Working in Room 13!

Ok so it's been a while since my last update. I really must try to get blogging more often!

So, I thought I would do some work samples to show you!

First, Here's some of the writing we did back in term 1.

 

One of the first Reading Strategies we learned about was the Author's Purpose. We looked at why Author's write, the audience, and how all of that affects the style and tone of the text! They made these really cool 'PIE's' to help them remember the Author's Purpose - to Persuade, to Inform or to Entertain!

 


















Then we looked at representing data.

 

 

 

And last but not least, we learned some great ways to learn our spelling words!

Check back soon for some more updates! :D

My Room.... in progress!

So I have been in my room for almost 7 weeks now and I figured it was time to show what my room looks like these days! It was very empty and barren when I arrived so it has taken me a while to get organised and get stuff hanging up! Enjoy! Any questions, just ask!

New Year, New Adventures!

So, it's a brand new year! It has me facing a whole new set of adventures, challenges, rewards and fun! Last year I was absolutely devastated to leave the school I was at as it has a very special place in my heart.
Fortunately my new school has welcomed me with open arms and after one week, I can safely say that it is an amazing place to be. The staff are awesome and supportive, the admin team are fantastic and the kids are gorgeous!
My goal is to try and update my blog more often and keep you all up to date with the happenings in my class this year! I'm aiming for once to twice a week and we'll see how I go! I'll be making new resources and uploading them to my Teachers Pay Teachers page to share with you all! It's exciting and a new avenue that I can take my love of teaching down.

First, let me update you on my first week!

I went in a few days before school started and started to take all of my resources in to my new class. Here's the before images.

It was quite bare but as I was told by my friends, "It is a blank canvas". Too true! So I got to work! It's still being updated so I don't have any after pictures just yet - but they will come!

I started dabbling in making my own class displays. I always found that I loved something when I saw it but there would be aspects I would change about it to suit me. Or, I had an image in my mind of how I wanted it to look but never found exactly that image to buy. So, I decided to just make it myself. I would use a variety of ideas from lots of places and adapt it into something I liked and suited my needs. Here's a few things.

My birthday charts

Binder Covers for organising paperwork! 

The First Day!

On the first day I wanted to give the students in my new class something special they could take home to finish the day on a high note. (And let's face it - bubbles are cool!) I saw this idea on Pinterest and LOVED it, so I made my own! The kids loved them!

Addicted to Books? No... never!

So, the biggest goal I have had in my class for as long as I can remember is to get kids reading. To provide the materials for my kids to read a variety of books in a variety of styles and genres etc. The last few years I have gone CRAZY with my book collection. Perhaps a bit of my obsession with reading and books has crept into that, but I love the smiles on my kids' faces when I bring in some new books. I even have some students stressing that they will not read all of my books by the end of the year! But I managed to secure a heap of things for my book corner and had a play around with the design. Here's what I got.

I love seeing them race into the room every morning to get comfy and read. And they definitely don't have a shortage of books!!! My own mini library. I love it! And so do they!

Australia! The land of the AWESOME!

Our theme unit for this semester is AUSTRALIA!!! 
In our classroom we are transforming into a True Blue, Aussie cultural centre! One of the projects assigned to my students last term was all about Australian Icons. They did a fantastic job researching aspects of Australian Identity and learning all about the history of some of their favourite foods, flowers, animals and people. They did a fantastic job! Here's a sample of some of their work.