A Picture Walk...

My classroom

Keep in mind the walls are bare because they were recently painted. Usually they would be colorful and print-rich :o) The old walls were institution-pea-green (like the old hospital color). Now they are a clean cream with BRIGHT blue borders. I love it!!

The Rug... Where the *Magic* Happens

The kid's recliner was given to me from a friend and former first grade co-worker. He moved to San Francisco last August and is teaching 7th and 8th grade ESE... no longer needed a little-person's recliner.

One of the perks of teaching in a "Priority School" is...

We got full LeapFrog Literacy Centers. This included the 3 LeapPads you see above, plus 5 more take-home backpacks with LeapPads and headphones, a plethora of Leapbooks (available only in the school market so the kids won't have them at home), a LeapDesk, a LeapMat, and a bookshelf of supplemental pieces (the blue and green one seen below).

The Classroom Library

The Word Wall

We sing all the time!

First Graders can't tell (or at least don't care) if you don't have a good singing voice... we have songs for transitions and rituals and curriculum. It really helps the students retain things in a fun way. The chant above is for coming to the rug.

In person it looks just bright enough to be cheery.
Here you can see the blue trim... the picture looks BLUE!!

Our Vocabulary Lab
Another first grade teacher & I work together on this one... the words change weekly.

A classroom can't be complete without a set of rules posted...
even if the walls were recently painted.

The Reading Center Management Board

My kids have over 25 labs that they are totally independent with (I use that time to meet with small guided reading groups so they can't interrupt us). We only have 11 "open" right now. They have to change out quite often to maintain interest. They have 10 page Lab Logs where they document what they're doing for a grade each week. Pretty serious stuff for first grade.

The Helper Chart

I love my listening rubric!

With a silent flash of fingers I can give the kids feedback during whole group time... this is great for when we have observers. A lot of times, the kids are redirected and the observer doesn't even notice.