Teacher Survival Kits

I really love the people I work with.  The 8th grade group of teachers are really good people, and we genuinely have a respect for one another.  For the past few years, there have only been maybe one or two teachers who have left for different reasons (other positions in the school/district, grad school, changing schools, etc.), so we have gotten really close as a group.  However, this year, only 5 of us will be returning (This makes me sad...three teachers are moving to other grades/positions, one is moving away from the area, and one is leaving to work with her family's business.), so it's going to be really different.  

This year, the other 8th grade team leader and I wanted to get our 8th grade team of teachers a little "happy" to kick off the brand new school year.  We both love our teams!  So, this past Friday we went shopping for our "Teacher Survival Kits," and here's what we got!  

From Sam's
Chapstick 
Lifesavers 
Gum 
Crystal Light - individual packs
Advil - individual dosage packs

From Dollar Tree
Gift bags
Lint Rollers
Hand Sanitizer
Tissue

From Target
Pretzel Chips

From Walmart
Shout Wipes
Water bottles

From Oriental Trading Company
Apple-shaped Stress Balls

From our PTA
Pens - really, the best pens ever!

And last, I'm going to bake them some cookies :)  Yum!

Essential Questions, "I Can" Statements, and Words Worth Knowing...Oh My!

So the other day I bought this baby:

It's a laminator...It's AMAAAAZZZING!

I have spent the last week laminating everything for my classroom - whiteboard signs, door signs, exit slip signs...everything!  I also have all my CCSS Standards, Essential Questions, "I Can" Statements, and Word Worth Knowing laminated, too!  I don't know why I didn't think of it before...this way I can post them on my board and have them already up in case of observations.  Also, I won't have to worry about kids "accidentally" erasing them when they walk by (a big pet peeve of mine!) and needing to rewrite them everyday.

The laminator is so easy to use, and the laminating pouches are so much thicker than our laminating machine at school.  

So, here's some pics:

Some of my whiteboard signs!

8th Grade CCSS 

Words Worth Knowing...aka VOCAB!

Essential Questions!

"I Can" Statements :)

I'm pretty excited!  Tomorrow, I'll be going up to the school to work registration, and I'll get to get a better look at how all my stuff will fit in my new classroom!

So much to do, so little time!

Update 7/22/14:  I got a few stuff checked off my list of things to do...yay!!

I need to get a lot out of my head...it's spinning right now with so much to do!

Team Leader Stuff:

• Sign supplement contract completed 7/14/14
• Work registration on the 21st completed 7/21/14
• Buy stuff for Teacher Survival Kits completed 7/18/14
• Make cookies!
• Make new team leader binders and files

Cheer Stuff:

• Make t-shirt design completed 7/17/14
• Pick up signed supplement contract completed 7/14/14

Classroom Decor:

• Paint walls completed 7/30/14
• Clean out closets and desk/pack up old stuff
• Unpack my stuff!
• Make curtains completed 7/31/14
• Make labels for whiteboards complete 7/18/14
• Plan out bulletin boards (I have 3 to create!)
• Superhero Students (student work - outside my classroom)
• Standards for Math Practice
• Instagram/Shout Out

INB (so much to plan!):

• Plan Unit 1.1
• Create foldables, example problems, student reflections

That's all for now...I might be updating this soon with more things that I need.  Since I've been on vacay, I haven't been at home to really plan.  I'll be home Sunday night, so I'll finally get a chance to print out things and create my actual INB!  

Section Overview

Since I've decided to go "all in" with interactive notebooks this year, I have really been trying really hard to plan out how I will introduce each unit.  Again, Jessie Hester from Mrs. Hester's Classroom is my inspiration...she begins each unit with a unit overview, which maps out the essential questions and vocabulary.  Here's what I have so far:

Instead of essential questions, I've decided to use "I can" statements.  This way, students know EXACTLY what they are supposed to learn during the course of our unit, and they can check off the statements they are now able to do!  (I'm not doing away with essential questions - my principal requires them - but I plan on using them in student reflection questions at the end of certain lessons.) 

I have a "Words Worth Knowing" section (aka vocabulary), and I've added a section where students can write down the dates form quizzes, homework checks, INB checks, unit and district tests, and a project.  That's all for now...it's still a work in progress :) 

New Year, New Classroom!

I'm out of town for a few days, but before I left, I visited my new classroom.  A bunch of the teachers at our school shifted to other subjects/grades, and this year I'm moving next door so that all the teachers on my team are in the same hallway.  Now, I LOVED my classroom, however, the main reason why I'm moving has to do with the Promethean board arrangement.  Three years ago, I painted my classroom a greenish-teal color (Behr's Shoreline Green, to be exact) and decorated with purple and black accents.  Now that I've moved next door, I've got a brand new slate to decorate!  Here's what my new classroom looks like now:

From the back corner...

From my desk in the front corner of the room...

While it's not bad, I really need color to make me happy!  I tried to talk myself out of painting my new classroom, but I just couldn't...am I crazy?  As you can see in the first picture, I tried out four colors.  I think I've found the right one:

Did I mention I LOVE teal?

It's probably a shade lighter and a little more blue than my old room.  I'll have more pics whenever I start painting!  In the meantime, I'm trying really hard to set up my curriculum and unit pacing to incorporate interactive notebooks this year.  While this will be our fourth year doing CCSS, and I pretty much know what I'm teaching, the planning involved in implementing INBs is tough!  I'm ready for the challenge... really want my students to be actively engaged this year!  Stay tuned...See y'all later!