Carol Here: Well we’ve come to that time of year when the hard work really starts. I can’t wait. This year I am back to my favorite grade, 6th. I’m not sure what I like about this age but it seems to be right up my alley. As I readied my room there were a few decisions to make. This is what I (along with anyone I could find to ask) came up with. Thanks for looking!
I always stew and ponder as to what to “title” my writing wall. This year I scoured the Pinterest boards and other blogs for inspiration. After flailing away on the internet, I stumbled upon an idea that was an idiom… “I can see the writing on the wall” which I thought was perfect for sixth graders, as well as opening the door to the world of figurative language. With Common Core we’ve heard that by sixth grade we should be reading 60% nonfiction and 40% fiction as mix of reading materials, but we still have to teach all of the rich literature as well as literary analysis.
Since we are incorporating “The Daily 5“for the first time this year, it was a head scratcher to figure out where to put a “gathering area” for sixth graders. Many of those “little buggers” are not so little anymore and a good number of them are taller than me! Having 33 students in my room with all of the desks gave me quite a challenge to figure out what type of seating arrangement would accommodate this new classroom element. After getting rid of every extra piece of furniture with the exception of my desk set-up for technology and my horseshoe table for my small groups, I came up with this…
With the room ready it’s time for some class rules. Letting the students participate allows them to take ownership. I’m curious to see what they come up with!
Here is my “Daily 5 Café”
You can never encourage critical thinking enough!
I wonder how long my own little work area will look like this????
So there you have it. I think I’m ready to begin the new school year. This is the way we will start, I wonder how we will finish?
Carol