What a way to start 3rd grade!

This is my 300th post! It seems fitting that my 300th post should be about my new classroom in the 3rd grade hall. I'll take you on a little tour...

 Our schedule for this year. Subject to change of course, but this is how we are starting our year. Notice we have not 1, but 2 times for math. We start, get a break for related arts, then come right back to finish.

 Ok, I have a confession.... I did not make this chant up myself. Once upon a time, long ago in a magic land called Knoxville, General Delk was just a young high school student. Her best friends were members of an elite group known as ROTC. (Reserve Officer Training Corps)
General Delk would spend her afternoons watching the Drill Team work on their rifle exercises and this chant would inevitably come into play. You hear it long enough, it gets stuck in your head!
I hope my soldiers learn to love it!

 Remember this?! My soldiers last year loved the Daily Brain! They would remind me to fill it out!
This year the brain has been upgraded. Notice the title? Metacognition Moment- we are going to take regular breaks to think about our thinking.
What part of the lesson stuck out to my soldiers? What are they taking away with them at the end of the day? My soldier's thoughts are going to fill the Brain each day to show that our minds are always working. Plus, it's laminated- easily cleaned for another day of learning!

 This has become a motto of mine this summer. My daughter does something brilliant and she wants recognition, what do I say? "Get it, girl!"
So, in light of my favorite saying, we have the GET IT board, to be used when a soldier proves that he/ she GET IT. Be watching this year for some awesome GET IT pictures!

 This board is behind my small group reading table. One side is for a list of books we are reading in our groups, the other side is for new vocabulary. I love trying to find books with the most obscure vocabulary imaginable. The best feeling is knowing that by the end of the year my soldiers will have a more extensive vernacular than some high school students.

Cubbies. With books. How organized!

Not really. The desks are faced inward in groups of 4, so students won't be able to utilize their desks in the matter for which they were created. My reason- desks get cluttered, cubbies stay neat! My room is incredibly small, we don't have room for clutter!

I'm ready for my new recruits! I hope they're ready for me!