Point of View : Common Core Standard RL 2.6

Adopting Common Core means thinking outside the box. The previous curriculum did not include this and our reading series did not support it very well. Time to do what teachers do best and create a something better. Our second grade team had a lot of success and fun introducing point of view using Two Bad Ants by Chris Vanalsberg. We use a gradual release model where I is the teacher and we is the teacher and students and you is the students.The lesson goes like this.

I DO
Explain and define point of view
Tell students sometimes characters see or feel differently about the same thing. Some teacher showed students a globe and talk about how student on one side of the room saw something different Begin reading Two Bad Ants noting how the ants see things differently .
WE DO
Continue reading Two Bad Ants. Have students note how ants see things differently, such as the sugar bowl, coffee cup, outlet.
YOU DO
Student pretend to be ants in the classroom. They write about what they see.
This ant with the thinking bubble notepad from Teacher's Friend goes great with this lesson. We got all kinds of cute responses. The children really loved this.

Progress not Perfection

The garage is clear of my teaching stuff, almost. My daughter decided to play with my letter tubs and I decided to leave all those teaching books that are full of various resources in a crate. You know those books you flip through and say this is full of great ideas, then you maybe do one of two and then the book live on the shelf forever. My goal is to go through one of these books a week and add the great ideas to my files. It feels so good to see the floor again. Now lets see how I did with my own advice.

#1 Too much stuff is worse than not enough (if you can't remember you have it or access it easily then you won't use it, BIG waste) Okay so I didn't get rid of many things :(
#2 One teacher's trash is someone else treasure, don't throw anything away without first offering it to other teachers or even students I did reassign somethings to use at home with my own daughter.
#3 If your not using it and someone else can let them, no need in things wasting away on a shelf when they could be benefiting children Okay so I didn't give anything away.
 #4 Reference the curriculum, know what you will be teaching, how does each item fit into that
This was the most useful in sorting my items. I could clearly see what I would definitely need.
#5 Know your students, some students need work above or below their current grade level, think about how each item fits into that I am going to a new school, so I don't know my students well enough to know how far outside their grade level they will need to work.
#6 Don't throw away too soon, if you love the item or are unsure of it's usefulness in your current position keep it, if you don't use it you can discard it at the end of the year or the beginning of the next. Keeping this in mind left me with a lot of stuff. I am at a new school and a new grade so I am not sure what I will need or use. So I will hold on to it for awhile.


The biggest challenge has been integrating the gift of a retired teacher's classroom contents into my own. I appreciated everything and priceless amount of resources for free  :). However that is a lot of stuff to find a home. This recent move pushed me to get it done. Here are a few things I have trouble doing away with: books, old worksheets, and math manipulatives. Next I will tell how all this stuff fits into my new room.

What to do with all that teacher stuff

My teaching career started years ago in third grade followed by a move to first grade a year later. Seven years later, I am moving to a new grade level, 2nd, and a new school. Very excited!!!!! So this means setting up a whole new classroom. They say third times a charm and I don't know if that will be the case but I have learned a few valuable lessons along the way. I hope my journey will make yours a little easier. First I went through my classroom sorting out all the things I had bought from the things that belonged to the school. I know I spend lots of $$$ each year, but it was still surprising how much I had accumulated.  I also noted some of things I use everyday in my teaching that I had to leave behind. Hopefully I will find something similar at my new school, if not I will be forking out some more money.

This is all the things I have bought for third and first grade as well as tons of stuff a retired teacher gave me (felt like winning the lottery). The pile of stuff takes up over half the garage, and stands about 3ft high. Now, what do I do with all this stuff?

 General rules of organizing don't always apply to teachers/school stuff especially for those who teach in impoverished areas where resources are limited. So don't start off throwing things away or weighing the replacement cost, etc.  If you are a brand new teacher, a teacher moving rooms, or a teacher just wanting to reorganize I think some of these ideas might help you.

#1 Too much stuff is worse than not enough (if you can't remember you have it or access it easily then you won't use it, BIG waste)
#2 One teacher's trash is someone else treasure, don't throw anything away without first offering it to other teachers or even students
#3 If your not using it and someone else can let them, no need in things wasting away on a shelf when they could be benefiting children
 #4 Reference the curriculum, know what you will be teaching, how does each item fit into that
#5 Know your students, some students need work above or below their current grade level, think about how each item fits into that
#6 Don't throw away too soon, if you love the item or are unsure of it's usefulness in your current position keep it, if you don't use it you can discard it at the end of the year or the beginning of the next.

Now I am off to follow these guidelines as I sort through the garage.