A little about me: My name is Danni, Fightin' Texas Aggie class of 2012! I am currently starting my third year of teaching 4th grade math/science at Fredericksburg Elementary School in Texas. I am extremely passionate about my job and want to share my ideas with the education world. I have done my fair share of stealing ideas and wanted to pay it forward.
I thought I'd start by sharing some classroom organization and decoration ideas that I use in my classroom.
4th Grade is a Hoot
Saying that I like owls and pink is an understatement. I have to remind myself to hold back on the pink/owl decor in my room ;)
This is the bulletin board I created to display student names in the hallway. The large owl is made of various color poster boards that were cut, laminated, and stapled to the wall.
Words to Make You Wise
Word walls can be tricky. They should look different depending on the grade level and content you teach. During my first year of teaching I used a word wall that organized the math vocabulary based on the first letter of the word. I think this is an excellent idea if you teach language arts or a younger grade. For fourth grade math, it seemed that most of the words belonged in the first half of the alphabet. This was a complete waste of space because half of my word wall was unused. After playing with it for a bit, I decided to organize my word wall based on the content. My word wall contains the following sections: place value, operations, fractions, measurement, and geometry. This not only prevented wasted space, but it also helped the students quickly find the word they were looking for.
Oil Drip Pan & Button Magnets
This was one of my favorite Pinterest finds to date. I was hunting for an alternative way to hang papers near my desk that wasn't a cork board. I knew I wanted something magnetic and had some options to compare. I first looked at Lowe's/Home Depot for a piece of sheet metal, but this was a pricey option. Then, I found this idea and it was life changing! This is an oil drip pan I bought at Wal-Mart for only $12. It was not only cheaper than the sheet metal, but it was also nearly twice as big! It just took a drill to make some holes and a couple of screws and I was good to go. The magnets are made out of oversized buttons from Wal-Mart and self-sticking magnets on the back.
Crayons
I love using crayons, but i absolutely HATE when the crayon boxes are torn. Here is my solution: dollar snack containers from The Dollar Tree. The containers came in packages of two. I bought 10 containers for only $5. My goal this past summer: cheap organization solutions! This was definitely a good find.
Border Storage
Here is another Dollar Tree steal. I bought these containers a couple of summers ago and was worried they were too flimsy to make it this long, but so far, so good! These containers came in packages of four for $1 and they hold a whole package of border easily. No more awkwardly long pieces of border with no place to put them.
Pencils
This idea is an oldie, but goodie! Each student has two pencils on them at all times. If one breaks, no big deal- they have a second pencil. If both break, then they silently get up and exchange their two dull pencils for two sharp pencils.
You've Got Mail
This is an idea I stole from my wonderful chem/physics teacher years ago in high school. When you teach more than one class it is very expensive to buy the large slotted paper organizers to use as mailboxes. This idea only costs about $3 per crate plus about $5 for hanging folders. This is much less expensive than buying two or more paper organizers at about $30 a piece. I have also been using the same crates and folders for three years! I was nervous about the students tearing the paper hanging folders, but it just took a little patience and training for them to handle the folders gently.
Frequently Used Papers
As a math teacher, I have many papers that I frequently use with the students: multiplication tables, STAAR charts, timed fact tests, place value charts, etc. I ALWAYS keep a very large amount of each of these copied at all times. This saves so much time and I always have a few extra activities printed and ready to go if there is a few extra minutes of class time.
Lesson Plan Organization
Every Sunday I copy everything I need for the week and organize them in these containers. This was a splurge for me, but well worth it. I had a cardboard paper organizer I used before that only lasted a year. These containers were $9 a piece, but well worth it!
Exit Ticket
Exit tickets are a wonderful way to informally assess what you taught during your lesson that day. I have these folders laminated and attached to the wall right next to my classroom door. The students place their exit ticket in one of the folders based on their understanding of the concept as they leave the room.
THE Life Changing Pencil Sharpener
This pencil sharpener is amazing! It takes a bit longer to use this than an electric sharpener, but the pencil always stays strong and sharp. What more can I say?!? Here is the link so you can buy your own: http://www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com/
Thanks for reading if you made it this far. I plan on continuing to share my ideas as the school year goes on.
I also create and sell math activities on Teachers Pay Teachers.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Danni-Uecker
