My Classroom 2011-2012

For the last two years I have been teaching in a self-contained cross-categorical (SC/CC) class for Kindergarten through fifth grade and a year ago the other SC/CC teacher and I combined our two classes and split up our teaching subjects. I now teach math to two ability groups in the morning and I teach math again to two to three different ability groups in the afternoon. I also teach social studies and science throughout the year to either the K-2 group or the 3-5 group while Raven teaches the other group science or social studies and she teaches ALL of the language arts. In other words, I don't teach spelling, reading or writing.

All math materials moved to my room the DAY BEFORE kids arrived!

Did I mention this was the day before students came back?

When we went to our principal with this plan over a year ago he allowed us to go for it even though he had never heard of an elementary EC program having such an unconventional arrangement. It sounds confusing, but it has really made lesson planning, classroom management and student grouping, and student learning and retention improve all together. We started by ability grouping our students: we have students ranging from Kindergarten through fifth grade and none of them are in the ability level as their grade level peers. We created groups for the ability levels that did not give a high, low, basic, advanced or other level designation. Our groups this year are Tarheels, Pirates, Wolfpack, and Mountaineers (all NC college teams: UNC, ECU, NCSU, ASU. The Tarheels have students that range from Kindergarten through fourth grade, but they generally work on skills based on the Kindergarten and first grade curriculum standards. The Pirates have students ranging from second grade through fifth grade and is taught at the second grade and third grade curriculum level. The Wolfpack group is made up of fourth and fifth grades and works at the third and fourth grade curriculum levels. The Mountaineer group is also made up of fourth and fifth graders and generally works at the same curriculum level as the Wolfpack but they move through material faster and more accurately.
The pictures above are from my old classroom which was one of the largest in the school and now I have been moved to a room that I affectionately call "my cubby". Considering the fact that I always have at least 8-9 students and two adults in the room at all times and my room is intended to be an office it is probably safe to say that I now have the smallest classroom in the school.