My School
In 2017 I was hired to teach Kindergarten at Bartlett Elementary in the South Lyon Community School District. With one year of Kindergarten under my belt, I was asked to move to a First Grade position in my building and have been there since! I absolutely love teaching First Grade and couldn't imagine doing anything else. We are a Cultures of Thinking district that invest in providing opportunities for students to articulate their thinking in many different ways. Bartlett is a school that puts positive environments and enriching cultures first.
"The mission of Bartlett Elementary is to build a culture where student ideas are valued and opportunities are provided for all students to engage in active learning. We are committed to empowering students to become collaborative problem solvers, effective communicators and independent learners".
"The mission of Bartlett Elementary is to build a culture where student ideas are valued and opportunities are provided for all students to engage in active learning. We are committed to empowering students to become collaborative problem solvers, effective communicators and independent learners".
My Classroom
Here is a peek inside my First Grade classroom!
My room is small, but there are many creative ways I've used this space. One example is with reading spots! To get students out of their seats there are many spots on the floor or different seating areas around the room. A class favorite is sitting under the tables to read! I like to prioritize using the precious space that I have showing off what we are learning. One way I do this is with anchor charts. Students feel proud to see our learning on display and it is also a great visual reminder.
On the left is a picture of our calendar, visual daily schedule, and "I can statements". Our calendar helps keep us organized while we practice math skills like skip counting, patterns, and place value. The visual schedule prepares us for our day and keeps us on track for learning! On the right is a picture of our classroom library complete with both leveled and "free choice" books so students are able to shop for books that are at their reading level and are interesting to them at the same time. We work hard to take care of our books and keep them organized. When students come across books they really like and want to recommend to other students there is a "please read" bin that I will read aloud during snack time and students can share what they like about it and why the recommended it. Building a healthy community around literature and reading is one of my passions!