Kimberly: BC02 - Classroom Organization (#BC20)

There is probably nothing I get more excited about than classroom organization. Books are probably the closest competition that "organization" has, and I am thinking that I get just as giddy about organizing things as I do about books.

At one point in my life, I wanted to grow up and live inside The Container Store. Seriously... I would just sleep in the back and work in the front. You know you have thought about it before. Don't lie. I understand.

So, it is no surprise that moving into my new classroom this year called for an overhaul of all my organization strategies and materials.

One of the things that works the best for me is having two filing cabinets where my kids can store their
English materials. Each student has a hanging folder with their name on it. Inside their hanging file, they store their portfolio (see right), notebook, and any books they do not want to lose. It works great, because I also use it as a mailbox. When I grade papers, I, or an innocent student aide, can just slip the papers in their folder for the students to file away the next day. This saves TONS of class time on passing back papers.

Now, you see these awesome student portfolios? These bad boys really deserve their own post, and I am more than happy to oblige. Check back tomorrow for more information on these English Portfolios and how to keep your kids organized in the midst of all of the papers ELA comes with... :)

Kimberly: BC01 - Fahrenheit 451 in the Classroom (#BC20)

Hello, friends! Long time, no posts... Kristin and I thought that perhaps our blog should take a hibernation for the winter. With exam season upon us and the holidays, well... you know what happened. Shopping took over, and family took precedence over blogging and computers. (Look how cute my little family is... We were very blessed this year.)

With that being said, however, we are back and ready to continue our journey in finding excellent books and strategies to use on our 21st Century Classrooms!

While trying to find inspiration for our newest posts, I ran across this awesome 20-Day Blogging Challenge from the awesome blog by Kelly Hines, In the Trenches. She writes about all sorts of things, particularly challenges teachers (and normal people) face when embarking on a blogging journey to become better educators and communicators. She even inspired a hashtag (#BC20), which I think is pretty awesome.

Now, Kelly is rolling out a new blogging challenge at the end of the month, but I am only just now jumping on her Challenge Train, so I may be a few prompts behind. Never Fear, though, I am determined to make this a habit. How else am I going to ever learn something?

So, without further ado... Blogging Challenge 01: Tell about a favorite book to share or teach. Provide at least one example of an extension or cross curricular lesson. 

Inspired by my latest curriculum endeavor, the book that first came to my mind was the always thought-provoking Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I'll be honest, I had never read the book in its entirety until about 2 weeks ago. In school, I skimmed the Spark Notes (*gasp*), and in college, I always tried to read it, but other books kept pulling me away.  I am definitely sad that I didn't read it in high school, however, I think it means so much more to me now.

I am eager to see how the students respond to Montag and his world, our world, our possible future. I just could not help but sit and laugh and cry at how frighteningly honest Bradbury was when describing the TV "families" and materialism. When I take a moment and look at the world around me, I am sad and scared at what we value and prioritize. How could Bradbury have known? How could he have seen the possibilities of what was transpiring in the 50's?

These are the very questions I am going to present my students with. We are going to begin next week looking at the context of the book. My kids are familiar with WWII, but I do not believe they have ever taken a good look at the inventions that came about in the 1950's. We are going to webquest Banned Books and view images of Levittown.

Once we gain some background knowledge of the fifties, we are going to concept map the terms "fifties", "science fiction", and "dystopia". My goal is that they discover connections and relationships between the three terms. This will then prepare us for a deeper understanding of F451.

Throughout our reading, I am going to urge students to add to their maps and see how they evolve. I am new to concept mapping, but a recent book, Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison, has inspired me to give it a whirl. I will post results, and possible failures, soon :)


Until tomorrow,