My Classroom World

I've already posted a couple photos of my new classroom in south London, but as I was doing some marking (a.k.a. grading) on Friday afternoon, I had a look around the room and thought of a few more fun things to share. Take a look!

I somehow forgot to bring a good map of the USA with all the states labeled, so I printed this one out, then outlined Washington. 

Then, the US Embassy gave each of us this map, which is much better! :)  And I have very bank walls to fill, so I was quite excited to get it. 

Here's a look down one side of my classroom. The school has lots of informational posters we are required to hang up. There is also a strong importance placed on displays of student work, so these are some of the symbols my students created on the first day of school. 

One of my favorite things about English schools is how clearly the learning targets are defined. We are struggling with this in the states, as we currently have district, state and now Common Core national standards to work with, and all of them can be quite a mess when you're trying to figure out how to prioritize. My school has very clear standards that each unit focus on. We know them, the students know them, and they are posted in every classroom. I love it! 

I am having the hardest time memorizing the bell schedule, so I'll probably have to have this up all year!

A look from the back of my classroom. I have a fabulous Smart Board, but I don't really know how to use it beyond the basics. One of my goals this year is to take a Smart Board class. 

My new commuting reality. Trainers (a.k.a. sneakers) and my Fulbright bag for the mile walk to and from school.  I thought the walk would be more of a challenge, especially at the end of a long day, but I'm actually really enjoying  it. The rain does make it a bit more unenjoyable, but I'm surviving! :)

My desk.  Yes, I'm still a sticky note queen.

The view out one of my classroom windows. Beautiful housing building like surround the area. 

This is my front table. I have it organized into piles for each class. Those lovely stacks of yellow and green books are exercise books. In England, students do all their work in exercise books. They even glue handouts into their exercise books. I am really starting to like this way of organizing classwork because I hardly ever have a student as me for a new copy of a handout they've lost. Back home, students lose their handouts so often that we post them online for them. I don't have to worry about any of that here! It's brilliant! 

The year seven girls, who are 11 years old, really like to decorate their exercise books. They are quite cute, and here are a few of my favorites. :)

I taught my girls the catch phrase I use with my American students: "Heads up." At first, they thought it meant you thrust your head into the air, but now everyone understands it's a figure of speech that means to stop talking and look at me. The year seven girls really like "Heads up," and several of them used it in their book decorating. :)

Keep Calm and Love English. Amen, sister!

More "Heads up!"

This one is just perfect! It has "Heads up," an American-British flag, and a fabulous "Keep Calm and Teach On" decoration. Love! I think "Keep Calm and Teach On" has just become my new motto!