Literacy Lounge...Working!

There are some things in life that just work, and some that, simply DON'T!  This is especially true in a classroom.  Each class make-up of students is different.  What worked wonderfully last year, may not necessarily work great this year.

This was the case with my classroom library, or Literacy Lounge, as I like to call it.  It's funny how the students picked up on it and began using the name as well.  So, naturally, I had to define the space formally as the "Literacy Lounge". A commercially produced banner from Party City worked like a charm.   

They love being in the space to browse the library or to sit and read a chosen book.

Setting up the library so that it's user-friendly for students and easy to manage for teachers is the key to a successful experience.  Arrangement of the books is a personal decision.  How are you going to categorize the titles?  Will they be classified by author, alphabetically, by reading level, or by genre?  I thought about this and it seemed like genre was the ticket for my classroom this year.  I teach an inclusive classroom.  I love working with students with disabilities...but that is another topic!  I didn't want my fragile-readers to feel like they had to comply to reading a pre-selected group of books.  The books are multi-level, but are assorted by genre or "topic".

The topics are displayed on a poster.  Each topic on the poster has a number.  The library is comprised of baskets with corresponding numbers.  Each book is labeled with a number for which basket it should be housed and returned. Every time I go over to check on the baskets or to add some new titles, it's organized!  Every book is in the correct basket.  I'm just shocked at how well this system is working.  I've barely had to do anything, except the original set up, to keep it organized.  I keep extra labels in a file folder for any new books. 



The students are really enjoying the Literacy Lounge. I'm enjoying that my efforts are paying off.  Now...on to the next organizational task.  Where am I going to keep all of the diagnostic assessments the students have been taking this year?  How am I going to efficiently organized them so I can find one quickly when needed?  Ugh!  Off to Michaels, Target, Staples, & Dollar Tree.  I'm hoping to find something on the cheap to assist in my organizing efforts!

More to follow...

Cheers!



Back to School

Well I'm off to school tomorrow for my first day back.  We have two superintendent's days before the students arrive on Thursday.  The days will be filled with workshops and mandatory regulations.  

There is not much time to get classrooms ready during these two days so, like myself, most teachers have been furiously hard at work over the last few weeks.

One of my favorite organizing projects from my classroom is my pencil station...or "pencil central"!

Now that we have decided to departmentalize in fifth grade, I will have three classes of science to teach. There is no time to run back to a homeroom for supplies...and there is certainly no chance of sharpening a pencil while I am teaching a lesson. My way to avoid such interruptions is by providing numbered pencils that I will keep sharpened for students to "borrow" during class time if needed. Each child will be given a number which corresponds to the pencil.  If a number is missing...I will know who to look for!

I also added some Washi tape at the top of the pencil so the kids will hopefully realize if they take it by mistake where to return it.  The black and white theme I've created in my classroom runs throughout most of the supplies.

I've also been trying new ways to make the classroom library more user-friendly.  The books are arranged into numbered baskets.  Each basket contains a books of a specific topic or genre.  The chart on the window next to the baskets displays the topics to make book browsing easier for the students.  

The reading area or "literacy lounge" is decorated with the black and white theme with some added red for color.  I'm hoping to get some bean bags and other comfortable seating for students to read independently when school gets rolling.  My daughter painted a mural on the back of the bookshelf that looks fantastic...pics will follow!

The start of a new school year is always exciting and somewhat challenging. Getting supplies and curriculum materials organized makes life as a teacher a lot easier.  The classroom theme actually helped when planning some organizing strategies. Here's to a fabulous 2013-2014 year! 

Cheers! 

I get much of my inspiration from one of my favorite blogs...