#mtboschallenge Week 3: Sharing Classroom Photos

This is Week 3 of the #mtboschallenge on twitter.  The challenge is to blog once a week for the remainder of 2014.  Each Saturday there will be a different prompt shared to blog about.  The prompt will be shared prior to Saturday on twitter using #mtboschallenge  You can link up on my blog (or any other blog that shares the link up). Also link your blog post on twitter with #mtboschallenge .  You can copy the following graphic into your blog post.  Each Sunday @druinok from  Teaching Statistics will host a 3-2-1 Summary prompt where you can blog about anything you choose.  We really hope you join the challenge!

This week we are sharing photos of our classrooms. I cannot wait to see everyone's rooms!  This post is very very photo heavy and explanations for the photos are in the captions.  I will let the photos do the speaking for themselves.  I take all my photos with my iPhone because it is quick and easy. I know they are not the best quality, but I take all my photos on my iPhone.  All these photos were taken at the end of the day Friday right before I left school.  We could leave at 11:30, but I finally left at 1:00 PM when my husband called to tell me they were all hungry and I needed to get home so we could go out to lunch.

This is a virtual 360º tour of my classroom, starting with the view from the right of the door and circling around.  I tried to make sure I got everything.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Enjoy!

The view of my classroom from the hallway

Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite

Top Ten List Poster I made on Vistaprint

Those cabinets are currently at maximum capacity, decluttering is on my to-do list

Posters ready for 1st day Post-It activity and boxes of texts to be handed out

Going through those white boxes and tossing is on my to do list

Another to do list item is redoing the CC standard posters and changing the border on the cabinet

My anchor chart stand I have been waiting for since my previous principal promised me one, patience is a virtue

Math Focus Wall has been revamped slightly, I may do a separate post about it in a few weeks

My teacher resources bookcase, wish it was black

We were the 7th grade Dodgeball tourney runners-up last year, some posters from that

This is where I keep artwork from my sons and notes from students, I have a pile of stuff more to add

On top of my paper sorter

I completely love how I've organized my back shelves this year

This is where my kidney table will go once it arrives, the B & G person forgot to order it last Spring so who knows when it will arrive

My happy place!

Wider view of my teacher corner

Paper sorter and desk

My Elmo is between the file cabinets

Another desk view

Elmo and lapdesks on bottom of the cart

Side of my file cabinet

Everything is ready to go for Tuesday

View of my classroom from my teacher corner

Window ledge decor

I change the border monthly and put seasonal decor

Pencil sharpener, kleenex, and MATHia graphic organizers

Learning stations/math games bookcase

I just love this corner

Close-up not finished but good enough to start school

Calendar and bell schedule

Another table for small groups, napkins ready for breakfast Tuesday

Computer cart and extra desk that must stay in my classroom taking up space because there's nowhere to store it #teacherproblems

Scrap paper basket and student planners ready to be handed out on the first day

Window cling looking out to hallway, to the right is a door that lead to outside, we consider our rooms the cul-de-sac

View to the left from my door

View from my door

I hope you had fun seeing what my 7th grade middle school classroom looks like.  At back to school night one of my parents told me that my classroom looked like something off of Pinterest.  I told her she could very well see photos of it there.  I hope we get lots of people linking up to this #mtboschallenge because I love getting a peek into others' classrooms.  Thanks for stopping by!

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Sunday 3-2-1 Summary Week 2 #mtboschallenge

3 things that happened this week:

1.      I spent five days in my classroom working on getting it ready for school.  I’m still not done!

My teacher corner all finished, or so I thought!

My redesign after the fire inspector came through and said fridges & micros need to be plugged into the outlet, not extension cords. 

 Torrential rains on my way into school one day.

2.  My oldest son played his first JV football game Friday afternoon and they won 49-20.

Saber victory!

3.  We hit the farmer’s market (actually last weekend) and I have been enjoying the fresh produce all week.

 Look at those colors.  The way produce should look.

2 things on my to-do list:

1.      Finish setting up my classroom and prepare for BTS night.
2. Get my house organized for Back to School.

1 thing I’m looking forward to this week:

1.   Professionally I’m looking forward to Back To School Night on Wednesday and meeting all my new students and their parents.  I love BTS night and sharing my enthusiasm for teaching and math with my new 7^th graders. Personally I’m looking forward to some BTS pampering spa treatments before the craziness of school starts.

#mtboschallenge Week 2: Professional Books

This is Week 2 of the #mtboschallenge on twitter.  The challenge is to blog once a week for the remainder of 2014.  Each Saturday there will be a different prompt shared to blog about.  The prompt will be shared prior to Saturday on twitter using #mtboschallenge  You can link up on my blog (or any other blog that shares the link up). Also link your blog post on twitter with #mtboschallenge .  You can copy the following graphic into your blog post.  Each Sunday @druinok from  Teaching Statistics will host a 3-2-1 Summary prompt where you can blog about anything you choose.  We really hope you join the challenge!

This week's prompt is "Professional Books".  Please share one or more professional books that you've read and loved, are currently reading, or have on your need to read list.  These books can be about math or anything education related.  It's always great to see what other people are reading and better yet, what books they found to be worthwhile.  I am constantly adding books to my Amazon cart based on recommendations I get on twitter.  Feel free to post about an article you read rather than a book if you prefer.  The point of this challenge is getting you blogging every week, the prompt is just to inspire your thoughts.  Be sure to add your link at the bottom of this post so everyone will see your blog post!

Week 2:  Professional Books

I consider myself a bit of a professional book hoarder. I hear about a great book on twitter or in a blog post and then I feel compelled to add it to my Amazon cart.  Luckily I get lots of Amazon gift cards for my birthday and Christmas to support my professional book addiction reading.

A little background for anyone new to my blog.  I teach 7th grade math in WI using CC aligned Carnegie Learning curriculum with a workshop model of delivery.  This year I really want to focus on my math students having a growth mindset.  This has inspired many the books I'm sharing with you today.  This is just a fraction of my professional collection, but I am sharing some of my very favorite books today.

I think two of the very best/most important books for any math educator to read are Accessible Mathematics and Sensible Mathematics by steveleinwand.com or follow him on twitter here @steve_leinwand. I read Accessible Mathematics a few years ago as part of a K-12 Math Review Committee I helped lead.  I had the pleasure of hearing Steve speak at the WI Math Leadership Council meeting a few years ago when I was a Middle School Math Liaison. He is an inspiring speaker and a champion of improving math education in the US. Sensible Mathematics is geared to school leaders, but another great read for any math educator.

Two of the best books on math education.

My book signed by Steve.

A few years ago I read Carol Dweck's book Mindset.  I don't have a photo of it because I let my husband borrow it and don't know where he has it stashed.  Two books I purchased to help my promote a growth mindset in my math classroom this year are Classroom Habitudes and Mindsets in the Classroom.  I'm currently reading both of these books.  If you are looking to incorporate Growth Mindset in your classroom I would recommend either or both of them.

Two great books for Growth Mindset in your classroom

I use a workshop model delivery in my classroom.  I participated in a book study on Guided Math by Laney Sammons a few summers ago.  It is definitely geared toward elementary level, but I really found it helpful and informative to me.  Last summer I hosted a book study on Minds on Mathematics by Wendy Ward Hoffer.  This book was an excellent resource for planning on setting up workshop in my 7th grade classroom because it was geared to grades 4-8.  This summer I have been reading Guided Math Conferences by Laney Sammons as conferring is an area of workshop I definitely need to improve on.

Love both of these!

Ratio and Proportional Reasoning is the most important CC domain of 6th/7th grade.  Our first two chapters of Carnegie cover this.  I have been using these three books this summer to further my understanding of the important concepts related to proportional reasoning.  It's All Relative by Anne Collins & Linda Dacey would be an excellent resource for any 6th or 7th grade math teacher.  If I have to choose just one book to help my understanding/planning I would choose this one.  I could devote an entire post to this book alone.  The other two books are also a great resource.

Great resources to help in your understanding or Ratio and Proportional Reasoning

If I had to choose only one book to recommend to a math teacher to help them in planning and understanding the math concepts they teach it would be Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teaching Developmentally by John VanDeWalle, Karen Karp, and Jennifer Bay-Williams.  I think this may actually be the textbook used in some college math programs.  It came recommended to me years ago when I first started blogging.  I purchased the 2013 edition and let me tell you it's not for the faint of heart.  It was the most expensive book I have ever purchased (other than maybe college textbooks).  This is my bible when it comes to finding information on a math concept I am teaching.  This book also deserves its own blog post.

The bible of math education K-8

This year I will be responsible for working with all Tier 2 Math Intervention students in 7th grade.  Last year they worked with our math interventionist, but this year I will be responsible for Tier 2 RTI.  This was highly recommended on twitter during #sunchat one week and my principal was nice enough to order it for me and have it delivered to my house this summer.  I have been perusing it throughout the summer and will be using it as a resource once school begins and my Tier 2 intervention group starts. I see another possible blog post.

Math RTI

These are other books I purchased this summer or just wanted to share.  I started reading The Together Teacher by Maia Heyck-Merlin on vacation this summer, but didn't get too far.  I have had Embedded formative assessment by Dylan William for awhile and have used some of the techniques in his book. This is an excellent resource for creating a toolkit of formative assessment techniques.  I highly recommend it.  The rest of the books are on my future reading list.  They are all great books that came highly recommended and I'm looking forward to reading them. 

All on my reading list

I can't wait to see what everyone else is reading or highly recommends.  I have a feeling that this weekly prompt just might cause my Amazon cart to overflow. Thanks for joining in and linking up your blog posts everyone. Please read and comment on others blog posts shared below.  I can wait to read what you all are reading.

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