Starting an IntegratED Year

Starting an IntegratED Year

It is hard to believe but July 4th has already passed!  As an educator that means we are starting to think and plan for the upcoming school year. In this article we have included our favorite teacher must have, classroom setup ideas, and planning favorites. No matter if you are moving grade levels/schools or if you are a veteran teacher, there is something here for you! ​

Our Favorite Teacher Must Haves

As much as I am opposed to Target starting their school supply section in June, I LOVE walking down the school supply isles. There is something about buying new markers, pens, and notepads that brings me joy. We have listed a few of our favorites throughout the years. ​

• Flair Pens
• Smelly Mr. Scent Markers for anchor charts
• Smelly/Sweet markers for kids
• Magnetic spice racks for books
• Doorbell
• Bluetooth speaker
• Lights​​

Classroom Set-up Ideas

When it comes to setting up your classroom the most important thing to remember is to make it your own! You do not have to spend a lot of money or have everything matching to have a fantastic classroom that feels welcoming and safe. Here are some things that might help give you some ideas as you start to think about your home away from home. ​

Classroom Library: Make sure that you have a library that is accessible for your students. My favorite way to organize my books is by categories and chapter books by series. I use baskets and book boxes. I always display books that go with the integrated unit we are in so students have access to all the information right at their fingertips. My Amazon cart wish list is always filled with new read aloud books. Remember, even the older kids love to listen to you read, don’t leave them out!

<--Photo credit: Jillian Starr library

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Rug or Dot Spots: I have used both a class rug and dot spots for students to come join me for a lesson. This year I found an amazing rug at rugs.com for a decent price. We also love to put rugs around the classroom for students to read and work on. These ones from Amazon are so soft and come in a ton of different colors.

Amazon Rug Link

Amazon Cart Link

Soft Start Cart: I (Meg) got a small three level cart on wheels and put different activities for students to do when they arrive in the morning. This allows students to soft start their day by getting their brains warm, chatting with friends, and being able to use their creativity. Some examples of items you could put on your cart could be coloring books, hot to draw books, play-doh, puzzles, card games, magnetic building blocks, etc..  I found for this to work best is to rotate items as needed, talk about your expectations for each item and expectations on how you want your students to be while they are getting ready for the day.

Art Supplies: It’s time to stock up on some art supplies. Yes, even intermediate teachers! We always have paint brushes, tempera paint, and watercolors paint on hand. We have found so many ways to integrate that into our classroom learning experiences and each time the kids LOVE IT!

Flexible Seating: When flexible seating was hip and new I tried to go all out and make my classroom filled with seating options except the traditional desks and chairs. I found in my primary classroom that it was a mistake. Flexible seating can look many different ways but we have found some students would still like the option of a traditional desk and chair. Now, our classrooms have options like pillows to use around the room, wobble stools, rocking chairs, standing desks, and bouncing balls and a table with regular chairs. Just remember you do not have to break the bank to have a flexible seating classroom. 
    Pro Tip: Buy outdoor pillows for your classroom for easier washing. They even might be on clearance at the end of summer right before school starts!

All Our Favorite Planning Things

There are so many resources for us to use. That can be very overwhelming for us as educators to find and use the ones we think will work best. We have compiled a list of our favorite planning things that might help you get started. Remember when you plan an integrated unit you are taking away the challenge of fitting it all in. We bring the joy back into our teaching and students' learning!

Google Calendar for Planning:
​A few years ago we made the switch from a written planner (my favorite was Erin Condren…so expensive) to a digital planner. We are currently using google calendar for our team planning. We set up each part of the day as a calendar and then share that with our team. This allows you to edit the note and type out your plans, add links, PDFs, videos, etc.. We also can use this to set reminders of upcoming dates like field trips, assemblies, parent communication, and so much more. We love this because we can have all of our plans, links, and documents in one place. ​

   

​Pro tip: Copy and paste your plans into sub plans for easy planning on those days where you need to be gone unexpectedly. 

IntegratED Unit Planner: We use our planner when we sit down and plan a unit together. This helps us think about what standards to put together, classroom experiences to incorporate, timeline, and materials. To learn more about how to plan a unit join our IntegratED cohort where we walk you through how to plan an IntegratED Unit.

Sample IntegratED Planner

PD Planning Books: These are a list of books that we have used parts and pieces of to plan the strongest integrated units. Just remember the resource is only as good as the teacher using it. Find what works best for you and what fits. These books are not meant to start on page one and teach until the end.

• Ramped Up Read Aloud
• The Reading and Writing Strategies 
• Patterns of Power
• The Writing Revolution
• The Playful Classroom

We hope this article provided you with some ideas and excitement to start the new year. As ALWAYS we are here for our educators. Please reach out to us [email protected] or on any social media. 

Two Teachers for teachers, 

​                         Meg and Kara