small group reading area makeover and more

Makeover #1- SMALL GROUP TEACHING AREA... before and after

This week I helped a teacher regain control of her small group teaching area. She had gotten rid of her desk, since she wasn't using it. But her small group table had become a dumping ground. She had great shelves and a bulletin board by her table, but they weren't being fully utilized.

How did we accomplish this makeover? By sorting through all that stuff on the shelves and the table! "Throw it away!" was my mantra this day. We added labels to help her keep on track. At Home Depot I found a desk drawer organizer that we placed on a shelf to organize her desk supplies which were disappearing all over the room. We used colored baskets to hold teaching materials for each of her small groups for the week.

For more ideas on organizing for small group reading instruction, see Chapter 2 in Making the Most of Small Groups at www.stenhouse.com.
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MAKEOVER #2- LITERACY WORK STATIONS... a work in progress

Gretchen and Pam put finishing touches on the classroom library by adding a rug.

Everyone got into the act on this one! Gretchen led this project and Pam was here from Baton Rouge.We asked everyone to help, including the custodians and paraprofessionals who could use tools and paintbrushes! We hung a pegboard in the writing station to organize supplies. A bulletin board was moved from one part of the room to the writing station, too, so we could post kids' writing there.

We totally transformed this portable building. Organizing the multitudinous supplies, getting rid of old stuff, and adding rugs, paint, and fabric to brighten this room made all the difference! I'll post the after pics of this one next week. We just about finished it on Friday afternoon.
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MAKEOVER #3- my bookshelves...edited

After spending most of the week helping teachers get organized to improve literacy instruction, I decided to tackle my own living room. I "edited" the space, especially those bookshelves where I tend to just stack stuff.

In the BEFORE picture (on top), you'll see all the books stacked on the bottom right hand corner. Those are my "next read" piles. My friend, Josie, came over and helped me get started with this project. First, she had me sort my books by size. Quite a new concept for me, since I'd always sorted by genre before. But the books do look better on the shelves! Not suggesting this for your classroom library, but it works in my living room!

I donated about six shopping bags of books to a local charity and now smile when I enter this room. Less is more!!!

Happy spring,

Debbie