in a year book (in rows with their complete name).  That of course is blocked out in the photo as well.  Then on the bottom, I put our class photo.  Sometimes I put both a serious and a silly photo, depending on the students.

I've got a nice little collection and I cherish it already.  Getting advice from veteran teachers shouldn't be taken lightly!  I know in a few decades I will have a memory book chock full of great memories that I can really cherish.  If you haven't done this already, get started!  It is such an inexpensive and easy project, especially if you keep up with it each year!

:)  Emily

Student Portfolios

Students lose things.

That's a no-brainer.

Along with countless other social skills that we teach our students, taking responsibility for themselves is definitely at the top of the list.  When I first began with my middle-schoolers, they really struggled being responsible... in all aspects.  If they lost things, it was someone else's fault.  If a paper wasn't turned it, it was their sibling's fault.  If a project was half-finished, it was my fault.  

How could I manage to turn this around?  Well, here's what I started with.

Student Portfolios.

I bought this hanging-file organizer at Target for $19.95.  You could also used a cardboard box but it might take a beating.  This tub has proven to be indestructible as it has been dropped MANY times.  Then, I bought extended file hangers and gave each class their own file.  In addition, each student got their own manila folder with their name and class period on it. I also have a hanging folder of ALL extra sheets from what we've done if a student needs a new one.

At the beginning of each class, they get out their portfolio along with doing their morning warm-up.  It's just a part of our everyday routine.  Everything they have done for the current unit (notes, worksheets, activities, projects, tests, etc) is in their folder.  I keep a running list on the blackboard of what SHOULD be in their folder.  Here is the flaw in my system.  Unless you actually take the work and physically put it in their portfolios yourself, you can't be ENTIRELY sure they really put it in there.  You can direct students to be more responsible, but at the end of the day, they will choose whether or not they will buy into your system and along with that, be responsible.

Every once and a while I'll find some important things in the recycling bin.  Naturally, I'll take it out and find a sassy way to ask students how their paper magically flew into the recycling bin.  I usually get a pretty creative response, which I follow up with a lovely lecture about being responsible.

Another way I use this is that when a student is absent, I put the work they missed in their folder so when they come in the next day, they know what they need to do to catch up on what they have missed.  Sometimes I'll add a note in addition that might say "see me" or "get these notes from a friend".  

This system has worked wonders and students are learning to check for absent work on their own, make sure they have what they need by cross-checking with my list, and they don't need to be told to put something in their folders or take them out/return them to the portfolio tub.

A little closer to self-responsibility and a little closer to my own freakishly-organized sanity.

:) Emily