classroom decor

Set Up Your Best Classroom Yet

July 30, 2017July 30, 2017By astutehoot

Welcome to my second grade classroom, my home away from home. Each year, I refine my classroom with special finds from Target and Hobby Lobby (my favorite!) to make it comfortable and inviting. I love to think outside of the box, using plastic table cloths for curtains and bath mats for classroom rugs. My goal is to make the room a safe, creative space that promotes engagement and exploration.

Curricula

As a traditional academy teacher, I use Spalding spelling, HMH Journeys reading, and Saxon math to teach highly-performing students at an accelerated pace. I use the district-prescribed curricula along with our reading and math strategy animals to help students learn, apply, and transfer critical strategies across settings. My classroom décor centers around Hazel Hoot, an adorable green screech owl, and her special strategy friends. See how I integrate Hazel’s Reading Roost and Problem-Solving Pond along with our hands-on tools to support and enhance required curricula in this blog series.

Special Spaces

Hazel’s Reading Roost

In our charming book, Hazel Meets the Reading Strategy Friends, Hazel stumbles upon a magical tree in the forest. Out of the tree appear 10 colorful woodland animals that each introduce a research-based, standards-aligned reading strategy. These animals guide Hazel to become a proficient reader.

Each day students attend Hazel’s Reading Roost, my guided reading group, as one of their four reading rotations. During guided reading time, I use the woodland animals to teach specific strategies and concepts through the context of authentic literature. Jessica at Reading Roost_rs
I use our animal puppets and reference our Decoding and Comprehension Banners throughout the lessons. Students use our accompanying graphic organizers and our hands-on tools to practice and reinforce the strategies.

To replicate the magical tree, I purchased an inexpensive faux tree from Goodwill and gave it a dusting of gold glitter spray paint. I glued glitter foam leaves to give it an enchanted gleam and used Velcro to attach the animals. This allows for easy removal during reading group time. Read more about creating a Reading Roost here.

Reading Roost During guided reading group time, students sit in a circle on our Astute Hoot’s Numbers and Letters Rug. I post a specific learning goal for each group and reference it throughout the lesson using our Learning Scale Banner. Students enjoy monitoring and reflecting upon their thinking and learning. They understand that honest ratings help me as a teacher because I can see what they understand and areas in which they need more help.

Read tomorrow’s blog to see my Problem-Solving Pond and accompanying math tools.

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Set Up Your Best Classroom Yet: Part 3

July 20, 2016By astutehoot

Yesterday as part of my blog series, Set Up Your Best Classroom Yet, I gave you a sneak peek into my second grade classroom with a focus on my math area. I use the district prescribed curricula along with our reading, writing, and math strategy animals to help my students learn, apply, and transfer critical strategies across settings. My classroom décor centers around Hazel Hoot, an adorable green screech owl, and her special strategy friends. See how I integrate the Writing in the Wild West along with our hands-on tools to support and enhance the required writing curricula.

Writing Journal_cover

Special Spaces

Writing in the Wild West

In our charming book, Hazel Meets the Writing Strategy Animals, students meet Hazel the owl, a struggling writer, who takes a vacation to the desert to visit Grandma Hoot. Grandma suggests that Hazel take a hike for writing inspiration and along the way she meets 10 animals; 5 that teach the writing process and 5 that teach writing mechanics.

AstuteHoot_Writing_webposter

In order to recreate the desert scene for the Writing in the Wild West space, I covered a bulletin board with vinyl western background from Party City (similar items are available at most craft stores and on Amazon). I added faux cactus from Hobby Lobby to give it a 3D effect. I placed the Strategy Banners on the side of the bulletin board; I reference them throughout each lesson. I printed our Writing Bulletin Board Set added Velcro to the back of each strategy animal allowing me to detach to use during lessons.

Vinyl background.5

I also made a space to display student work. I took pictures of my students faces, printed and cut them out, and then added these adorable cowboy hats to each one. Finally I glued each picture onto a clothespin and glued the clothespins to thick ribbon that I stapled to the board. I use these cowboy clips to easily change writing samples frequently.

As the other blogs in this series mentioned, I love to display our hands-on tools in cute, inexpensive jars with printable animal labels. Students have easy access to Stella’s Spacers, Cal’s Capitalizers, and Preston’s Punctuation Prongs, all which they enjoy using during writing time.

Have a cute classroom décor idea? I’d love to hear it! Be sure to check back on Sunday to read our latest Back to School blog.

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Set Up Your Best Classroom Yet: Part 2

July 19, 2016By astutehoot

Yesterday as part of my blog series, Set Up Your Best Classroom Yet, I gave you a sneak peek into my second grade classroom with a focus on my guided reading area. I use the district prescribed curricula along with our reading, writing, and math strategy animals to help my students learn, apply, and transfer critical strategies across settings. My classroom décor centers around Hazel Hoot, an adorable green screech owl, and her special strategy friends. See how I integrate the Problem-Solving Pond along with our hands-on tools to support and enhance the required Saxon math curricula.

$Astute Hoot Math Intervention Kit_RGB$

Special Spaces

Problem Solving Pond

In our sequel, Hazel Meets the Math Strategy Friends, Hazel swoops down to catch her dinner at the local pond when she grabs Upton, an enchanted fish. Upton oversees Problem-Solving Pond and promises to introduce Hazel to his animal friends, all who teach a special problem-solving strategy. Using these strategies and Upton’s guidance, Hazel blossoms into an accomplished mathematician who is able to tackle problems with ease.

$Math book_CU$

In order to recreate the Problem-Solving Pond, I covered a bulletin board with fadeless blue water paper and added green tulle and silk pond stems to border the pond. Upton’s Solving Word Problems Poster and Strategies Banners are prominent features of Problem-Solving Pond; I reference them throughout each lesson. I printed our Problem-Solving Pond Bulletin Board Set added Velcro to the back of each strategy animal allowing me to detach to use during lessons.

pond I found this stuffed animal on Ebay that looks just like Upton and hung it with fishing wire and a plastic hook. During guided practice, I toss Upton to students and he helps us complete the problem-solving steps. Students LOVE solving problems with him!

Problem-Solving Pond Upton with student I also found inexpensive jars at Hobby Lobby to hold our hands-on tools such as Max’s Counters, Brian’s Slide and Learns, and Fiona’s Fact-Fluency Pencils and added these adorable labels.

During center time, students solve their Saxon story problems using the strategy animals and our Problem-Solving Journals. They also use our hands-on tools such as Problem-Solving Mats, Brian’s Slide and Learns and Fiona’s Fact-Fluency Flashcards to reinforce learned strategies and concepts.

$Math Journal_CU$ $Math Mats_CU$

Students enjoy using the Astute Hoot rug to discuss their journal samples. They stand on the strategy animal that they used to solve the story problem and then discuss the strategies, process, and thinking they used.

breaking_badger_mat Read tomorrow’s blog to see my Writing in the Wild West classroom space and accompanying hands-on tools.

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Wise Tool of the Week: Table Skirt Storage

September 13, 2013October 11, 2013By astutehoot

I am an organized person, yet when I became a teacher, I instantly became a hoarder. I signed my contract and suddenly I was collecting everything from baby food jars to milk carton lids for a variety of classroom needs. After a few years of collection and a growing number of ‘teaching cabinets’ at home, I knew I needed a new storage solution.

One day while rearranging classroom furniture, I realized that tables are an ideal storage option. They can accommodate large plastic containers for backpacks, playground equipment, and props and still have room to store file boxes and other organizational pieces. Table storage is extremely practical, but extremely unsightly. No one wants to see these items or they would be sitting out in the classroom. After researching ways to conceal the storage, I discovered table skirts at Party City. These inexpensive plastic skirts come in a range of colors to compliment a variety of classroom decor and the self-adhesive strip makes application a breeze. Simply measure perimeter of table and cut skirt accordingly. Peel adhesive strip and stick on table ledge. Voila! Storage in a snap.

Wise Tool of the Week: Table Skirt Curtains

September 5, 2013September 18, 2013By astutehoot

Looking for a quick, easy way to create cute window treatments? Table skirts are your answer! Sold at Party City for $8 each, these plastic table skirts come in a variety of shades to compliment a wide range of classroom decor. Application takes less than 5 minutes:

1. Cut length of skirt to fit your window.

2. Peel backing and apply adhesive strip to top of window.

3. Fold table skirt under and glue (or staple) to top of window, creating a billowed, valance effect.

4. One table skirt covers two large windows (see picture).

These adorable curtains have an added bonus–they are also durable and easy to clean (they only need light dusting every few months). What more could a wise teacher ask for?

Wise Tool of the Week: Book Cover Chair Pockets

August 22, 2013September 5, 2013By astutehoot

Do your students’ desks look like a bomb went off inside? If so, book covers are your answer! Purchase jumbo stretchable book covers from Target (in school supply section), simply turn one pocket inside out and slide on the back of a student’s chair. You instantly have storage for folders, books and a pencil pouch. Never again will you hear, “I can’t find my…..!” The best news….they are only $1 each! You can purchase a class set for less than $25; normal chair pockets cost $5-$7 a piece. Plus they come in a variety of colors and patterns to match any classroom decor.

Curricula

Special Spaces

Hazel’s Reading Roost

Special Spaces

Writing in the Wild West

Special Spaces

Problem Solving Pond

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