Monday Made It: More Classroom Made-Its and a Freebie

Good afternoon!
I'm really excited to share the progress I've made in my classroom and link up with 4th Grade Frolics for another Monday Made It.

Here are my before shots:

This is the view from the back door of my classroom.

This is the view from my desk corner.  The door in the back next to the white cabinet is the back door.

As you can see, my room is pretty small (32'x24'), especially considering I need 30 desks.  It also feels a lot smaller thanks to the not-so-lovely paneling.

Now, I'm no where near finished, but I have a few projects and pictures to share until I'm able to share the finished room.

This first one the view of the front of my classroom (the long wall with one whiteboard).  This is the only wall that is finished.

I love how hanging borders around the whiteboard really warms up the room, and the owls are in my classroom colors.

This is one of my extra whiteboards on the right-hand side of my classroom, right when the students walk in the door.  I used file pockets and labeled them with cut-outs from my silhouette.  Every day has a spot for the homework except for Fridays, because I don't assign homework over the weekends.  The file pockets are laminated so that I can write on them with dry-erase markers.  I place a few extra copies of that day's handouts in the appropriate pocket, and the students know to check this wall before seeing me when they return from an absence.  This is the second year I've used this system and it works very well for me.  I usually label the files every Friday after school (or I let one of my students do it, since they always beg me).  The folders I used last year were labeled with a Sharpie and they looked fine, but they weren't pretty enough so of course I had to revamp them to match everything else in my room.

 

 This poster hangs to the right of my main whiteboard at the front of the room, as you can see in the picture above.  I used to have to remind my kids all the time about the beginning of class routine, but this poster really helps them remember what to do when they arrive.  I also made this with my silhouette (I promise they aren't paying me to talk about their machine, I just love it and think it's perfect for teachers, and they offer a 20% discount to teachers on their site!).

 So technically I made this last year, but I didn't have a blog then to share it, so I'm going to pretend that I just made it :)  This hangs above my whiteboard, and I also made it with my silhouette.  You can download a similar banner from me here.

I'm trying out boggle this year with my students as an activity for early finishers.  I made this myself using (surprise!) my silhouette.  I'm planning on using Señora Dentlinger's boggle form (free on her TpT store!), and you can learn more about how she plays it with her Spanish students at this blog post (While you're there, check out her other posts.  She has some great ideas!). 

 I got this idea from Miss Squirrels at Going Nutty with Miss Squirrels.  She uses hers for extras, but I'm planning on having the students just take the colors they need and put them back when they're finished (wishful thinking?).

 These signs hang below the daily agenda.  Every day when we go over the warmup, we also go over the date, the weather, and if it's anyone's birthday, they tell me so they go on the birthday sign.  I used to give homework passes for birthdays, but it was really hard to keep up with because there are so many kids coming in and out through the year due to the military base.  This way, they still get to feel special, they still get their pass, but it's much less for me to keep up with.

 

 This is my last made-it for today.  We are strongly encouraged to post our classroom rules for the students to see but I try to avoid posting stuff in English when possible (except for a few quotes that would be really hard for them to understand), so this was my solution.  If you don't speak Spanish, my rules are:

1. Be respectful.

2. Come prepared.

3. Follow directions.

4. Follow the Student Code of Conduct.

On the first day we go over the rules and what they mean.  This is a good way to activate prior knowledge ("Even if you don't speak Spanish, I bet you can figure out what most of these words are.  Who can figure out part of the first rule?" etc) and introduce them to cognates and commands, all on the first day.

The last thing I want to share is a set of color posters I made for my class.  I hung them on the bulletin board in the back of my room, but I forgot to take a picture of them.  I thought I would share them with all of y'all, since they're so bright and fun.  Just click on the picture to be taken to the posters in my TpT store, which are free.

Whew!  I've been busy, but I still have so much to do!  I can't wait to share finished photos with all of you!

Here's a few questions for you, and I would love to hear what you have to say!

How do you celebrate birthdays in your middle or high school classroom?

How do your students catch up when they return from an absence?