Classroom Set Up

I am not using tables this year! I am still getting used to it, but I think students enjoyed sitting on the floor in groups while they made their name tags. The cards on the chairs were made by Martin Bex. I split my class into two teams, Barcelona and Madrid, then put two colors of cards in each team in case I want small groups. The pictures on the cards help split students into groups of two or three. I also call cards when I need someone to do a job. Students choose different seats each class so I am not always calling on the same volunteers.

This picture shows my Barcelona bulletin board. It has a map of Spain and a road map of Barcelona. It also includes pictures of tourist attractions and food. On the board, I have my question word posters and the sticky chart paper that I'm using to write our structures. These will end up on our word wall which also has a picture in this post. The pointers are for students who get to be the teacher. So far we have used these to review the rules. A student reads them and calls on others to explain them.

I have my calendar and Madrid bulletin board. The Madrid board to set up like the Barcelona board. In the green boarder, I have a weekly challenge from the book, Spanish Cultural Challenge which I ordered from Teacher Discovery.

Here is the word wall. I'll keep this here even when I rotate to different schools. I'm hoping the kids will continue to practice while I'm gone :-)

I use the giant Ziloc bags to store my props. The hand prints are a self-assessment. The students high five one before they leave. Some examples are "I learned something new" and "I was an AMAZING listener".

I have my bright colored circling posters in the back of the room. Very helpful!

Thanks for checking out my classroom!

A Look Inside

I want to share how I set up my classroom for this school year. I found many of these ideas on Pinterest. I have the students sitting in groups to encourage centers and small group activities. The pictures below show how I decorate my classroom. Enjoy!

Bulletin Boards

 This board shows the flags of the 21 Spanish speaking countries. Near each flag, I give the country's name, capital, population, a famous person from history, and a tourist attraction.

 On this bulletin board, I'll hang Spanish students find outside the classroom. Food labels, directions, etc.

These bulletin boards show the vocabulary for our first unit. I'm going to change these for every rotation.

 Classroom Management

I plan on using centers during most of my classes this year. Each student will know their group color and we will use this chart to keep track of the rotation. The name of the activity will be next to the group.

My elementary schools are adopting the Leader in Me philosophy. This is my leader board. I have nine jobs that I will rotate everyday.

The picture of the lemonade and the pumpkin is what I use as an attention grabber.

The star boarder underneath is where I will keep track of the classes' points. I'm using a bingo classroom management. I'll give points for good choices. At the end of class, a student will color in the matching number on a bingo board. When the class has a bingo, they choose a reward coupon. They can receive extra recess, a movie day, a piece of candy, or to sit by a friend.

Part of my class schedule is also in this location. The students always ask right away what we are doing that day so now they know where to look.