To Decorate or Not Decorate...That is the Question

I love looking at all the cute elementary teachers' classroom pictures. There's something so magical and inviting with all the colors, rugs, story time areas, and cute tiny tables and chairs.

Then, as students get older and the desks get taller, classrooms start to turn...well, a little bland.

What happened to the bright colors?
The rugs on the floor?
The polka dot curtains?
The decorated doors?

Are those things reserved just for the tiny tots in the primary grades? To be honest, I don't think I could picture students in chemistry class sitting around little decorated chairs doing a lab experiment, could you? And if you let high school students sit on a carpet square in the room for story time, wouldn't they just fall asleep? And wouldn't group desk formations encourage cheating?

These are all excuses we high school teachers come up with because, quite frankly, who has time for this?

There are syllabi to copy!
Lessons to plan!
Rosters to load!
Apps to be ran!

Yet, elementary teachers do many of these things and even though they may only have 30 students to our 150, they do have prep work that does not involve decorating. So perhaps high school teachers just decide that classroom aesthetics aren't that important.

But...are they?

Do you decorate your high school room? If so, how does it impact the learning environment, if at all?

I've actually given this a lot of thought because I like a colorful room. I love hanging memes, quote signs, and posters relating to the novels we read. And an English classroom wouldn't be complete without books! These things count as decoration, right?

I think having a happy-looking room will brighten the students' moods. At least I hope it does. I've never done any formal research on the topic, but would love to see a study about this for secondary classrooms.

So I'm going to share some of my classroom pictures that may not be as colorful or organized as my elementary teacher friends', but I love my classroom. :)

I have almost an entire wall in my classroom lined with bookshelves. As my classroom library grew, the wonderful custodians in my building added the short oak bookcases--one-by-one each summer. Three years ago, our new counselor redecorated one of the rooms in her office and no longer needed the tall bookshelves, so our custodians--knowing how much I could use them--surprised me by adding them to my room. (Did I say already that I have THE best custodians!?)

I also think plants make any room feel more warm and homey.

On the window by my classroom door I added the previous years' "book selfies" (this is a FREEBIE in my store). Students love to look at the books their classmates recommend each year, so I continue to add to them each year as I get new book selfies from students. I will probably have to extend the display onto the door as it grows. I love that the first thing they see walking in and walking out are books.

Another simple tip is to add fresh flowers from your yard (or the neighbor's, if they don't mind!). Flowers make everyone feel special and students DO notice these little things. It's simple and it really does help with creating a more cheerful mood and adding a fresh scent. Just be aware of allergies--some flowers have pollen that may spark hayfever or other allergic reactions. 

Don't neglect the ceiling; it's a way to display student work and add a 3-dimensional feature to your room without cluttering the walls or using valuable board space. Here, I displayed student collage mobiles and trading cards. Both are great back-to-school activities.

I usually use my whiteboards for displaying student work. One thing I learned from elementary teachers is to use bulletin-board borders on my whiteboard to separate sections. I have one section I use for making announcements and displays students who were featured in the newspaper for various achievements.

Interactive bulletin boards are also very popular with secondary students. It gives students something to read and interact with before, after, and during class if time permits. This one is a banned books display in a social studies classroom.

Memes can be fun reminders of your classroom rules, policies, or just to supplement your instruction. And we all know how much middle and high school students love memes, so don't be afraid to add them to your decor.

Please share how you "decorate" your secondary room and feel free to link up a post to your blog or website. I'd love to see more examples of secondary rooms! And thanks to all the elementary teachers out there who bring color and joy into the lives of millions of school children each year.

This post is featured on the TeachersPayTeachers (TpT) Blog. You'll find many helpful articles for secondary teachers there!

Hunger Games DVD Giveaway!

In case you hadn't heard, I'm having a giveaway for "The Hunger Games" DVD on my other blog Hunger Games Lessons. It ends this week, so make sure you enter to win it and my Hunger Games Novel vs. Movie lesson pack.

In addition, I posted links to various Hunger Games freebies from my teaching friends.  There's a wide variety, so check them out.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great week!

I Know What You Read This Summer

I Know What You Read This Summer - Have students post books they read for other students to see.

I've decided to switch my old "Good Reads" board space up this year. I use that space to encourage students to suggest books to their classmates. It allows them to see what their friends are reading, rather than just having me suggest books. It's also more meaningful coming from their peers. In addition, they get a chance to contribute to the classroom "decor" (if you can call my room having "decor"). Students LOVE writing on white boards. I have no idea why, but even my seniors enjoyed the opportunity to write on the board.

So I made this sign for that space: "I Know What You Read This Summer." I am sure that someone before me probably came up with this parody of the novel/movie, since I Know What You Did Last Summer has been around for years (1973 to be exact). But you are welcome to download this poster for your own classroom. You can take the image file from here, or download it in my TpT store for a larger, better quality PDF file.

I've posted some classroom pictures on my Facebook Page and will add more on here when I have the board up. :)

What do you do to encourage students to read? Please share with us!

It's a Clip Art Giveaway!

Like the banner says, you do NOT want to miss this giveaway!
Check out all the TeachersPayTeachers clip artists and enter the giveaway for a great bundle of art.
Just click on the banner to get started. It ends Sunday, so enter now.

I'll be giving away my popular "It's a Hoot" Owl package. But guess what? If you already have that bundle, I'll let you pick out any other package from my store.

Special thanks to Lita from Learning in Spain for hosting this giveaway.

Good luck, friends!

Are You a Teacher? Do You Love Pinterest? Join the Edu-Pinner Link-Up

In case you haven't noticed, I love Pinterest. I'm a self-proclaimed pinhead and proud of it. I recently joined Rainbows Within Reach's "Great Edu-Pinner Link-Up." Thanks to Debbie from Rainbows for putting together this awesome collection of educational Pinterest users. She is number one and has 25K+ followers! Isn't that amazing? I am number 85. I think the last I checked I had a little over 2K, so I have a ways to go. I try to follow back, but if you link up your Pinterest url below, it'll be much easier for me.

I pin a lot of teaching tips, resources, freebies, and humor onto my boards. And, of course, anything related to The Hunger Games trilogy. But my Hunger Games boards are only a small fraction of what I pin. In fact, guess which pin is my most popular? It's from my humor board and I pinned it on Jan. 1, 2012. Yep, it's a comic.

According to PinReach, this is my most popular pin.

My more popular boards are:
Teaching The Hunger Games Trilogy
Teaching Resources
Back to School
Books Worth Reading
1:1 Technology
Education (lots of infographics and misc. posts related to education)

I'd love to see more secondary teachers on the list. I do love the elementary teachers, so no offense to any of you at all. Looking into your classrooms and seeing all the fun things you get to do with your students makes me a little envious. But then I remember that you also have to help your students blow their noses and I'm back to being OK with teaching high school. So come on, middle and high school teachers...let's see your pin boards!

What Are Your Classroom Rules?

From Close to Home by John McPherson

One of the more difficult parts of classroom management is coming up with a list of classroom rules. You could be like Mrs. Mutner (above) and cover everything from "wearing weird clothes" or "making smart-alecky remarks." Or you could keep it more simple (which is what I would recommend).

I like to show the Close to Home comic and actually keep this posted in my classroom near the doorway. I've been a John McPherson fan for many years and stock my classroom with several of his Close to Home books for my students to enjoy. I love using humor and showing your students Mrs. Mutner's rules is a great icebreaker into your own class rules. Here are some additional "humorous" images from my classroom that I posted last year, before I had any followers. :)

After my students loosen up, I give them my classroom rules. It's important to keep your rules simple and broad. Here are some guidelines I learned long ago from one of my education professors:

Here's an example of my classroom rules (or expectations):

You can download a copy of this poster free (without the website link) from my teacher store: 

Simple Class Rules for the Secondary Teacher

Though they are short, they lead into various discussions, like being punctual, bringing all the necessary supplies to class (book, pen/pencil, paper, laptop, etc.), how we treat one another, and appropriate language used in the classroom.

Even though you want to keep your rules simple, class procedures are another story. You will want to go over little things like how they should turn in homework (Do you want it printed on paper? written in pencil? emailed to you? dropped in your digital dropbox? and so on...).

Elementary teachers will have to be more detailed, even modeling some of the procedures for the students. You can see Wise Guys' resources for class procedures if you teach elementary. They have a freebie you can download {HERE}.

Secondary teachers may not have to model as much, but it is still a good idea to go over procedures the first day of school or sometime during the first week of school. Topics will most likely vary from elementary; I always go over our school handbook rules on cell phone use, turning in late work, and chewing gum. My packet "Can I Chew Gum in Class?" is a great way to cover these procedures and rules in a way that is less boring than just reading them from a syllabus. It also places more responsibility on the students for figuring out what the rules are.

I also love Miriam  Hamilton Keare's "Golden Rules For Living" as seen below in the image. I inherited this from another teacher when I first started out and have kept it posted in my classroom for years.

Whether this is your first year or 30th year teaching, I hope you find these classroom rules and procedures tips helpful. Though I have been working in education since 1994, I still question my beginning of the year routine. Each year a few days before school starts (or, the night before) I always go over my syllabus and make adjustments. I learn from other teachers all the time. Even from Mrs. Mutner...on what not to do, of course.

Have a GREAT school year!

-Tracee

Designing Your Cover Page - The Rule of Thirds

Photographers know that one way to create an appealing photograph is to follow the "rule of thirds." The rule of thirds is simply breaking up the picture into nine equal parts using two vertical and two horizontal lines. The places where the lines meet are "focal points" and your most important elements should be placed along these lines.

To demonstrate this in photography, see the graphic below. One image naturally follows the rule of thirds and becomes even more visually appealing when it is cropped. The other image is not naturally set up to follow the grid, but after it is cropped, it does become a more interesting picture.

You can use this same principle in design. I use iWork's Pages (Mac) for most of my designs. It is very similar to Adobe's InDesign software, which I used in journalism. You can follow the rule of thirds in any design software, including Microsoft Word. However, using Pages and InDesign make it easier for you to create a grid that you can see, but will not print. In both programs, just place your cursor in the ruler, then hold it down and drag your cursor to the place you want the line. Once you start dragging, a blue line will appear.

Start with a blank document in Pages (or InDesign).

Place your cursor in the ruler, then click and drag it. A blue line will appear. Unclick when the line is where you want it.

To make the horizontal lines, drag from the top ruler.

The lines can always be adjusted by placing your cursor on them and moving them. To get rid of them, just move them right off the page, and they will disappear. (I do not know if Microsoft Word or Powerpoint have the design gridlines feature, but you can always download a template HERE; just be sure to delete it after you've designed your page and before you print, because that one will show up.)

Repeat this step until you have nine equal parts.

Notice that the four intersections will be places that the viewer's eye is drawn. This is where you want to place your dominant features or elements. Also, following the horizontal or vertical lines with a dominant feature (like the title or a large graphic) will be more eye-appealing.

Many people will be tempted to place a dominant image right in the center of the page. I have been guilty of that, as well. But the more stimulating designs will place a dominant image off-center, following one of the vertical or horizontal lines.

Below are examples of a cover page and a page from one of my Powerpoint presentations that demonstrate the rule of thirds. Notice that the cover page does not have any dynamic images, but because the title is placed on the upper horizontal line, it is more appealing. You can use lighting effects to also draw the viewer's eye to one of the focal points, as demonstrated in the presentation page example.

This does not mean that you should always follow the rule of thirds. But if you are struggling with design and want to try something that will catch the viewer's eye (perhaps make your pages more "pin-worthy" on Pinterest), try this method out and see if it works for you. Good luck!

You can download this tutorial FREE in my teacher store, which includes two gridline .png graphics and additional tips:

DESIGNING A COVER PAGE USING THE RULE OF THIRDS

It's The Lesson Cloud Dollar Days Back-to-School Sale AND a Giveaway!

The Dollar Days Sale & Giveaway sponsored by The Lesson Cloud!

The Lesson Cloud authors are presenting a big Dollar Days sale this week! PLUS, you can win a $75 gift card to Really Good Stuff in our Back-to-School Giveaway!
You can get great deals on so many teacherspayteachers lessons, activities, printables, and other teaching resources for just $1 or $2. But it's only happening Sunday, July 29th and Monday, July 30th, so you'll need to put those items on your wish list or add to your cart so you don't forget.

To see all the great resources that will be marked down and to enter the $75 giveaway gift card, go to 

The Lesson Cloud Dollar Days

There you can click on the grade-level resources that are marked at super discounts and enter our giveaway!

  I will be marking down several products, including:

Grades 6-12: 
Common Core Graphic Organizers for Grades 9-10
Using Silly Shapes/Bands Bracelets to Teach Symbolism
Mockingjay Novel Unit Supplemental Activities/Lessons
The Life & Times of Shakespeare Powerpoint Presentation
 MLA Citations & Works Cited Student Help/Cheat Sheet 
Character Olympics - The Summer Games


Grades K-4:

  Create an Award Craftivity
Writing Lines Commercial & Personal-Use Clip Art (For handwriting practice) 

Clip Art:

More Seusstastic (Dr. Seuss-themed) Frames, Borders, Backgrounds

Writing Lines Commercial & Personal-Use Clip Art  (For handwriting practice)

Line-Art (or outline) Adults/Teachers Cartoon Characters Clip Art Package

Thanks to Hilary Lewis for designing the cute logo at the top!
Check out her blog {HERE}.

Simple Solution for my External Hard Drive Problem...

Do you have a laptop? Do you also use an external hard drive or charge your phone on your laptop? If so, maybe you can relate to my problem that has been bugging me for over a year (and why I never thought of this solution sooner is beyond me).

You see, the only time I really use my laptop at a desk is at school. I mean, it's a laptop. It's meant to be portable! But when I have my external hard drive attached I tend to forget it's there. So, there have been numerous times I've gotten up from my relaxed position on the family room couch only to find that I, once again, accidentally unplugged the hard drive. It's especially frustrating when I'm in the middle of something new and I hadn't saved it.

For some time I've been looking for some sort of pocket to attach to my laptop case to hold it. Believe it or not, I could not find anything designed for an external hard drive (or my iPhone, either...which tends to have the same fate when it's attached & I forget about it). There had to be something. But, I had no such luck.

Then I realized that my hard drive came with a little carrying case. (I have a tendency to toss these things aside and instead cram all my devices into my school bag...) I found the case in a junk drawer and brainstormed ways I could attach it to my laptop.

It didn't take long to realize that Velcro(TM) would be the best way to secure it. I bought some industrial strength (no, the hard drive isn't heavy, but I wanted to guarantee it would never fall off) and easily stuck it on. The best part is that the little case can also hold my iPhone, as well, as it charges. (I just realized it can hold one of my little cameras, too.) Since the pocket has a zipper, I just keep the top open so the cord can stick out. I can easily carry it around the house without worrying about it slipping or sliding and falling. Seriously, this simple solution has made my life so much easier!

Here are some additional pictures and the how-to steps:

Supplies you will need: Velcro (I used industrial strength...it's not going anywhere!), scissors, laptop, external hard drive case.

The external hard drive case remains secure as the laptop is opened and closed.

The steps are simple: 

1. Cut the Velcro to the size of your case. 

2. Attach one piece to your case, the other to your laptop cover.

3. Stick the case on the Velcro, making sure the opening is "up" so the hard drive doesn't fall out.

Problem of the accidental detachment of external hard drive is SOLVED!

If your external hard drive doesn't come with a little case, you could probably make one yourself if you are crafty and can sew. Or maybe you could convince the family consumer science teacher (a.k.a. home ec) that this would be a great project for the sewing class! :) Either way, I do hope you find my simple tip helpful if you happen to have the same problem.

Back-to-School Activities to Inspire Creativity

 This summer seems to have flown by and I find myself debating different activities for back-to-school. No matter which ones I choose, I do love to inspire creativity in my students from the first day. It's important for them to see that I value and encourage creative thought. So here's a list of some great back-to-school activities you can share with your students.

ICEBREAKERS

1. I just uploaded a new freebie today, which is based on an old favorite: Create a Caricature {South Park Style}. In the past I've had students create caricatures from the novel we were currently reading. But why not have them create little miniatures of themselves? Last year when we started our class blog, my students created their caricatures but most were unable to upload their pictures on Blogger because of some filters on our school servers. I created a work-around in a Google Doc that should allow my students to not only share their caricatures, but collaborate on some additional activities. This is also included in this back-to-school free download.

The download has a student information planning guide so they can write information about themselves before creating their image. I always learn a lot about my students when I see their "mimi-me" creations. You can share them with parents on Open House night, as well.

Journalism connection: You can also have students create the caricatures for the yearbook or school newspaper. Have all the seniors create their own caricatures and use them for quotes or shout-outs throughout the book. The newspaper staff could have these figures as their head/mug shots rather than the standard staff picture.

And students aren't the only ones who should have fun creating caricatures: you can make a welcome back sign in your likeness, as well. Have fun with it!

2. Another free activity is my Back-to-School Top 10 Lists. Have your students come up with positive reasons to be back in school. The lists my students have come up with over the years are hilarious. I included some samples in the download, along with additional ways you can incorporate the activity into your curriculum.

3. And who doesn't love BINGO? This is a variation from the traditional, and I certainly did not come up with the idea. I am sure I picked it up early in my teaching career somewhere, but I've included a couple of templates that I did create. And because each of us differ, I also included a blank template.

 4. Last year I blogged about my collage mobile activity, which actually takes longer than a traditional icebreaker and it is a priced item. But it is another great activity my students have enjoyed.

 
5. Create a Meme: This is a new activity I uploaded this week to guide students to create their own meme. (It is priced.) The lesson goes over what a meme is, characteristics of memes, and loads of examples--most that are hilarious! It includes a 55-slide presentation and several student templates. I want teachers to be able to use my activities more than just once a year, so this has additional ways to incorporate the meme into your curriculum: research project, literature/history connection,  and so on. Updated: Here's an entire MEME Bundle that includes icebreakers, research project, presentations, and more!

6. Welcome to Class Word Cloud:  In the spring I blogged about using your class list to make a nice end-of-the-year word cloud (On Wordle.net or Tagxedo.com). Though it was an idea for graduates, why not make a word cloud of your new group of students' names to welcome them to your room?

7. "Me" Poem Word Cloud: In April 2011 I showed you how to make a character word cloud on my other blog, Hunger Games Lessons. In my poetry unit I have my students create "me" poems (or "I am", "bio" poems), then have them paste their poems into Wordle or Tagxedo. Instead of doing this during the poetry unit or for a character, you could have your students do this activity as a way to get to know one another. Have them print and hang in the room for their classmates to see.

CLASSROOM RULES & PROCEDURES

See another post I have on this topic HERE.

8. Can I Chew Gum in Class? How many times have you heard that question on the first day of school? I always hated going over the rules and procedures because it always took so long and students were zoned out. I would explain that cell phones were not allowed and a minute later a student would ask if she could have her cell phone. Ugh!

This prompted me to create an activity that was student-led and more fun as we go over the rules and classroom procedures. I like to have students read the statements aloud, then they search the school handbook for the answers. If it's something not in the handbook, I'll have them guess the answer, or give it to them to record on the handout. (Writing it out helps them remember. Then they keep it in their class folder so if they forget and happen to ask if they can have gum, I'll tell them to refer to their notes from the first day.) I always have plenty of volunteers to read the statements because I wrote them in "teenage" lingo--basically quoting questions my own students have asked year after year. However, it is editable so you can customize it for your classroom and school. And because I am always curious about how others are running their classrooms (am I too strict? too lax?), I included the answers I give my students. If you are a first-year middle- or high-school teacher, this will be very helpful.

9. Meme posters: Use memes to convey your class rules and procedures! Students LOVE these!

I hope you find some useful activities for your first week of school. And make sure you enjoy the rest of your summer! :)

Check out more activities and ideas in my teacher store on Teachers Pay Teachers:

www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tracee-Orman