Here are pictures of my 5th grade classroom for the 2010-2011 school year.
**UPDATED PICS 10/19/10 AT THE BOTTOM!**
*Let me point out that you see a lot of bare walls because I am all about hanging up work that I do WITH children, even if that means making the same charts year after year. I want the children to have ownership over the room and therefore 90% of the wall space is dedicated to their learning.
View from the Classroom Door (there are so many chairs because I planned for 30 children)
This is to the immediate right from the door with the sink area. On the cabinets are our Thinking Map posters. We've been using them in our district for about 4 years. On the counter is the pencil area and some extra books that were in the room.
Shelving area. The black binders are district issued for writing (the top shelf has research stuff and the 2nd shelf has daily writing stuff). Storage along the top (some of those boxes are actually empty!), dictionaries on the second shelf from the top along with even more books left in the room, then the students' book boxes, some of my stuff and the shoeboxes of school supplies for each table.
Small group/Conferencing Area and Word Wall (which isn't up yet! I ran out of fun tak!)
Finished Word Wall with Cards
Calendar/Job Chart -- aren't the little popcorn shapes adorable?!
White board/Tech Stand -- the tech stand houses a VCR/DVD player and the central computer to run the ELMO and projector.
Teacher desk area (and yes, that is a can of Diet Coke on my desk!!). I put it against the wall because I know I'll rarely ever sit there except before/after school. Plus I wanted to have something on this side of the room that was by the phone.
Window ledge with books that are being showcased to start the year (that's what the books on the cart are for also -- I am going to make a sign that says "Mrs. ______'s Favorites". You can also see my sub tub there. It has to be there because we're required to all have them on the ledge.
View of the classroom from the back corner by the tech cabinet.
Whole group/Small Group Teaching Area -- you can't really see but there is quite a bit of floor space for the children to sit on while we're working over here. This was the perfect corner because all of the children will be facing away from the door.
Another view of the Meeting Area -- I added "Accountable Talk" and the bubbles that go with it. It's part of an initiative implemented in our district to help the children learn to be more accountable with their learning.
Classroom Library -- This isn't ideal because it's only one big cart...BUT I'm not going to complain too much since there are about 550 books on it! Above it I've put our genre posters. On the cart are the classroom behavior expectations -- we use these posters school wide.
Close-up of the library (it is double sided). Each basket is labeled so it makes it easier for children to find/return books.
Student Computer Area -- I plan to use a lot of the white space above it to put our anchor charts we create during reading/writing workshops
Back Bulletin Board/Mailboxes -- On the bulletin board will be placed examples of good student work and the red file crate will say "Fan Mail". The baskets next to it will be in/out boxes. Underneath the table are indoor recess games and recycling baskets.
I changed my mind about the bulletin board since I have an entire wall of space in the hall to hang student work on. We will be making a class puzzle together the first day and I will hang it up on the board here and on the right side will be our "Star Student" posters for the student of the week.
Better view of the room (taken from the sink area) without the chairs up. I'm surprised at how open I was still able to make it look/feel even with all these tables and chairs. Of course, once all of the kiddos show up, it won't feel so open!
UPDATED ROOM TOUR 10/19/2010
View of our door. It was late afternoon so its a bit hard to read but this is a writing we did on voice. The caption says "What would your *pencil*pen*eraser*notebook* say if it could talk? It turned out really awesome.
Still outside our room: the pocket chart provides info on where we are (recess, art, music/etc) and the white page is a daily schedule we're required to have posted.
View from the door (it was after school so that's why the chairs are up)
Sink area and Thinking Maps (this hasn't changed much) -- our "Personal Training" folders for MAP are housed here now along with our turn in box.
Math groups posters
Book Boxes, Supply Tubs and teacher area
Conferring Area (the conference schedule is in the red pocket chart) and our word wall. I had to move it up so it could be seen over the easel/chart (and yes, I realize it is crooked...SO wasn't moving it again!)
Meeting Area -- had to be moved up front to accomodate my huge class! I don't mind it as much as I thought I would.
Focus wall area -- the blank blue chart is for our reading vocab (blank right now because it's a testing week). The pocket chart with all the little cards identify our differentiated math groups. The signs above remind the kiddos how to ask for certain things (restroom, drink) when I am teaching. They do really well with it. "How am I doin'" is our school-wide behavior system.
My tech stand/teaching area. I never realized how cluttered this area looks until I saw the picture! Oh well, it works for me. The colored chart on the board lists our daily objectives and the pocket chart to the left of it shows our daily schedule. (And you can see my cascading file tote in the bottom left....I ♥ that thing!)
Teaching/Desk Area. This and the teeny conference area shown before are the only "off limits" spots in my class for kiddos. I turned my desk toward the back wall because I so rarely sit there that it doesn't bother me to face the wall. You can see my crate full of stuff to bring home!
Area above my desk for Anchor Charts and other charts we've made as a class. These all happen to be literacy related.
Library area -- you can see the frog curtain that blocks the bump out (a mini conference/storage area) from view. Once I saw the frog one, I had to have it! You can also see my behavior ladder on the far right. I use it in conjunction with the one on my white board.
The student computers area. The world map is our "Read Around the World" map and below that is the chart for the kiddos to track their progress. I totally stole this idea from Middle Child's teachers. To the left of that, the colored cards, are our Nifty Thrifty Fifty words. The red long pocket chart holds work for my 4 kiddos who come to me for math from another classroom and learning center folders.
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