What I have done

Wow, I cannot believe that it has been this long since I last posted something here. Since the 31st of July I have been very busy getting my classroom ready, meeting with other 5th grade teachers about math, language arts and science, and working in my room. On August 1st, I packed up my old classroom in anticipation of the August 2nd moving day. I spent 4 hours emptying cabinets, drawers, purging files, and packing up my library. On August 2nd, I opened up my new room and had several friends help me move. Because of my knee replacements, it is hard for me to go up and down steps carrying boxes. Luckily, I got to use the elevator for the move. After the boxes and tubs were brought upstairs, I started organizing the room. One of the things that we were warned about was that we could have 30 students next year, so I had to rearrange the room to accommodate 30 desks (and do centers). On Thursday, Lauren and I are going to send a letter to our new students (well, my students from last year and a few new ones). They are also going to have an assignment to do. Here is a picture of the letter and assignment. Today I spent the day meeting with 5th grade math teachers and we planned for the first two weeks of school. That was a mind-boggling experience. I haven't taught math in four years, and now it is at a new grade level to boot, with new standards (Common Core). Here are links to the Wikis and Live Binders that I made over the summer: This is a repository of ideas for the upcoming year including the first and second day activities, goal setting and technology ideas, and the open house presentation. Language Arts Wiki Writing Page on the Language Arts Wiki Ecosystems Wiki Math Wiki (started, just got the map on 8/14) Reader's Workshop/Writers Workshop Introduction Space Wiki (just started) Pinterest Boards Classroom ideas Open House/conferences Writing Technology Math Science Language Arts Classroom Theme Ideas Live Binders: Reading Science Technology Audio Books Online Misc Teaching Ideas Pictures of my new room: