I’m linking up again with the fun Ashley and Angie for July’s Together We Are Better. This month we are sharing what we are going to be improving this upcoming year. It can be about a physical area in our classroom or a teaching area we want to improve.
I think it’s so important to reflect on our teaching every year and make improvements for the future. Next year I have a few things I want to improve upon. The first has to do with classroom furniture.
1. Classroom Tables
The tables my students use are meant for preschoolers. They are the perfect size if you have less than 20 students. Well, I had 31 students this past year and my poor kids were squeezed together pretty tight.
So the first thing I’m doing is replacing these tables. I fortunately found a kindergarten teacher that wanted squared tables that fit four students at a time, and she had rectangular tables that are thinner but fit six students at a time. So we are trading! I am so excited about this move! I will be able to comfortably fit 30 students in the classroom without it feeling like a sardine can 🙂
2. Word Wall Usage
This was my word wall at the beginning of the year and… oops! This is how it looked at the end of the year 🙁 In my defense, my kids had individual word walls in their folders, but I wanted to add to our word wall and make it interactive. So the plan is to actually add words to it this year. What I’m wondering now is, what kind of words would be the best to add for first graders? In second grade we were always encouraged to use the words from our basal/story of the week, but the kids never referred to them no matter what we did. The first 200 Fry’s words are already in their folders, so I’m wondering what words would be best to use. If you have any suggestions, please share with me 🙂
3. Storage
As you can see in the picture above, I have tons of storage. The problem is that I have way too much stuff inside these cabinets. This summer I’m going in a little earlier than usual to organize, donate, or toss what is in there. My hope is that I can keep what I will actually use and not stuff that I think I will “maybe” need one day.
What changes are you making next year? Link up for 2Gether We Are Better and share below: