2. * Students use this area to calm high emotions, whether they are
angry, sad, upset, or even too energized. Included are a basket of
sensory items, charts that show different emotions, pillows, sand
timers with different intervals, a rice tube, and sensory bottles.
3. * I often find objects that can be on display or
explored by students. Our young students
benefit from seeing real objects. I have an
antique globe, a “classic” style phone, real
feathers, shells, crystals, nuts and seeds, and
many other items that I like to put out for
student exploration. One student drew a
picture of “Jack” the skeleton. I have an
aquarium that houses visitors that I find when
hiking. We have had garter snakes, ring neck
snakes, turtles, and many frogs visit us!
4. * A few years ago, I noticed that my students would
go to the art and sensory table for very long
periods of time. I read a story about standing work
stations and the many benefits to standing while
working. I convinced Dave to build this simple
table for my kids. It is a standing height for them.
They experiment with sensory items, draw, paint,
cut, glue, and create. There are shelves with art
materials behind the curtains. Students have
access to them for activities, but the curtain hides
it away when not in use. The wood top has become
quite a colorful piece of art in itself!
* The current sensory activity in the container
includes nuts, bolts, locks with keys, and real
tools. There is also a pulley hanging from the
ceiling with a rope and a basket. When adult
supervision is available, students can wear safety
goggles and hit nails into a board.
5. * At the beginning of the year, students find
examples of 2D shapes and colors to create
collage posters. The color activity is much
easier for the students. When they find shapes,
I encourage them to find a wide variety and
include all kinds of triangles. We search for 3D
shapes later in the year. You can also see one of
our sharing microphones in this picture. We use
them to read our writing to the class.
6. * I have other entries about fine
motor and handwriting on these
blog pages, but I also want to
include it here. When students
come to our teacher table for
guided reading or small group
instruction, I closely monitor
their handwriting. If needed, I
have them use a grip or special
pencil to develop a more
efficient grasp. These are just
some of the tools they use. This
student is showing how to use a
Twist n’ Write.
* I also provide a variety of
chopsticks and tweezers for
independent work to build hand
strength.
7. * Students found ways to create numbers using
dots, 10 frames, and math manipulatives.
(These are the black and white photos on the
posters.) For the alphabet chart, students find
words that begin with the letters. They
continue this activity all year. This picture was
taken toward the beginning of the year.
8. * We have a life size ruler hanging by our
door. Students draw small self-portraits,
and we hang them to show their height.
Students love checking to see if they have
grown taller. Most grow 1 inch during the
school year, but some grow 2! We do a
comparison activity at the end of the
year.
9. * I always watch for baskets, bowls,
and other containers that my
students can use in our room.
They use them to sort materials,
to carry items, to hold math
manipulatives, and many other
activities. The student on the
right used some to build a prairie
dog house.
10. * I have a large amount of books in
my classroom. With the exception
of the 2 blue bins on the bottom
left, all of these books personally
belong to me. I also have many
bins of chapter books, and a a
filing cabinet full of books
arranged by author or topic. We
use books as mentor texts for
writing, practicing comprehension
skills, learning new information,
and for reading enjoyment!
* In early grades, it is important to
have books that students can
read, including wordless books. I
also provide a lot of non-fiction
for the students. Even if they
cannot read everything, they can
learn from the pictures.
* Diversity is important to me as
well. I work hard to find books
that are culturally rich, and books
that show a variety of family
types.
11. * I attended a conference quite a few
years ago, where the presenter
shared findings based on
neuroscience. One tidbit that really
resonated with me was the idea of
novelty. She said that the human
mind loves novelty. Even content
that can seem dry or repetitive, can
become appealing if taught in a
novel way. I try to keep things fun
with my kids. We make up songs and
rhymes to remember things, we play
games, we even try to have fun
little tricks added to our routines
like lining up. I want my students to
have fun at school. As a parent, I
have appreciated when teachers
have fun with my kids in class!
* For April Fool’s Day, we made “eggs
and bacon” for the other teachers.
In the other picture, we dyed
noodles for our sensory center, and
the students were amused that I also
dyed my hand!
* This is not a physical area of my
classroom, but it is a huge part of
our learning environment.
