Dreaming Big!

As we looked toward understanding and celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a couple of weeks ago in class, I was trying to think of a simple way for my students to connect to Dr. King's message.  We began by watching a video version of one of my all-time favorite picture books, Martin's Big Words, which can be found here.  We also studied a timeline of his life in our weekly magazine, Time for Kids.

Then, students brainstormed what "dreams" they had for themselves and the world they live in.  We discussed inequalities in our world, needs, wants, etc.  Then, the students completed thought bubbles with their ideas for world change.  I took each child's picture in the perfect "thinking" pose and threw it all together outside our classroom.  This was a quick, simple activity that had a big, meaningful impact.  

The display is quite simple (there was no time for fancy border or die-cut machines today!), but the kids have really enjoyed seeing themselves "thinking" and reading their classmates' responses:

I've finally gotten parent-approval to post students' pictures, so I'm happy to share some up-close examples:

Like I said, this was a simple, but meaningful way to connect the legacy of Dr. King to my students' lives.  They really enjoyed the process and produced high-quailty work!

-KQ

Welcome to Room 12!

I've decided to dedicate my first post to a small tour of my classroom.  I consider everything in my classroom to be a "work in progress", so please don't mind a few messes here and there! :)  You can click on the photos to enlarge them/see more detail.

This year, I chose to use a nautical theme in my classroom.  I've never truly had a full-fledged theme in my classroom until this year, and I have to admit that I love it!  It created a nice sense of community at the beginning of the year and it really brightened things up.  Here is the entrance to my room:

The best "overall" view I could get:

I have been gathering resources for a few years to complete my classroom library.  Thanks to donations from colleagues, parents, students, and funds from my school, here's what I have so far.  Ideally, this library would be leveled, but right now it is simply sorted by genre:

I purchased my book baskets from Really Good Stuff and use printables from Beth Newingham's website to create my labels. (If you haven't checked out her resources, you MUST.  She's simply amazing!)

My gathering area is one very important to me.  This is where most of my mini-lessons take place, where I read aloud to my students, and where my students read aloud their pieces of writing.  It's a treasured spot! :)

Below is my "literacy-focused" area.  This year, I implemented the Daily 5 approach to literacy instruction.  Here you will find all of our anchor charts that list Daily 5 practices and include pictures of students at each station.  In our classroom, we call it "Daily 3" since that is all the time our schedule allows:

The left portion of my bulletin board displays our current reading theme and skills (we use Literacy By Design curriculum):

Here is my small-group table where I teach guided reading each day.  I keep my leveled readers on the shelves nearby:

Finally, this is my little haven.  My desk has 3 parts:  the main area with my computer, phone, etc., a side desk with my lesson planner, photos, supplies, and a back counter where I keep my manuals, copies, and "to-do" work:

I hope you enjoyed browsing!  One of my very favorite things to do is to peek into other teachers' rooms and "borrow" ideas! 

:)KQ

Beginner Blogging

I am very new to the blogosphere and welcome any tips or tricks of the trade!


My name is Katie Q. and I am a third grade teacher.  I am midway through my seventh year of teaching and I've been addicted to teaching blogs for quite some time.  They've really transformed the way I teach.  I've followed a few blogs for a couple of years now, but Pinterest really opened my eyes to the multitude of outstanding resources available via educational blogs.  (It has also robbed me of countless hours of my life, as any true Pinner would understand...).


My goal is to use this blog to share ideas, resources, and information that have had a positive impact on my teaching.  I also hope that it will help me connect to more educators out there who are dedicated to their practice and don't mind sharing their wisdom.