Trials in preparing a new class....

Since school finished about 2 1/2 weeks ago, I've been moving my things to a new building and setting things up.  There have been lots of organizing, too.  I went for the third time today to work in my room, and like I'm sure may teachers working in their room experience, you don't get much done.  I did get a lot accomplished, but I'm also getting to know my new colleagues.  So far they've all been so helpful, informative, and welcoming. 

Here are some pictures of my new classroom, as a clean slate.  Right now a lot is set up, but I'm in the "making a mess" stage, just trying to get things organized.

Here's the wall with new windows that overlook the playground.

Turning toward the left, this will be a larger whiteboard area...

Again going to the left, where my kiddos will hang up their jackets and bookbags, the entrance from the hall, and a closet.

Last, but not least, the back wall with two display areas, a sink, plenty of storage, and....a bathroom!  I've never had one in my room before.  Hope I don't regret it.

I've worked a lot in my room, in fact, I've been told by many that it looks like I'm ready to begin class tomorrow.  They wouldn't say that after today, though, I have lots of unfinished projects going on.

Some of the recent conversations taking place, during my breaks, have been about using the Developmental Spelling method, like I wrote about in my last posting, and apparently we have a guru in the building.  I'll definitely be picking her brain before school begins in the fall.

Other teaching strategies that I've been looking into this past week is student-centered classrooms, and flipped classrooms.  I had thought that they were the same thing, but through the research I've done this week, there are some similarities and differences.  I found that although the learning for both is student driven, a flipped classroom is when a teacher provides the lesson through a video that the students watch at home for homework, then they're ready to learn in class.   As for student-centered, I understand that to mean that students have choices as to what topic they want to focus on and create their own projects showing their new knowledge, which I think may also be similar to flipped classrooms.  I'm still learning....

I came across a great video of a 4th grade teacher in action.   http://youtu.be/c2zTz8eOfuI

Her name is Ms. Kelly, and I was intrigued by how well her reading class went, especially the strategies she used.  What excited me most was that there were some times that my classroom looked like that last year, at least in regards to the collaboration that took place.  This video not only gave me great ideas, but also gave me confirmation that I have done some things right last year.

If anyone has any advice regarding student-centered classrooms or flipped classrooms, I'm willing to learn more.

Until next time!