Classroom decorations - Update

So it was back to school this past week for me (although I don't actually start taking classes until next week.) This year I have everyone in my own room for 25 minutes every other day. And no morning duty. Basically it's going to be the best year ever!

Every year I'm in my room I get smarter about how to organize things and post information for students to use. Here's what my room used to look like. This year the big add was new question word posters, maps with country information (because my kiddos said they wanted to know more about Spanish speaking countries in their end of the year surveys) and pictures to show them what things should look like when everything is put away.

View from the door. Everything is posted low so students can easily reference things sitting on the floor.

The orange squares are our Kagan Cooperative Learning mats. I use them even on the carpet! My only pet peeve is they pick them up and bend them but I went ahead and made extras this year so I can replace them easily. Get your own Spanish versions in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here!

You can't see them but I also have Mundo de Pepita's direction cards laminated and with magnets on the board so I can quickly and easily give directions in the target language. Get them here!

I also have six tables that kids can sit at to work as well as four tables from Ikea that can be used as one large coffee table or sometimes the kids like to pull them apart and have 4 small tables. It helps keep game pieces from getting mixed together.

My desk area, map bulletin board, and whiteboard easel. I have my own posters to remind me of the 11 national standards and for our district curriculum. 

My students sit facing me and my white board easel during whole group instruction and then turn to face the SMART board when we're watching a video. I'm excited about the new map being front and center so I can easily show students where different places are. It used to be in the back of the room higher up and was hard to use.

I had to update my question word posters since my others were faded. I love having them up front and center because as soon as I moved them the students started asking me questions. It felt like magic! I like these mini posters because they have photos instead of clip art.  I want my students to see the world for what it really is not just a bunch of cutesy clip art. What's more inspiring - a photo of Machu Picchu or clip art? A woman selling in a market or a clip art of a stick figure? Get your own set here!

Si se puede binder with proficiency posters so students know where they're at and where they're going!

I love our Si Se Puede area where kids keep track of their proficiency through bubbles. Check out  post on that here. We have our culturally relevant poster with Chichen Itza and posters from World Language Classroom that explain what you can do at each sublevel and what you're working on. The big ACTFL poster is great for heritage speakers who are beyond a novice level and for me to explain that I'm also still learning Spanish and showing kids where I'm at. Get your own Chichen Itza proficiency poster here. 

Students turn in their work to the basket (never ever ever on my desk) and then they can pick off the Fast Finisher menu. I just turn around an option if it's not on the menu for the day. This year I added a photo of what the shelf should look like with everything put away with the phrase "Guarda cada cosa en su lugar."

I also added a box with a few stuffies that students can chat with in Spanish and I took away a Candy Land game (that they always fought over who got to play and forgot to speak Spanish while playing) and added instead some doctor toys and pretend patient intake forms. I prefer more pretend play anyway and I hope it will encourage them to speak more Spanish...fingers crossed. If it works (and after we play it in class) I'll add a café menu and play food.

My kiddos do a self-assessment on the way out the door by high fiving a hand that matches how they felt about class that day. I am considering taking down all but 2 just because I feel like I'm always teaching and reteaching them not to high five ALL five at once. 

I've never had a student work area before although I have put things out in the hallway but I'm excited to put up work here this year surrounded by masterpieces. The clothespins are hot glued to the wall! 

I also added a picture of what the supply buckets should look like put away AND I added colored paper to show exactly where. Is this super OCD? Possibly but I had to write Elsa on my hand last year to remind myself to "let it go" when my room was a mess after getting out supplies. If this helps kids to put things away in the correct place even a few more times than last year then I will be happy.

Computer area

I got pinterest-y this year and hung my anchor charts using curtain rods, command hooks, and binder rings. I can leave them up there or grab them and hang them on the back of my whiteboard easel for easy reference during class.

Our fifth grade teachers have complained that their students don't know their map skills as well as they should so I'm doing my part this year by emphasizing that. We'll be doing continents in kindergarten and 1st grade and country spotlights in the older grades. I used Fun for Spanish Teachers' amazing country posters and flag coloring pages from Teachers Pay Teachers. Get them here! 

I put them on a binder ring and put fast facts like capital, currency, and famous landmarks underneath them. Each month I'll flip to a new country. This is the wall right where students line up so it will give them something interesting to look at while they wait to be picked up.




So that's the room for this year! Do you have a room or a cart? How do you organize supplies? Display posters etc? Share in the comments below!