Classroom Arrangement:
http://lifeinfirstgrade1.blogspot.com/
Life in first grade is a blog by Leslie Ann. She is a first grade Reading and Language Arts teacher. In her blog she posts about what she is doing in her classroom, how she decorates the classroom, and helpful tips for teaching reading and language arts. One post I saw was the process of her decorating her classroom. The classroom is painted yellow and has decorations and bulletin boards that are bright and fun. I love the bright colors because it looks so different from other classrooms. Different areas of the room are set up for stations and there is room for the students work to be displayed inside and outside the room. The way the classroom is set up grabs your attention and makes the classroom more interesting. Tables are set up in the middle of the classroom in two groups so that students can see everything. This set up is great because learning is incorporated throughout the classroom and the environment is engaging and not boring for students. Having an environment that is bright and happy is important to creating a community in the classroom and providing a warm environment for students to learn.
http://thebubblyblondeteacher.blogspot.com/
The Bubbly Blonde Teacher blog is by Alisha, a second grade teacher. She has taught for five years in third and second grade. She started her blog to share her ideas with other teachers. One post was about the how she schedules her small reading groups. Each day the group focuses on specific points and reviews the information from the previous day. Fifteen to twenty five minutes is set aside for the reading small groups each day. Keeping the same structure and time for a specific small group is important in keeping consistency in the classroom. Students know what is going to happen each day when they go to class. Consistency with schedules makes students feel secure and build trust in the teacher.
Activities:
http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/
The First Grade Parade blog is written by Cara Carroll from Texas. She has taught teaching for thirteen years and has taught kindergarten through second grade. She posted an activity she did with her students that went along with the book "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?". Each student had a bucket on the wall and they filled each others buckets with compliments and kind words. This activity was used in her classroom to teach how to be kind to everyone. This activity promotes a sense of community and increase positive relationships in the classroom. By having the students give each other kind words throughout the week, they can see how they are important to the class. This promotes the students social and emotional development in the classroom.
Organization:
http://bainbridgeclass.blogspot.com/
The Teach, Laugh, Learn every day blog is by a teacher that posts about her life as a teacher and what she does in the classroom. She provides ideas and tips for other teachers to use. In one post she gives some good ideas on how to organize centers. Objects are put into bags so that students can grab their own supplies easier and faster.She placed colorful labels on plastic bins, and added in specific places for cleaning supplies and classroom tools. This organization technique is great way to make clean up time easier and faster. Students know where everything needs to go, making transitions between activities smoother. Labels also create consistency, because now students know where to get an item they might need without searching for it.
All of these ideas I found, I want to incorporate into my classroom when I become a teacher!
