Almost finished....

I have been slaving away in my hot classroom for days.....

I am almost finished. Still waiting on things to get laminated but I did get started on my pensieve (that will be a whole 'nother post) and got my library mostly finished (as done as it's gonna get).

small library section with all chapter books...mostly series like JBJ or Horrible Harry

main library area-all books are labeled w/DRA, AR reading level and AR points and categorized in genres. I am pretty proud of myself.

Each genre is marked with a colored star and all books in that category have the same colored star on the corner so they know the genre and where to return the book.

My small group area...it is still messy. :(

My library nook with book checkout, cozy pillows and my rocking chair for shared reading.

My desk/meh area. I am not sure what to do about my teacher computer (students will be using it but I will be using it for my Mimeo/gradebook, etc). It is a mess of tangled wires (same with my student computers) and I can't be on it b/c my back will be to the students. I need to think of an alternate solution.

So there you have it! About 2 1/2 weeks worth of hard work. Any suggestion/comments out there in bloggy land to help me out? I feel like it is a HUGE improvement if you looked at some of my before pic. Let me know whats up. Also is there a before/after classroom linky party? If there isn't one yet (if there is please direct me there) maybe I should start one!

Classroom Management

Everyone has been talking about how they manage their classroom behaviors and I want to share a little about what I have done and what I plan to do.

Last year I used my "Sad Pad" for all documentation. I took a few seconds every time there was a problem and just jotted a quick note about what was happening, sometimes it was one a word or two, like talking, out of seat, etc. as well as the students name. Then I would add up every rule broken at the end of the six weeks and that would be their conduct grade. I think I really one had about 2 kids who every went below a 90 in conduct.

About the middle of the year, I felt they weren't seeing what was happening so I made a conduct clip chart like several people have posted about. Everyone had a clip with their name and could see where they were for the day. I did have more outbursts simply because the student had to move their own clip and many tears were shed. :)

This year I plan on doing a behavior log where the student is responsible for writing the offense and signing their name. I am moving to a much stricter campus this year and feel that this would work with older children. I have attached my document and plan to put these in a binder, I will still count each offense as 1 lost conduct point but feel that maybe it will have more impact if the student has to write it out themselves. I know this won't work for all of my students (I am getting "the teacher abuser".) but for many of my lesser behavior problems, I hope this will do the trick.

Giveaway!!! This one is a biggie!

Really Good Stuff and Oriental Trading is having a We Love Teachers $500 weekly Giveaway!!


Head over here to enter yourself!

$500!!!!!

The Book Whisperer & a Freebie!

I know that a lot of us in bloggy land have read The Book Whisperer this summer. I know that I did and it really changed the way I though about teaching reading. I am adding a 40 Book Challenge choice sheet that I made for my 3rd graders for this year. I am going to allow some picture books to meet this challenge BUT I am going to greatly encourage chapter books. I am also going to let students check out my books which is new for me. Enjoy the freebie!


                                 


You can also access it here!

Giveaways

Kleinspiration is giving away a $25 giftcard to Target! Everyone needs that! Head on over there.

Students Blogging

My students are going to be blogging this year so I put together this Prezi for us to watch and discuss on our first day of school. We are going to jump right in to blog land! In combination with work on writing (D5), my students will add blogging to their publishing part of the writing workshop. I am hoping for awesome results. Please look us up once school starts.
Mrs. Dumond's AM Class
Mrs. Dumond's PM Class

Pets in the Classroom Grant

Have you heard about the Pets in the Classroom grant? Well basically, if you teach K-6 and apply, you are given 2 coupons. One is for a habitat for your chosen animal and the other is for 50% of the classroom pet. It is a pretty sweet grant so I hope I qualify. Here is the info for everyone else.

Matt Damon's speech to teachers, Oddly great

 Interesting and empowering speech from Matt Damon (yeah, I know) directed towards teachers. Enjoy!

 (Tracy A Woodward - THE WASHINGTON POST)

Matt Damon’s clear-headed speech to teachers rally          
By Valerie Strauss

Here is the speech that actor Matt Damon gave today to thousands of teachers, parents and others who attended the Save Our Schools march on the Ellipse near the White House to protest the Obama administration’s education policies that are centered on standardized tests.

Damon was the last of many speakers, including Diane Ravitch, Linda Darling-Hammond, Deb Meier and Jonathan Kozol. I’ve published posts of theirs before, so here is something different: Damon’s common-sense, straight-to-the-point speech.

" I flew overnight from Vancouver to be with you today. I landed in New York a few hours ago and caught a flight down here because I needed to tell you all in person that I think you’re awesome.

I was raised by a teacher. My mother is a professor of early childhood education. And from the time I went to kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I went to public schools. I wouldn’t trade that education and experience for anything.

I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself — my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity — all come from how I was parented and taught.

And none of these qualities that I’ve just mentioned — none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success — none of these qualities that make me who I am ... can be tested.

I said before that I had incredible teachers. And that’s true. But it’s more than that. My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time wasn’t taken up with a bunch of test prep — this silly drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn’t promote real learning. No, my teachers were free to approach me and every other kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how to best make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. They were allowed to be teachers.

Now don’t get me wrong. I did have a brush with standardized tests at one point. I remember because my mom went to the principal’s office and said, ‘My kid ain’t taking that. It’s stupid, it won’t tell you anything and it’ll just make him nervous.’ That was in the ’70s when you could talk like that.

I shudder to think that these tests are being used today to control where funding goes.

I don’t know where I would be today if my teachers’ job security was based on how I performed on some standardized test. If their very survival as teachers was based on whether I actually fell in love with the process of learning but rather if I could fill in the right bubble on a test. If they had to spend most of their time desperately drilling us and less time encouraging creativity and original ideas; less time knowing who we were, seeing our strengths and helping us realize our talents.

I honestly don’t know where I’d be today if that was the type of education I had. I sure as hell wouldn’t be here. I do know that.

This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can’t imagine how demoralized you must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you: As I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I’m not alone. There are millions of people just like me.

So the next time you’re feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called “overpaid;” the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that’s been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything. ... Please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you, and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you and we will always have your back."

Original Source

Classroom Updates

My book check out system. I am going to try and be a little looser about letting students take home books and let the parents know at the beginning of the year that the students are accountable for what they lose/damage.

Nicely labeled supply bins so students can have whatever they need available.

I am going to try and get two more computers to go where the yellow bins are now so that my students have more availability to blog this year.

The clock promptly fell off the board right after this picture. :)

Bulldog time is interventions, whole group is Journeys, Literacy centers is Daily 5 and Test Prep will be when I work with testing strategies and we do practice questions in my room using i<clickers.

I have two library area since I don't want overcrowding. I moved some chapter book series (Junie B., Horrible Harry, etc) to baskets in the long red shelves.

Thanks for checking me out. I am almost done! One day I should be able to get some laminating done and get the last of it up. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Haha....it is my birthday and where do I spend it? At school of course! I will have a classroom update later this evening. I have happily made some progress. :)  Keep cool!