2014-2015 Classroom Tour- WE are WILSON

So many teachers have been posting about their classroom décor ideas for 2014-15 so I thought I would link up with Aileen Miracles "My Music Room Set-Up" Linky Party and share what I have been working on! Check out Aileen's post and find links to many more great music room set ups HERE.

It took me a while to come up with a theme for this year, and I had a few ideas- Fairy Tale, Super Heros, etc.  However, our school just revamped our "brand" and got a new mascot (well new version of our old mascot), a new logo, and a new slogan so I decided to go with that!

Being Wilson Elementary, we decided on WE ARE WILSON: We Grow Together, We Learn Together, WE Play Together as our new slogan and our new version of Willy the Wildcat is AWESOME so I decided to make that my classroom theme for the year too.

Behavior chart and Wilson Way
Rules Posters

I made Rules that align with our Wilson Way, MUSIC behavior letters (I have the letters flipped backwards sitting on the board tray and as the class does something really well I will put a letter up in the corner of the board- if they get all 5 letters to spell the word MUSIC they get a star on my class behavior chart), Word Wall Letters, Instrument Labels, and a Solfa Ladder all utilizing our great clipart that COHO Creative Designs created for us!  I also hope to update my Elements of Music Posters adding a few Wildcats to those as well :)



The rules are posted right next to my behavior chart- HIT THE HIGH NOTE.  Each class can earn a star each week (by spelling the word MUSIC as mentioned above).  If they earn 4 stars, the class earns a prize.   I love this way of tracking because after the first few weeks, classes can't compare with each other because their class chart gets erased once they reach the goal of 4 stars and we start fresh.

Front of Room! Banner Says WELCOME TO MUSIC!

At the front of the room there is the SMARTboard, a mini bulletin board (still to be made!), the Dry Erase Board and a Class Behavior chart.  The solfa handsign cards and MUSIC behavior letters are magnetic (easy to add and remove for different age groups!) and are hung on the dry erase board.

Instrument shelves with Word Wall

I added the word wall above my instrument shelves.  My plan for the word wall is to put all the words up (soon!) and then add colored stickers as a grade learns a word.   Blue for 1st, Green for 2nd, Yellow for 3rd, Orange for 4th, Red for 5th, and multi for 6th (these colors correspond with our WILSON event shirts the students get each year).

As for the instruments- this is just their "put away" home.  Each day I will have about 10 set up in the "chorus room" which is adjacent to my GM room (both are in a modular classroom that is all mine). Students will be able to sit in their riser spots and easily go to instruments when it is their turn.  This way, instruments are ALWAYS ready, rather than students having to pull them off the shelves and put them back away when done so we have room to move and dance.

Chorus Room with Xylophones set up ready to play!

I am hoping I use the instruments way more because of this! I will have to teach these different positions (risers, instruments, circle, board work) in the first few weeks of school, but I am sure students will get the hang of moving quickly from one spot to another AND it will definitely be less time than having to pull them off the shelves each time they are used.

Boomwhacker Wall :)

I also added a boomwhacker wall this year (which above will be a musical time-line soon!).  This got them OUT of the trashcans I was using to hold them for more space in the classroom- AND they look prettier!  Whoever came up with this idea is amazing! I found it on pinterest!  Because I can't do any permanent changes, as my room is a "temporary" classroom I just used a staple gun and stapled the Velcro to the wall and put a little square on each boomwhacker. Love it!

Cross-Curricular Corner!

Teachers Mood and Music Garland!

Near my door is my "cross-curricular" wall where I have the Awesome BLOOMS IN THE MUSIC ROOM signs (get them for FREE here)as well as Music is: Math, Physical EdUcation, Social Studies, ReadIng, and SCience posters that I made last year.  I also have a teachers mood sign and new super cute garland around the door frame (thanks Aunt Beth!).  I am super happy with this area!

Below are some pictures from the chorus room.  In here is risers, my desk, the piano, as well as storage so that we have as much room as possible in the GM side to move and dance!

America the Beautiful,
The Star-Spangled Banner
and Wilson Way Signs

Piano with Solfa Handsign Cards




Storage Cabinets students can see from the Risers

Desk and decorated filing cabinets!

The first week am going to have the students guess how many Wildcats they think are around the room and a Blue Card (A school wide individual behavior incentive) will be given to one student from each grade- all correct answers will be put into a hat and I will draw a name! If no one is exact, the student who is closest with their guess (without going over) will win!

I am also working on a Fairy-Tale Adventure themed classroom décor set because I was thinking of doing that theme for a while as it relates to the musical I will be doing in the spring. It has princesses, dragons, castles, and more! You can get the set HERE.  A few more items still need to be added but most of it is there and ready.  If you choose to buy now, you will be able to re-download with out paying extra for the added items!

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