I've worked in many different types of schools. In some, the prevailing philosophy is that students should learn to move respectfully through the halls so others can still learn, but that doesn't necessarily mean traveling in a line. In others, straight, quiet lines are an important building expectation.
In some schools, students spend most of their day in flexible seating arrangements. In others, there is no flexible seating, or students have a modified structure, where sometimes they are in assigned seats and other times they work "around the room." If your last name starts with a W (like mine), you know the pain of alphabetical systems. You are always last to present, always last to be presented to, and always last in line. I haven't lived the experience of an Alvarez, but I imagine those with "A" last names sometimes get tired of being first all the time. So I make it a point to rotate. If your building expectations are more structured, here is an easy system to rotate students so that each person has fair access.
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I spent forty-three dollars on two chairs today. That is the least I’ve ever spent on an initial shopping trip before a school year. The least, by a lot. The thing is, I know better. I know empty bulletin boards are the right way to begin a school year, because that space is meant for students’ thinking. I know I don’t need a life-sized paper mache volcano that spews interlocking cubes for STEM learning on the hour (but that would be so cool). Somehow, against my best intentions, it all goes horribly wrong the second I enter that teacher supply store. It starts innocently enough. A “red carpet” for your gathering area, with photos of students on stars for a Hollywood style introduction about who they are. You buy a class goldfish and name it Oscar. There’s a book walk of fame for students to take selfies with and post reviews. Your problem-solving centers and science labs are drawn from movie genres. You’ve got yourself a class theme, and it’s brilliant.
And then you look across the hall and the Duchess of Pinterest has built a rainforest canopy across her ceiling. The parrots living in it are teaching the children to speak Italian and don’t seem to mind the twinkle lights. She’s built a treehouse book nook out of recycled pencils and sprayed the whole thing with an iridescent organic beet mixture, so it’s cool with the fire marshal. We can’t keep doing this to ourselves. I’m not sure how many middle grade and YA books I own. I’m sort of afraid to count. I’ve sorted them in lots of ways over the years, for my personal use and for my classroom. I've tried book-scanning apps, rainbow-fication, and assorted shelving configurations. Here’s the system that has worked best for me for the past several years: The short version – I classify my books into (mostly) genre-based tubs, code the book spines with patterned washi tape, and match the tub label card with the same washi tape pattern. I teach my students what types of books they can find in each category, and how to take care of the books as they search and return them. The long version, below, may help address details if you want to try this system. |
Jamie Wright
I've had the privilege of working with hundreds of students and families in IA, CT, NC, MO, TX, and Canada. I love being a teacher-librarian! Categories
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