The countdown is on people! Back to school time is upon us and I am tremendously excited! My sisters and I always loved back to school time when we were small. We used to write lists and lists of what we needed, and then we’d go in to Galway and pick them all out with Mom, those were the days!We should have known then that three of us would end up teachers, and the other a doctor with a fondness for books and writing! ANYWAY, luckily I still get the opportunity to experience the back to school excitement. The start of a new academic year brings so many possibilities and opportunities. I just love it. I can’t wait to set up my room.
Speaking of which, what does one include in one’s classroom?Well it depends on the teacher really! I have lots of stuff you don’t strictly need!
Here’s a list of the bare minimum in my opinion.
- A display board for English (word wall), Irish, Maths and SESE and Art. Luckily, I have loads of display boards in my lovely classroom so there’s no shortage.
2. A display of the classroom rules.
3. A display of days of the week, months of the year, numbers etc in Irish for younger classes, phrases and verbs for older classes.
4. Map of Ireland, Europe and the world for senior classes, maybe just Ireland for younger classes.
5. A nice little library area if you have room.
6. An early finishers table with a variety of resources.
7. Have your tables grouped, it makes it so much easier for differentiation. Also, I usually allow my class to move seats every two weeks. I think it is better for them as they make friends with everyone this way and don’t become dependent on one friend.
8. Have a nice space for yourself too. I have a wonderful sliderobe , and it is my favourite thing in my classroom. The space in it is AMAZING! and it doubles as even more display boards! I have so much storage for my teacher books, art materials, resources, puppets- everything goes in there!
9. Have a designated area for glue sticks, scissors, writing utensils and so on within easy reach of the children.
10. A display of classroom jobs which can be rotated.
11. A display of some sort for your behaviour management scheme.
Here are some photos of my 5th and 6th classroom from last September:
