Classroom Layout/Setup

Love having photos of the students work in action! 

One thing I've learned is, classroom layout is so important when teaching. It was fun redesigning my classroom for PLTW and I love how things turned out. I'm constantly re-evaluating the design and moving things to make it work for my students. Here's a few tips:



1. Make sure you have an area where kids can come together without distractions. Such as a carpet area. This was so huge for me especially since I have a computer lab as my classroom.

2. Because I teach every student within the school, each student has a 3-prong folder that I keep in the class. Inside their folders are:
 • username/passwords to every program we use for easy access. 
 • launch logs (PLTW) and graph paper for drawing, notes, etc... 

3. Flexible seating if at all possible. I have regular chairs, rockers and cubes for students to choose from. 

4. Designated supply areas.

I hope these images help anyone trying to come of with classroom layout ideas. I'll post more as I do new things and come up with other ideas. 

ScratchJr®...A great coding app!

ScratchJr® is so amazing!
It's a great coding app for younger children and easy to navigate.

Check out their website and see what awesome things they offer. I use ScratchJr® with my Kindergarteners, 1st and 2nd graders to design and code programs in our STEAM class. Many of our ideas come from the curriculum that PLTW® incorporates into there modules. But, I've also designed some projects myself. 

The students love it and it's so much fun, especially the part about being able to draw your own characters and backgrounds. The art teacher in me is definatley coming out here. 

Below are the links to some FREE posters for you that I've created for my students. Please feel free to use them, but since ScratchJr® is copy written, I ask that you don't sell them on any site, thank you. 

ScratchJr - poster1

ScratchJr - poster2

If you would like some other great resources to go with your programming curriculum check out my TPT shoppe. I've got a lot of STEm/STEAM resources to choose from. Here's a sample of what I use when setting up pair programming partners. It's a great way to get both students involved without the fighting over who gets to touch the IPads. 

 

If you are able to, only have 2 students per device and let them take turns being the Driver and Navigator. Both students will present together. 

But, If you have to have 3 students together, this helps give them all jobs. But each child should get the opportunity to be the driver. I usually alter days or tasks so there's no confusion. 

Here's the link to my Programming Jobs print in my shoppe. I use this everytime and it really makes a difference and eliminates the arguments. 

1st Grades Game Design

April 2019 Newslettter!

April STEAM Newsletter - To view the PDF, just click on the link and download the PDF to your computer. You don't need Dropbox, just download the file to your computer.

I get asked this alot...
"What is STEAM?"

STEAM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. It's an educational approach to learning that uses problem solving for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. The end results are students who have real-world problems to solve are naturally motivated. 

STEAM education provides children opportunities to work on a task, experiment, correct mistakes and develop strategies. They are able to create theories that they test and then modify them from what happens. It provides children with an active role in their own learning. It also allows for independent, partner and group work to take place, giving them real-world scenerios.  

A really great website that I found to better explain all the ascpects of STEAM is "Understanding STEAM and how children use it." 

1st Graders Designing a shoe adapted to where they're traveling

Unplugged Coding

 Coding with Students! 

If you are thinking about implementing coding into your curriculum, you need to check out: code.org! 

Your students will create their own games, art, and digital stories that they can share - all while developing problem-solving, collaboration, persistence, and computational thinking skills. Do your students love to get up and move around? Half of the lessons are "unplugged" activities that teach computational thinking and digital citizenship skills without computers. 

Code.org is a FREE and lets educators create classes, distribute assignments, and see everything in one place. I absolutely LOVE it and I had never taught coding until this year.

Launch Update!  

So EXCITED to update you on the LAUNCH of PLTW (Project Lead the Way) into our curriculum...
Click on the link below for our newest Newsletter!
November Launch Newsletter

Create your own Channel!  

One of the best things I have done over the years is create my own YouTube channel.

I use videos to teach lots of concepts and this is a great way to store them for easy access and it also allows you to post them so kids can watch them as instructional tools.

Do you have lots of videos that you use in your classroom? 
Is it hard to find them and/or you feel like you have to search through a billion folders and files to find them? 

This is what I have used for years with all my classes and since I teach K-5th grade, it has been a lifesaver.

How can you use it in the classroom?
You literally have all your videos (both the ones you create and others) at your fingertips. You can create a playlist of links that can be shared - privately or publicly, if you'd like. The link will take students, colleagues and parents straight to your saved videos. YouTube will also generate you a embedded code to add to your blog, google classroom page, etc... It's perfect for students who might need to watch a video again for "extra practice" or to find important information during the school year.

Here's a link (below) to one of my favorite borrowed videos. I have playlists for both ART & STEAM!
Never Give Up!