Grading Organization

I get asked all the time how I organize my papers that come in and out to grade. I've done a number of things over the years, but this is probably my favorite system ever now.

Over the summer I hosted a Thirty-One bag party and got all kinds of cool stuff from it. One of the things I got was a Fold-N-File. I absolutely love this thing. I think I'm more organized than I was before because of this system.

Here's what it looks like in general (taken from the Thirty-One Catalog):

Super cute, right? I chose the Black Twill Stripe because it fit my classroom theme. I set it on my desk so it's easily accessible.

On the front I attached a calendar. I found this at the Dollar Tree around back-to-school time. I just hooked it around the opening with a binder ring.

Inside the Fold-N-File, I have a different hanging folder for each class that I teach.

 In each hanging folder is two folders for each class: an "In" and "Out" folder. I put work that needs to be graded in the "In" folder and then put it in the "Out" folder as a I grade it.

When I'm ready to hand back papers, I just grab the "Out" folder for that class and start passing out. It's really easy and works well for me. This is also nice to have because it fits nicely in most of the Thirty-One organizing totes so you can just grab the whole thing and take it home if you need to.

I love this. If you've always been trying to find a way to handle the paper clutter, this is definitely something to invest in. It will save from the piles of papers spread out everywhere.

Happy teaching!

Classroom 2016-2017

I've finally gotten some time to dedicate to blogging today. The Chiefs are killing me, so I thought I would focus my energy elsewhere. I bring you my classroom this year! Over the summer, our building went through some major upgrades - we got air conditioning!!!! I can't believe it. You never realize how much you take it for granted until you don't have it. Because of the amount of work that had to be done, we pretty much had to pack up our classrooms and say adios until around the week before school started. I got the itch to paint my classroom to give it a fresh new look. This is one of my favorite classrooms I've had so far. It's so colorful and fun. I can't wait to hear what you guys think!

Here is what you see from the hallway. I love this little bulletin board idea. I saw a variety of these bulletin boards on Pinterest and created my own to fit my theme.

  

Here's the inside of the door. Again, another Pinterest idea.

This is what you see when you come in to my room. Someone said it looks like a party in here. It is a party -- a math party! Ok, that's probably lame. But, I don't like boring classrooms. I like my room to welcoming and inviting.

I love the fact that I have tables this year. They work so much better for my style of teaching. I also love the little trash cans on each table. I picked these up at the Dollar Tree, 2 for $1. In each supply caddy, there are scissors, markers, colored pencils, calculators, and glue. We use these for interactive notebooking.

Here are a few more views from the door.

Here is my Request to Retest, Yellow Slip, and Absent bulletin board. There is a blogpost about those here.

Here is my supplied cabinet. Nothing fancy.

Here is where my students keep their binders and some extra supplies for them. My Exit Slip folders are also located here. There is a blogpost here about those.

Then we move to the front of the room where my Smart Board is located. I moved it here this year to reduce the amount of glare from the windows. I am super happy with this decision.

Off to the side of my Smart Board is my little document camera area. With interactive notebooking, I use my document camera every single day. I keep my class notebooks here and my supplies that I need for my notebook.This year I snagged an AV cart and I love this! It is just big enough to hold everything AND it's on wheels so I can move it if I need to. Great decision! Back here is also my Data Wall. You can find more information about that here.

Then there is my whiteboard. I use this to write the lesson for the day (top box), the "I Can" statement (middle box), and Assignment (bottom box). Students come in and see this and know what to expect for the day. To create this, I used Washi Tape. I also made the class banners in PowerPoint using the font KG A Little Swag (download at dafont.com).

Last is my little desk area. Behind my desk is two bookshelves that have my curriculum binders for each class and extra little binders I have for odds and ends (PBS, CTA, Sub Folder, etc.). I also have my calendar bulletin board with all of my team pictures on it, and my PBS information bulletin board. The little table is kind of my catch all table. 

I gave my desk a makeover while I painted my room. I painted the top in white chalk paint and the used chevron contact paper I got from Wal-Mart to cover the metal. I LOVE how this turned out. My desk was old and ugly and gross. Now, it's the thing that dreams are made of. Ok, that was probably extreme. But I love it. Those little bulletin boards above my computer are adorable. I got the cork boards in a 4-pack from and four different colors of fat quarters from Wal-Mart and stapled the fabric onto the cork boards. These added a little something to that area that would otherwise be blank.

I made this little tissue paper garland using some instructions I found on Pinterest. On my desk is my Fold N File I got from Thirty-One over the summer. I'll blog about this soon.

Whew! I'm tired just from blogging about this room. I really do love how it turned out, though. My kids love it, my coworkers love it, I love it...

We're already about 4 weeks into the school year and so many great things have happened in this room thus far. I can't wait to share more with you! Happy teaching!