Almost There

Yes, 1.5 days. That is all that is left of the 2010-2011 school year. It seems like just yesterday Ms. Principal called me to see if I wanted to finish out the school year in 6h grade. I am so glad that I took the chance and ventured over to 6th grad because I have absolutely loved it! I am so excited that I am going to get to teach 6th grade this fall too and am really looking forward to making my classroom mine. 

The Hollywood theme is really taking over in my classroom and I am loving how it looks. I have my camera in my school bag and am planning on getting some new pictures tomorrow. I have also found a red carpet and clapboard on Oriental Trading tonight that I already ordered. I am now on the lookout for some Hollywood themed fabric that my mom is going to make my curtains out of. Unfortunately, Hobby Lobby and those kind of stores are all an hour away from me.

Tomorrow I start my 30 hour GT training, but luckily it is online. Have any of you all completed this online? I am excited, but a little scared about it too. I have until June 30th to get it all done. Then I will be lucky enough to do a 6 hour update every summer. 

I am also looking into taking the 4-8 ELA/Reading certification test as well as the ESL supplemental. Have any of you Texas girls taken either of these? I am not too worried about either one, I just want to get them done. 

Hang in there, we are almost done!

Clutter-Free Classroom Giveaway

I don't remember when I exactly came across the Clutter-Free Classroom, but I just love her ideas and all of the wisdom she has to offer to new teachers. You are not going to want to miss her giveaway that she is having right now either, trust me!!! 

Testing Results

We got our TAKS results back on Monday and overall I was very pleased with how my classes did. Overall I had 92% pass the Reading portion of the test. I had a total of 5 student not meet standards out of 58 kids. As a grade level though we were only at 80% which I was very shocked about. I really think we should have been higher. However, our math scores were horrible, so bad I am not even sharing them. I am just so glad that I am not a math teacher at this point because I am pretty sure their butts are going to be on the line. 

I wonder if I could have had 100% pass the TAKS had I been with them at least this entire semester. I really only had 3 weeks with them before the test. I have already decided that for next year I want to be at at least 95% pass. What are some strategies that you use with your kids on their reading tests? 

Also, be on the lookout for some picture of my room. I have got a lot done this week and am loving how it is turning out!!!

Classroom Library

As many of you know, I have taken over a 6th grade Language Arts class for the remainder of the school year, and I have also accepted this position for the upcoming school year. I have been going through the contents of the room over the past week or so and trying to get it organized in a way that I like. I have posted this picture before, but this is what the library area looked like in my room. 

You can see all of the books are just stuffed on the shelves, and I knew that I wanted to make it more accessible for the kids. I knew I wanted baskets and labels and that is exactly what I did. 

I love how it turned out and the kids have been so excited about it too! They actually helped me label the tubs and all of the books with my stickers. 

The only problem now is when I run out of room. At the rate I order from Scholastic, it might be sooner rather than later.:) 

I have also decided that I want to have a theme in my classroom for this coming school year after talking to several of my current students about it. I have some ideas for my vocabulary wall (Hollyword Wall), News and Sports Schedules (Lights, Camera, Action!), where students will pick up their returned papers (Fan Mail), but what could the reading area be? I am stumped right now as to what I want it to be called.

Next School Year

Yes, I am crazy and am already thinking about next school year. I have been moving things around in my classroom, transforming my library (pictures this weekend), and getting things ready for the beginning of the school year. 

I am so excited for it to really feel like my classroom with my procedures and rules. I really think that is going to make a huge difference with discipline. That is one thing I have somewhat struggled with these past 2 months because it is more difficult to have something visual for the kids to see for their behavior. I would love to have a clip stick or something in my room, but I know 6th graders would not be about that one bit. What I have been thinking about doing is some sort of class behavior chart where they can earn rewards like outside time, a movie, a special treat, etc.

One thing I have been working on is my letter to parents and students at the beginning of the year. What sort of things do you include in your letter? Do you have one for students and another for parents? I already know that I plan on having a weekly update for them to keep the communication lines open, but what other things for communication do you suggest?

Our principal also asked me to be on a Grading Policy Committee that she just formed so that we can streamline some on the campus because grading policies are everywhere. What is yours like? What about your late work policy and retesting? If you do not mind sharing, I would love to see what you do. You can email me at k.e.klohn@gmail.com

Only 7.5 more days with students!!!

13 days

That is all that remains in this school year. It is hard to believe that it is almost over. The past 2 months have flown by! 

I have been amazed at how done my kids have been. It is like pulling teeth to get them to do something in class for me. The other teachers have been telling me that this group of 6th graders we have right now is the most difficult one they have had in years and they are like that in every class. It is hard though when some of the other teachers always seem to be showing movies, and I am actually still attempting to get some instruction done. It is just so great when the kids walk into my classroom asking if we are watching a movie today! I think I am going to start a writing project with them in the middle of the week...any suggestions on a fun topic or writing idea?

This past week I also completely redid my library in my room, and I love how it turned out! The kids are already so much more excited about it and they cannot wait for my Scholastic order to come in on Monday. I promise to take pictures once I get the last of the bins finished this week and then share them with you all. 

This week I found out what I am going to be teaching this coming school year. I am going to have 2 Pre AP classes and 1 regular class just like I have this year. I really have enjoyed the Pre AP kids, but it is nice to have a regular class too to help me differentiate my instruction for the higher kids. This also means though that I am going to have to take a 30 hour GT class this summer. Luckily, I am going to be able to do this online and will not have to travel to a workshop for a week.

The joys of being a first year teacher I have discovered also includes getting many duties put on you that others do not want to do. I am officially the assistant cheer/spirit squad sponsor for this coming school year. I am actually excited about it because I think that it will be lots of fun, but I am not looking forward to the mama drama which I know will happen. Matter of fact, I have one of the cheerleaders in my class right now and she is a little bit of a bully. There has been a problem that has now escalated into me having to write an office referral for her and she could potentially lose her spot on the squad. Hopefully this will really enlighten her and her behavior will change. 

I will be back this coming week with some pictures and sharing a novel study with you all for Tuck Everlasting.

Official

I signed my 1 year probationary contract today during my conference so I am now an official employee off the school district! 

Now that I know I am official, I have been on a cleaning streak in my classroom. There was so much stuff left in there from the previous teacher that just needed to be chunked. She also left a ton of books too, but so many of them were in bad shape. I also placed my first Scholastic order on Monday and got some exciting chapter books for my 6th graders to read. I hope they are as excited about them as I was picking them out! I am also thinking about organizing my library by genres and authors and putting books in baskets with labels. I know this is normally done in elementary classrooms, but would it be okay to do at the middle school level too?

I've also been stalking some catalogs looking for the perfect mailbox system that I want to use to hand back papers. Do you have one in your classroom? Where did you find it?