August is almost upon us but I am not back in my classroom quite yet. We actually have a significant amount of construction happening in our school this summer (redoing the roof, redoing exterior walls…. AND a brand new science lab directly beside my classroom!) so I am unsure of when I will actually be allowed back in my classroom. In fact, depending on how the construction goes, there is a chance that I may not be back in my same classroom at all; I may be relocated for part of this year until everything is back to… Read More
End of Term One Reflections & A Room Revamp
Thursday marked the last day of semester one in our division and it is pretty crazy to think that I have already completed HALF of my first year of teaching. When I look back at it I feel like I did A LOT but I also feel like it went by really, REALLY quickly. Friday was an administration day that we utilized to work on marking exams and completing report cards. Lucky for me, I marked ALL of my exams on the day they were written (Wednesday) so I was able to work on report card comments and… Read More
Welcoming My Grade 8's to the Blogging World!
Today my Grade 8 Science class joined the blogging world with the official launch of Mrs. T’s Classroom! They will be using their blog to:– Share their learning with an authentic audience– Catch up on lessons that were missed due to absences– Review lessons to get a better understanding– Connect with other classrooms around the world– Integrate multimedia of all descriptions (text, images, videos, podcasts)– Practice responsible digital citizenship– Receive feedback on their thoughts To celebrate we had a full-out Launch Party complete with whole-school announcements, a count-down to our first post, a visit from our… Read More
Missing Work Log
When I was student teaching I always had one, two, or more, students who didn’t get their assignment in on time. A lot of times, I would find that I would only get assignments in at the end of my student teaching placement because of the fact that they absolutely HAD to have them in because I was leaving and there was no other options after that. – I tried giving students choice in their assignments so that it would be more meaningful for them,– I tried giving flexible deadlines,– I tried offering assignment assistance at lunch hour… Read More
First Day of School
After all of the thought and planning that I put into my classroom, this is definitely how I felt when I woke up this morning! Our first bell rings at 8:50 a.m so I was at school at approximately 7:50 a.m. The reason for this is that I wanted to be in my room and relaxed when students first started arriving. It was a good thing too, because in the middle of the night the heater turned on in my room and it was SO hot when I got there. Furthermore, because of the heat, some of my… Read More
Classroom Reveal & Freebies!!
With school right around the corner, my classroom is officially ready and awaiting students! I am so excited for my students to see my first classroom and start using all of the resources that I’ve put together. In case you don’t remember, here is what my classroom looked like before: Panoramic ViewThere wasn’t a whole lot of anything in the classroom when I got there, the furniture in the middle of the room wasn’t mine. Everything that was in the classroom was pretty much focused in this one cornerbecause it held all the storage for the room. … Read More
Scientific Method Bulletin Board
My classroom isn’t ready for a full reveal quite yet, but I have finished up all of my bulletin boards (you know, the ones that were hiding behind the monster bookcase). My favourite one, by far, is my Scientific Method bulletin board that is going to remain permanent through the school year. I modeled it after the amazing one that Emily created over at The Science Life! *BEFORE*The bulletin board I’m showing is the one on the North wall beneath the black star. *AFTER*The Scientific Method!Starting from the red rectangle: “Ask a Question”, “Form A Hypothesis”, “Create and Conduct an Experiment”,… Read More
Interactive "Connect With Us" Display
I am now spending almost every day in my classroom getting organized and prepared for the upcoming school year. As you know, I’ve created quite a strong online presence for my classroom and I want to make sure that my students utilize these resources and have easy access to them. To address this, I’ve created an interactive Connect With Us display at the entrance of my classroom! This display includes 3 laptops featuring the information for our: – Classroom Website – Classroom Blog – Classroom YouTube Channel In addition to the written URL for each site, I… Read More
Using Flash Websites on iPads
Our school has an iPad cart that teachers can book to use with their students for a variety of purposes. While our elementary wing (K-4) has a laptop cart that can be brought into the classroom, Grades 5 and up only have certain periods where they have access to the traditional computer lab. As such, the iPads are a good mobile tech option for us. During my student teaching placement I used our iPads for:– QR scavenger hunts– Interactive options during centers– Research stations– Virtual labs– Taking photos– Recording audio reflections, etc One problem that I… Read More
The Homework Debate
On the weekend I read a post by Justin Tarte called The Truth About Homework in Schools in which he lists his thoughts on the “homework debate”. Being a new teacher I began thinking about where I fall in this often controversial discussion and what my thoughts are about having my students complete homework. I follow many education blogs from around the world and have seen teachers discuss all different types of homework ideologies, from those who are completely against it to those who have assigned homework every single night. I don’t really remember having homework… Read More