Ratliff's Room

I am excited to get Literature Circles going in my classroom in a few weeks. I am making the final touches on my preparations and gearing the kids up for roles as discussion director. One of the things I do to prepare them is to teach the QAR's. QAR is a great way to get students thinking about questions, how to answer them, and how to write them. In the beginning while we are learning the different roles each student gets practice at the same role. I have already made posters for the roles and will be gathering my role sheets for the students this week and uploading them. For some Literature resources head over to my store at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Ratliffs-5th-Grade-Rattles .

I have started making assessments for the Common Core Math Standards. I needed something that was at least 10 questions and included performance and multiple choice questions. Since I am gathering materials to meet the CCSS I have been struggling to find resources.  http://youngteacherlove.blogspot.com/  and http://www.teachingtoinspirein5th.blogspot.com//  have some great Math CCSS resources as well.

Sorry for the delay in uploading my pics but it has been a busy first week of school. I have taken some pics of my jobs chart designed like an iPhone. I saw the idea on Pinterest and wanted to try. I also made a picture frame collage for my this week board. My favorite is the DIY  bulletin boards with cork tiles and glued some fabric onto them for my Focus Wall. Hope you enjoy!

This is always one of the most exciting times of year to be a teacher. Our students first day is fast approaching (MONDAY!) and I have been preparing my class. This summer was busy with rearranging! My class was in desperate need of paint so I repainted my class with a little help from our school maintenance man and my janitor. It was more difficult than I thought and I told my husband to remind me of this if I decide to paint my class again! I was also very lucky to get a SMART board installed in my classroom so boards were moving around. I made some new bulletin boards and am now ready for the kids. The bulletin boards look great and are still sticking to the wall. I bought some cork tiles and hot glued then later stapled some fabric to them. I found the double stick tape in some of the packs were not any good so I found some double stick velcrow at Wal-Mart and used that to attach them to the wall.  I will post some pictures of my classroom tomorrow.