Post-It Crazy--The First Week of School

Last weekend I couldn't figure out why I was so nervous for the first day of school. I mean, genuinely nervous. I laid awake at night on Friday and Saturday anxiously anticipating Monday and running through every disastrous outcome I could think of. Then I realized it...I haven't experienced the first day of high school in over 6 years. I wasn't present at the first day of school last year because I was finishing up my last 2 weeks as a probation officer. Although I spent all weekend planning and preparing, I still felt completely unprepared and not ready. It didn't help that any time I ran into a "veteran" teacher, they shared my same feelings. I went to bed on Sunday and before I knew it, I was getting out of the car at school. Ready or not.

I have to say, I was nervous for no reason but if I hadn't felt nervous then I would have attributed anything that went wrong to a lack of preparedness and my overconfidence. I teach 6 classes but teach 3 block classes which means that I see my students every day for 2 hours because I am their English and Reading teacher. That means I only have to remember 75 names and I am lucky enough to get to know my students more than a teacher that only has their students for a single subject (in my opinion). This year I am teaching 10th grade and last year I taught some 9th grade classes so I am also fortunate enough to have some of my students for a second year. I have to say, so far  I am pretty impressed by my students. For the most part, they are respectful, hard-working, and have even managed to make me laugh a few times already.

This year, we changed our school schedule as well as our lunch schedule which amounts to mass confusion during the first week of school for everyone. As a result, I didn't want to overwhelm my students with a ton of English and Reading assignments because they tend to not enjoy those subjects and I figured mass chaos would be a good time to take advantage of getting to know my students. On the first day I had my students complete a Student Information Sheet, Reading Survey, and Learning Styles Inventory. They broke into groups (based on their Learning Style) and received a sheet with tips to help them study throughout the year. Then they discussed their tips in groups.

My favorite part of the first day of school lesson was an idea I had seen on Pinterest which was intended for elementary school. I modified the idea to fit my needs and the results completely exceeded my expectations. It was much better than any Student Inventory I had seen. Plus, the results will hang in my classroom year-long as a reminder to myself and my students of the goals we had set in the beginning of the year.

What you'll need:

-3 pieces of chart paper (I prefer the Post-It ones)

-Enough Post-It's for each student to have 3

-Markers

-A designated area in the room to hang the chart papers

I came up with 3 unique questions on my own. I picked these 3 questions because I actually wanted to know what my student's answers would be:

-What do you need to learn or work on to be successful in Reading and English?

-How can Ms. Makowski help you to be successful this year?

-Set 3 goals that you want to accomplish this school year.

I was very careful about how I worded the questions because I wanted my students to feel like they had the freedom to write about whatever they felt but at the same time, keep their answers directed. I told my students that the 3 goals could be about anything ranging from my class to a team they are on to something that is not even related to school

When school was over, I was so excited to read the answers on each chart. I was very impressed and surprised. Plus, I felt like I learned some really good information and whenever I lose sight of the goal or need inspiration I can go and look at my student's answers. Here are some of my favorites:

Set 3 goals for this school year.

How can Ms. Makowski help you?

I think I'll be able to use this same method throughout the school year for many different things. As a matter of fact, I've already found another way to incorporate Post-It's into my classroom. I have added a "What Stuck?" element to the dry erase board in the back of my classroom. This dry erase board is where I post the Daily Objective, Homework and Classwork assignments, Important Information, and student field trip dates. "What Stuck?" is going to be used as an exit ticket on Friday's. Students will receive a Post-It at the end of the lesson to write down one thing that they learned from the lesson that will stick with them from now on. 

Again, I was impressed by the results. Students were eager to post their answers and the answers ranged from things we had discussed on Monday all the way until that day's lesson. I was able to determine whether or not my students had retained information from the week. I think in the future I might also create a place for students to post questions that they still have (a "parking lot" but I want to come up with a different name). I am already working on a place for student's to post examples of figurative language when they find them in their independent reading novels.

How do you use Post-It's in your classroom?

Back to School

I've been slacking on posting to my blog because it's been a crazy two weeks. Back to school has completely consumed my life and I'm eating, breathing, and sleeping anything that has to do with high school. I wanted to make sure I gave myself at least some time this weekend to blog about Back to School. Here's a timeline of events.

August 5th: Have a meeting at school & pick up keys for my classroom. Take a sneak peak at my room. Everything appears to be as I left it.

The walkway to my portable.

Okay, maybe it looked a little bit worse than I remember.

August 6th: Begin moving ALL of the class materials I had in the guest room of my house into my classroom. Take a break and go to a meeting. During the meeting I ask our school's IT guy to check the computers in my room so that they will be up and running for Back to School. IT guy tells me he found mold in my classroom over the summer and I shouldn't be in there. I ask IT guy why there isn't a sign. I return to my room to check and sure enough find green mold all over my student desks. Go home grumpy.

Going home.

August 7th: Stop in my classroom to pick up some things. While I'm in there, the sign is placed on my door. I am later told that my room was a "petri dish all summer" and the district was supposed to be out last week to clean my classroom but it should be happening "soon." Go home sulking.

Advanced warning not necessary.

August 8th: District comes to clean my room. Classroom is cleaner than ever!!!! I spend 5 hours with my dad's fiance's wonderful daughter setting up my classroom. I decide to take a break over the weekend.

She is just as OCD as I am with straight lines & organization.

August 11th-August 15th: Pre-school week. Meetings. Trainings. Finish classroom and planning for first week of school.

My desk.

My "area." You can see my Teacher Tool Box on the shelf & all of my organized binders :)

My quote wall and my Student Station where students pick up their daily warm ups, absent work, get missing work slips & fill out the Missing Work binder.

My dinosaur computers & projects from last year's "To Kill a Mockingbird" unit.

My "Wildcat Best" wall where exceptional student work will be hung. My bins where student work is turned in. Independent Reading Journals and Writing Portfolios organized by period.

The Information board. Surrounded by the common core standards for ELA grade 10.

Can be found at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/9-10th-Grade-Common-Core-ELA-Standards-Posters-Polka-Dot-Print-303167

My finished product! 

August 18: First day of school!

I'm hoping to post on Sunday night about my first week of school, including the curriculum and tools I've used. I was so nervous about my new students and how they would adapt to my classroom rules and procedures but so far absolutely everything has turned out even better than I expected. Plus, I've received overwhelming positivity from finding out that I have students that I had in 9th grade last year to finding out that my seniors last year have been accepted to college and even positive feedback on my first week of lessons from my new students. I can tell that this year is going to be a great one!

Sterilite Saves the Day

I'll have to admit, I've always hated those stupid plastic bins. You know the ones I'm talking about...they're a cheap, ugly storage solution to any clutter whether it's in your home, garage, classroom... When I was in college I refused to buy them and tried desperately to find any alternative storage solution that would be cute. Cue the kindling of my love for those stupid plastic bins. I've found a quick, easy way to make them super cute and resourceful.

You'll need:

• A ruler
• Scissors
• Scrapbook paper (cute ones to match your color scheme)
• Double-sided scotch tape
• Sterilite containers (comes in many shapes and sizes)

My journey began at The Container Store (if you haven't been I suggest you GO if there is one near you or at least visit their website) it changed my life and it will change yours too. Think of it as a Bed Bath & Beyond if all they sold was organizational items for every facet of your life. The only problem was everything I wanted for my classroom was way more pricey than I wanted to spend for my classroom (images of things getting lost, damaged, broken). I bought two Command hooks for $3.99 and made a mental note of this magical place for housewares then continued on to Target.

The Container Store has a 20% off sale going on right now. Look how adorable these containers are! BUT they sell each drawer individually and the large ones I needed were $14.99/drawer. 

At Target I needed a ton of bins. Luckily I had a Cartwheel which took 10% off of Room Essentials Storage bins. However I caution you to READ the labels because right now Target is carrying Room Essentials storage bins and Sterilite storage bins. The Cartwheel only applies if it says "Room Essentials"...tricky.

This bad boy is good until 8/15!

Learn more about Cartwheel here.

I wound up buying these:

Target Room Essentials Storage Cart

 Target Room Essentials Tubs & Totes

Target Room Essentials 6 Qt. Bins

Target also has a mobile coupon right now for $5 off a $25 back to school purchase. Text SCHOOL to 827438.

After you have your bins, measure out how long and how high your bins are and cut your scrapbook paper so they fit nicely in the front. I used my scrapbook stickers to spell out what was inside of each bin (so far I've only needed 4 sheets to spell out everything for my toolbox and storage bins). Use double sided tape to adhere each label to the front of each bin. These labels are easily interchangeable as your need for them changes and add some style/functionality to cheap storage solutions.

The finished product:

This final bin will be used for our class Independent Novel Journals which will be featured in my next blog post. Stay tuned!

With 15 days left until the First Day of School, please tell me I'm not the only one who is having trouble sleeping?!?!

My Teacher Tool Box

I have coveted The Teacher Tool Box since I first saw it on Pinterest last year. I obsessed over it. I would find my mind drifting to it when I was trying to find supplies in my desk. I thought I was organized with my drawer organizers until I saw The Teacher Tool Box. It is the Holy Grail of school supplies and I needed it to be mine.

So I began pinning ideas. Here were my top three favorites:

http://flipflopteacher.blogspot.com/2011/08/2011-2012-classroom-still-under.html

http://classroomdecorandmore.blogspot.com/2013/05/teacher-tool-box.html

For the last photo I could not find a link. If you simply type 'teacher tool box' into your search box on Pinterest, you can find tons of adorable ones. The two links above post great tutorials for how to customize your tool box. 

The one thing that I noticed that was different about each toolbox was the way the labels were made. Some decided to print labels to fit inside, others used scrapbook paper and stickers, and the last photo I featured I believe used a combination of wooden letters and labels. Some preferred using Mod Podge to adhere the labels while others used double-sided tape.

So after much rumination obsessing, I finally made a trip to Lowes. I searched high and low for the "Stack-On 22-Drawer Storage Cabinet." I figured it would be in the aisle with all of the tool organizers. WRONG. Finally I pulled up the item on my phone and showed it to an employee who led me down the aisle where all of the nuts, bolts, and screws are. Go figure.

When he handed me the organizer, I realized that it looked MUCH smaller than I expected. (Expos, highlighters, and sharpies fit into it no problem but pencils will not fit and pencils need to be placed diagonally.)

http://www.lowes.com/pd_354713-941-DSB-22-3_0__?productId=3381356

It comes in navy blue. I have heard that Home Depot carries it in different colors but my boyfriend, Justin did not look so keen on the idea of going to another store so I simply said "I'll just spray paint it." They also come in bigger and smaller sizes and can be stacked.

After making a stop at Michael's to pick out scrapbook paper, double-sided tape, and stickers, we made our way home where I measured each drawer (under the lip for length & across the front for width). I left about an inch extra so that I would have room on each side to tape it. I cut 14 of these for the smaller drawers and 8 for the larger drawers.

I decided which drawers would hold which supplies and used my stickers to spell out the label on scrapbook paper for each drawer. I realized that I didn't have stickers small enough to label the small drawers so I created labels on my computer using Word, making sure that the font was just small enough to fit inside each drawer (much cheaper and easier). I cut out these labels and adhered them to the scrapbook paper using double-sided tape. I taped each strip of scrapbook paper to the inside of the drawer using 2 strips of double-sided tape on either end. It sticks to the plastic well.

A picture of one of my larger drawers. You can see the extra paper on the side where I taped it down.

After all of my drawers were finished I waited for an afternoon where it wasn't pouring to spray paint my tool box. My advice: Make sure you use a spray paint that also has a primer in it. Do not spray too close to the tool box or it will bubble. Spray in bursts rather than in one continuous stream.

The finished product! I can't wait to use it!

The Blogging World

I am going into my second year of teaching at a high school in Palm Beach County, Florida. I never thought I would go into teaching, as a matter of fact I dismissed the idea many times growing up. My dream was to pursue a career in criminal justice. After working for two years as a juvenile probation officer, I found myself overworked and underpaid.

After taking and passing the English certification exam, I was offered (and accepted) a job before I had even considered leaving probation. Cue a two-week scramble to leave my job, create substitute plans, and prepare a classroom. I began teaching one week after school had already started. Needless to say, it took me the entire year to catch up.

I set a goal at the end of the school year to become more organized and better at teaching. The journey to becoming this way, I decided, would have to begin over the summer. So with the help of Pinterest, some ideas I had that worked this year, and innovation I have begun planning my curriculum and my classroom. I found out at the end of last year that I will not be teaching 9th grade Intensive Reading/English and 12th grade English again.

Instead, I will be teaching 10th grade Intensive Reading/English. We have just transitioned from the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) to a brand new test called the Florida Standards Assessment and are beginning to use a brand new textbook (HMH Collections).

With all of the new changes coming, I decided to create this blog for self-reflection and to share my ideas.

Looking forward to the 2014-2015 school year!