Can't ever be too organized...!

By now you have probably noticed that I like to be organized.  Okay, let's be honest, I'm obsessive about my organization.  If I lived closer to the Container Store, I'd probably be broke.  Good thing it's over an hour away!

Being an organizational freak-of-nature, my daily classroom operations are a bit easier.  I've noticed that teachers tend to be good organizers and planners, so it seemed to be an even better match to go into this career field.

Another tool that I've discovered is the fantastic uses of three-drawer organizers.  You can find them at any Wal-Mart, Target, Shop-Ko, etc.  They fit any 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, which happens to be very handy for a teacher.

I've already showed you one way I used them, to create a daily organizational tool box for papers (to be graded, filed, copied, etc).  You can see that post if you click here.  

I already have a paper tray holder for each of my classes so they are separated and don't get confused.  But when you're preparing ahead of time for the week, it's hard to keep each day separate.  Instead of having a giant stack of freshly copied worksheets, activities, quizzes, etc, I like to keep them together for the proper day I'll be using them.  Here's what I made to help with this organization: 

All I needed to buy was two organizers (about $7 each).  I labeled each drawer and freshened it up with some cute school-themed scrapbook paper.

Some people might think it's overly organized, but I try to get as much done in the little free time that I have.  My hope is to get ahead and have the next week generally planned before I leave for the weekend.  These drawers help me keep things separated and remember anything special I need for a certain day of the week, whether it be a permission slip, letter to send home, papers to hand back, etc.  

Find what works for you and run with it!  

:)  Emily

Spiced-Up Venn Diagram

One of the things I look forward to as a young teacher is finding ways to put a new spin on old techniques.  Spice things up a bit.

Instead of handing notes or worksheets out everyday like a robot, I like to create different types of notes. Last week I had the kiddos make a brochure about South America which served as their notes.  They also made a flip-book about the four layers of the rain forest.  Still notes, but disguised as interactive activities.  My students seemed to really enjoy it, and didn't see it as notes.

Last year I tried a fun interactive activity with my fourth graders.  I was teaching a unit on fairy tales (and realism vs. fantasy) and we read the book, Cendrillon, which is the Creole version of Cinderella.  The story of Cinderella is so well-known that it was SCREAMING for a compare & contrast activity.

Venn diagrams are wonderful.  They fit a multitude of Common Core standards and can be used in any subject.  Of course I would have my kiddos create and complete a Venn diagram.  But how could I make it more exciting?  

Here was my solution:

You might have seen this idea floating around cyberspace.  But did you actually give it a shot?  It is a very inexpensive, fun way to engage students in a critical thinking activity.  I bought a pack of paper plates for about $2 and got well over 50 plates (which is what I needed for a class of 25 kiddos).  How cheap?!

I decided to make it a little easier on my students and stapled the plates together the night before.  It only took two staples per diagram.  It would save you time, as the teacher, to have them do it themselves.  I know would be easy enough to do with fourth graders, but I wanted to prevent any time delays.  The older they are, the easier it would be as well.

Next, I created the template above to show my students what they needed to do.  They had to get two colors and trace a circle for each side.  Then I had them label one side "Cendrillon" and the other "Cinderella".  Of course there was also a label for the center, too.

My fourth graders really got into the activity.  They used different colors to represent different ideas or the separate stories.  Here are a few fun examples:

It's amazing how much fun a typical activity, such as comparing and contrasting, can be when you put a little creativity into it.  Students love it, and sometimes don't even realize they are doing school work.  You can spice it up even more by giving a prize or reward for the student who comes up with the most ideas.

Whatever you do, make it more interesting!  The hum-drum of class can get boring for students.  Put yourself in their shoes and try to come up with activities or lessons that YOU would enjoy learning yourself.

Emily   :)

Resolution to the Great Debate...

So, as I promised you... The solution (or at least progress update) to my great seating arrangement debate.

First, I should make my frustrations clear.  I don't have a problem arranging seating CHARTS.  As I told you, I'd like to think of myself as a fairly advanced seating chart-maker.  I could probably earn an award for it.  But, in my new classroom, I'm struggling with the seating ARRANGEMENT.  [Meaning, how my desks are arranged.]  Did I mention that my room has those annoying desk-table combination where the chairs are already attached to the desks?  Yuck.  It makes it much more difficult to arrange desks, considering students can only get into their desks comfortably from one side.

I digress.

So last week I told you I was going to try a new arrangement.  In my small, narrow room, my options were limited.  To complicate matters, I've got over 25 urban-area seventh graders in most class periods.  First things first, grouping the desks was not an option.  I asked six... yes, SIX, veteran teachers who have taught inner-city seventh grade for at least ten years each.  They all gave me one piece of advice... STEER CLEAR of GROUPS!!!  

Advice received.  So what to do?  Well, here's what I did:  

I moved the desks from individual rows [see previous post] and put them into rows of pairs.  Does that make sense?  I carefully chose two students to sit next to one another (I typically paired a male and female, one high performing and one low performing, or I put ELL students near one another).  I also made sure there is at LEAST three feet between the rows of desks.  If I could I would have put a twenty foot wall or a moat with alligators, but that probably isn't school appropriate.  

Here's another look at it.  You can see how much space is between the desks:

Beautiful!  Look at all that nice space!  And please, ignore the hot mess at the back of the room.  I have neglected to tackle that space at this point because my time is dedicated more to shaping the curriculum. Besides, the kiddos face the front (away from the mess) anyways!

Anyways, an update on my seating arrangement change.  So far, it has been fantastic!  It's worked beautifully with all of my classes with the exception of one.  Putting more space between students and pairing them with another has been great.  I made sure to put loud and talkative students next to other students who will keep them at bay and quiet.  In addition, I put students who need help and more direction with students who are good leaders and high performers.  It is a wonderful system!  It's so simple for me to have students complete a task with their "elbow partners" since they are already sitting next to someone.  Before, students had to move their desks or get up and walk somewhere else. This is all ready to go!

My next project I want to tackle (yes, before the hot mess I call the back of my classroom), is finding a solution to one of my talkative classes.  This new seating arrangement has proven to be the missing piece to the puzzle for my other classes.  However, there is one "sore thumb" and I'm struggling with my noisy class.  There are so many students who have outbursts or dramatic personalities that I'm struggling to find corners for them all.  If you're up for sharing, I'm up for suggestions.  

For now, I'm crossing another "to-do" off my list - a seating arrangement solution!  Hopefully my trial may help you solve your own seating arrangement debacle.  

:)  Emily

The Great Seat Debate

Seating arrangements.  Hmph.

I've always considered myself to be quite the seating chart queen.  I'm very observant, and understand how a kid's mind works when it comes to sitting my classmates.  Elementary kiddos were pretty easy to work with.  Organize students according to gender, academic ability, and how social they are (aka, talkers/non-talkers).  Desk groups worked out really well and encouraged students to work with one another and lean on each other for support.

Middle school?  Not so much.  This is a new territory for me, when it comes to seating arrangements.  What on EARTH do you do with middle schoolers?  I can manipulate the seating chart enough so that I separate the talkers, the students who are "going out", and the students who like to cause trouble or drama.  But the arrangement of the actual desks is a whole other ball game.

But what do you do with the actual desks?  I'm currently tackling this problem and want to share my journey with you.  This is how my classroom looked when I first began:

If I've learned anything about arranging desks in middle school, it's that with my mixture of kiddos, grouping desks will definitely not work.  They like to talk, and most of them get along and know one another very well.  It appears that putting desks into groups of 4-5 desks only increases their desire and ability to talk during class-time.

So why not rows, then?  Well, having desks arranged into rows like it was when I started allowed students to talk to pretty much anyone.  Students were in an arms reach of at least eight students nearby.  It was not working.  

To solve my problem, I went on a research expedition.  I sought out advice from several veteran teachers, asked to see their desk arrangements, and inquired about how well they work.  Only ONE of the five teachers I talked to used desk groups.  I guess that's definitely not how I'll arrange them.

Another problem is the TYPE of desks I have in my room - the type where the chairs are connected to the desks.  That eliminates several types of arrangement possibilities for the sole reason that students can't get in to their desks.  So much to consider!

Well, I think I may have a solution.  Of course, I'm going to make you wait a week to find out if and how it's working.  But I think the key to my success will be the combination of my seating chart secrets (which have allowed me to have some success thus far into my middle-school experience) and putting more SPACE in between students that my classroom had before.

What are YOUR seating arrangement secrets?

:)  Emily