classroom organization

Journey Classroom Theme Ideas

Last year I moved into a new classroom, and it was worth the wait. I had been hoping I’d eventually have the opportunity to move into this room because it was so much bigger. It has tons of cabinets and even an office! Once I found out I’d be moving, I knew I wanted to do a new theme – and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Over the past few years, I’ve been collecting journey-themed items because that idea just really inspires me. Hopefully this post of my classroom makeover journey – see what I did there 😉 – will inspire you, too. I’m also doing this post a little different from my normal 5-point posts. I’m just going to give you tons of pictures because when I’m looking at classrooms that what I always want more of! Enjoy!

THE OFFICE BEFORE

I had to do a lot of cleaning out and cleaning up before I could even move into the room. The office space – below – was so full when I got there that I could barely open the door enough to get in. After tons of work and some help from my very talented hubby, I have an amazing, private office space. Those shelves — he made those!

THE OFFICE AFTER

My favorite part of the office is the beautiful collage wall. I found the items at yard sales, antique stores, and clearance racks all summer long. I just picked things that I loved, and we figured out a good layout for the items. On the wall across from the windows above the filing cabinets, I hung two vintage maps that I rescued from the closet in this room. On my desk I have my re-purposed lamp. (See the tutorial on how to do that here.) I also grabbed these galvanized picnic bins for holding desk items. I even went all out and made a matching planner. You can get that here.

^^Only pic I had a of my wall maps!

^^The burlap curtains came from Amazon, and I moved them over from my other room. You could easily grab some burlap from a hobby store and whip up your own to save money if you sew.

THE CLASSROOM BEFORE

The classroom also needed a lot of cleaning up and cleaning out, but look at all the space and storage!

THE CLASSROOM AFTER: WALLS

One of the first things I tackled was hanging up my signs and posters.

^^ I found those cute and authentic street signs above the cabinets at a local antique store.

^^ Next, I wanted to display places where I’ve traveled because they bring back good memories for me, and it turned out to be a good conversation starter with my students. In the center is a handmade plaque I got from a local artisan that reminds my students and me that no matter where we go, home is always at the center.

^^ This classroom even has sinks! I wanted to infuse as much text as possible into the room, so I made these journey-themed posters with poetry for above each sink. Get those posters here FREE. I had them printed at Walgreens.

^^ I used remnant linen fabric to line the bulletin board and the two borders came from here and here.

^^ Hall pass signs, classroom rules, bulletin boards, and even the mirror by the door are all decked out with the journey-themed touches. Get all those posters here FREE. Again, printed at Walgreens.

^^ These weekly road map signs for daily tasks are a must for my classroom, and they are easy to make. Here’s how I did it. I bought these weekly calendar posters and put them in these frames. Now, if you had access to large paper to make a poster or even just a poster board and nice handwriting :), you could get away a lot cheaper! I made one for each subject I teach. I put the calendars in frames, and I use a dry eraser marker to write on my daily topics. I do this on Monday so students (me too) can see the plan! Get the weekly road map sign here free.

THE CLASSROOM AFTER: STUDENT DESKS

I’d never done grouped seating arrangements before, but I really loved the idea of giving it a try. I have to say that it was successful, and I will be doing it again this year. I didn’t want anybody’s back to the board, so I came up with this formation. It also gives plenty of room for my big kids to have their own space (I have juniors and seniors).

I searched and searched for ideas for towers that would fit my theme, work for the space, and look right for bigger kids. The tins and towers weren’t cheap, but I had done some fundraising to get enough money to cover it. Plus, the towers came from Target and they were on sale and I used a coupon! I got the tins here from Amazon. I put highlighters, colored pencils, and red pens in the tins on the first shelf. I fixed wipes, tissues, and GermX in baskets on the 2nd shelf, and we used the bottom shelf for our textbooks. The towers were really handy for the students.

I printed the signs at Walgreens, glued them to construction paper, put them in a sheet protector, and used paper clips to fix them to the towers. Get the group signs here free.

OTHER DETAILS

^^ This take-one basket is a strategy that I’ve done for years. I put it on a cart next to my door and put daily handouts in it for kids to pick up on their on their way in. Here’s a quick video I did to explain more.

^^I teach English, so reading is a BIG deal in my classroom. I wanted to create a little spot to highlight the novels we would read as a class in the year. I didn’t put the names of the novels because I wanted it to be a bit of a mystery and conversation starter, so I just used symbols and objects that tell the story. The little suitcases are from a fun brand of clothing I love that my friend sells and she gifted them to me (Matilda Jane). I cut pieces of cardboard and glued map-themed scrapbook paper to it that I salvaged from my sister’s collection to make the story boards. I used scrapbook stickers, and luckily they were either on sale or clearance. The two novels pictured are Columbine and Their Eyes Were Watching God. In addition to the stickers on the story boards, I put other 3D objects like the pears, passport, game controller, etc. The little area did draw attention, and after we read the novels, the symbols started to make sense!

^^ It’s a little hard to see, but on this counter I placed my grade-me basket, calendar, stapler, etc. and my graduation card board. That’s really the thing I love most over there. Over the years, I’ve collected the graduation invites and cards seniors have given me, but they were shoved in the drawer. Now, though, they are the perfect symbol for the end of this journey – the goal – for students before they take the next path in life. I love to display their accomplishment, and it gives younger students a reminder of what they are working for. I just bought one of those fabric photo boards from Hobby Lobby and done. It was getting a little crowded, so at the end of the year this year one of my students surprised me with another one as a gift!

^^ This is my work space. It’s a little counter in the corner. Read here about how I set up my teaching station.

^^ I fixed these little gift bags and tags to do assigned seats on the first day! Get the tags here FREE!

I hope you enjoyed this tour of my classroom, and I hope you found some ideas that will inspire you on your journey this year!

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Tips for Surviving the End of the Year in a Secondary Classroom

It’s that time of year when things are starting to wind down. It’s after state testing, and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I teach juniors and seniors and that senioritis starts to creep in about March for the seniors who know their days in public education are just about over. Well, what if those feelings of apathy, tiredness, discontent, and general aggravation aren’t just coming from the students? What if you – the teacher –are starting to feel the summer slide, too? You know the symptoms all too well from seeing it in your students, so if you have that same diagnosis this time of year, here are a few ways to beat that senioritis bug and end the year strong. If you have any tips and suggestions that work, leave them in the comments below!

1) Clean. I don’t know about your classroom, but mine gets so dirty throughout the year with kids coming and going. I’m not talking about piles of papers here or general disorganization; I mean dirt and dust bunnies galore. My board is so smeared, and the desks are pretty much black. A couple times a month, I’ll take the time to wipe down the desks with a Clorox wipe, but at the end of the year, it’s a much better idea to go ahead and break out the 409 and paper towels and give them all a good scrub – mine included. I’ll even borrow a mop and scrub around the baseboards. I always feel much more refreshed after I’ve given my room a good wipe down.

2) Organize. Piles of papers. Folders stacked here and there. Graded work heaping up. Books waiting to be checked back in. This pretty much describes the scene in my classroom by May. A messy room and/or desk does nothing for my motivation to be at school, and it even makes me want to just throw it all away, which wouldn’t be a good idea since I would have to start all over again in the fall. I have a decent system for organizing and filing, but it just seems to get away from me this time of year while I’m working on closing out yearbook, finalizing grades, and planning graduation. Having a system in place is key, though, because when I do have a second to clean up, it usually doesn’t take too long. I think the major road block to getting organized and maintaining that organization is an over-complicated process. An over-the-top organizational approach eventually gets overwhelming, and in the fast-paced life of a classroom teacher, things need to be simple. When I think of classroom organization, my main concern is not cute caddies and containers for my pencils, tape, etc. (I do have a classroom design/style/theme that I love, though. You can see that post here). Rather, I think of my day-to-day routine, and what it takes for me to plan, teach, grade, and manage my classroom without chaos. I’ve tried many different methods for organizing, and after a while, I think I’ve got it down to what works for me. Even though I teach multiple grades – three out of three preps every semester – I still use the same system for everything. Here’s how I take my desk from chaos to clean in five easy tips that have truly simplified my life over the years.

Have a place for students to turn in work. I’ve seen (and tried) different folders for each class or each student even. I’ve seen accordion files or hanging files for students to turn their work in. I’ve tried having a different place for late or make up work. I can never keep up all of that sorting, and eventually, I just give up. What I’ve come to find is that the more places you store the “Grade Me” work, the more opportunity for it to get misplaced. And that method takes up a lot of real estate in the classroom, too. I’ve been using one basket as a place for students to turn in work for about three years now, and it has been the ONLY thing to stick – and work. Whether it’s make up work, late work, or daily work, it goes in the “Grade Me” basket. Whether it’s first period, second period, or fourth period, it goes in that one basket. Now, if I’m collecting work from one period, once everyone has turned in his/her paper, I’ll go ahead and paperclip all those together. If I have the answer key handy, I’ll even attach that to the pile as well. Then when I’m ready to grade, it’s all right there in that one place. Yes, make up work or work from other classes gets mixed in from time to time, but that’s ok with me. I know and kids know if their work makes it to the basket, I will eventually see it and grade it. It’s also simple for the kids, and we all know why that’s important. If they can’t figure it out, you can forget it.

Have a place to store graded work until you can get it handed back. You probably already have a space like this in your classroom, but again for me, it must be simple and not take up much space. I just use a magazine bucket, but a hanging file folder box would work well, too. All my classes do have a separate folder in that box, and when it gets full, I know it’s time to hand work back. Just be aware that students needing to do make up work, might go pilfering through that box for answers on work you’ve already scored.

Have a place for teaching materials that you are using on a weekly and daily basis. Again, this is something that I’ve struggled with for years and years, and I just now have a system that works. It also works for having materials handy for makeup work. It goes like this: one box, one hanging folder per class. The end. I think you might be noticing a trend. I like to keep everything in one place. This crate sits on the corner of my desk, and when I make my morning or afternoon copies, I drop them in the correct folders when I walk into the room. If I have multiple lessons going for one class – which I usually do in an honors class – there are smaller folders inside the hanging folders. And, I usually have a folder for the master copies (which came out of my binders and are in sheet protectors) and then another folder for the student copies. I actually have one crate for each prep, and the past few years, I have had three preps, so that’s three crates.

Have a place for master copies of teaching materials. I mentioned master copies in sheet protectors above. By master copies of my teaching materials, I mean one blank copy of any worksheets, etc. the unit plan overview, daily lesson plans, and the answer keys. These go in a sheet protector in a 3-ring binder by class: junior honors, senior dual enrollment, yearbook, etc. Any extra copies or ideas I find during the unit that I might use later go in a manila folder to be filed. As a side note, these sheet protector packs can get pretty hefty, so I use extra capacity sheet protectors that I get from Amazon. Those binders sit on the shelf behind my desk. When I’m ready to start a new unit, I pull out the sheet protector pack and move it to the daily materials box.

Have a place for teaching materials that need to be filed. Since I do have three preps out of three preps each year, this is probably the pile that gets the largest more quickly than any other pile. My “FILE Me’ box is big enough to fit file folders and several stacks of papers. Then, when I’ve finished a lesson and have extra copies or student work samples to file later – during my down time 🙂 – it’s all in one place ready to go in its long-term home in the filing cabinet. If I can, I’ll go ahead and pop it in the filing cabinet as soon as I can. But if it has to sit for a minute, at least it’s already in a folder.

3) Try something new and/or student centered. Now that you’ve completed those lessons that are tried and true to get your students ready for state testing, etc. try something you’ve been curious about all year. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, which leads to boredom, behavior problems, and bad moods. I’ve wanted to try Kahoot – since last May – but I couldn’t fit it in during the year. Plus, I was just really uncertain of how smoothly it would go. Last week, I was not in the mood to do anything – specifically review for EOCs, so I decided it was time to shake things up. We still needed to review grammar before the state testing, so I decided to load some of my real world grammar fails images into Kahoot and just give it a try. Because I already had those made up, it was just a matter of loading those pics and adding the choices. It took me less than 30 minutes to prep it, and it was very easy to use in class. I put my students in groups and let them use one device per group to select their answers. The program basically walks you through the steps. You can also search public Kahoots for free and play with no prep at all! The kids loved it! I was in a much better mood after doing a little something different from the status quo!

More ideas for trying something new:

Another thing that gets me down this time of year being busy from bell-to-bell. At this point in the year, usually, there isn’t any new material to cover, but having nothing for kids to do – or giving them busy work day after day gets old. They eventually catch on and that leads to more problems. A student-centered short research project where students pick their own topic, manage their own product, and then present to the class is just what the doctor ordered. Check out my free Antiques Show and Tell Research Project.

Antiques Show & Tell Common Core MLA Research Project -Fea

4) Have a party. Kids beg for a party this time of year. I’m not against parties, but I do want them to be on purpose. I’ve shared about my Great Gatsby party before. Click here to see more on that idea. Last week, my seniors finished Fahrenheit 451, and we had a final party where all the food was red, orange, or yellow. These are the times memories are made, and, of course, some sweet treats are surely the perfect antidote for senioritis. Look at how creative my students were in preparing their “hot” dishes!

5) Plan ahead. What feels better than planning ahead and taking some of the pressure off those first few days of school in the fall? Where I teach, we don’t normally know our schedule or students until a couple of weeks before school starts, but I still always try to take time to reflect on what I did this year. If I have time, I’ll even ask the students to reflect and evaluate the class, so I have authentic feedback as I’m looking at next year. Take a look at ALL my planners – printable and Google-drive planners here!