Smooth Sailing: Organizing Reading Strategy Manipulatives!

Okay, so maybe I just miss being self-contained sometimes.  Maybe I miss teaching math and science because of how inherently hands-on those two disciplines are.  Maybe I miss teaching little people sometimes.  Just a tad.  In all reality, I LOVE my departmentalized position, and I am excited to go back to a third and fourth grade (quasi-split) position to teach ELA and social studies.  I LOVE this position!  I just really LOVE incorporating fun props and manipulatives a whole heck of a lot.  So, I try to find ways to make my lessons concrete and kinesthetic whenever possible.  This means that I have a ton of tools to make this happen, and they need a place to live.  To function like a well-oiled classroom machine, everything must have its place.  There has to be a method to your madness.  Right?!  So, I am here to share how I store all of my reading strategy manipulatives.  It's certainly nothing revolutionary, but it works well for me, and I hope I can help a person or two by sharing how I organize my resources.  My hope is that it well set you up for SMOOTH SAILING as you begin a brand new school-year!

Okay friends, I really have to level with you for a moment before we delve into the topic at hand.  I am a HUGE proponent of matching your storage materials to your classroom color scheme.  I settled on bright colors nine years ago, and I have stuck with that basic color commitment ever since because I love it.  It's so cheerful and lovely!  Aside from a few themed activities like my Testing Tailgate, I intentionally do not let any primary colored items (aside from splashes of yellow) into my room.  Maybe you aren't as sensitive to shades and color families as I am, but I am the kind of person who fixes pictures frames at restaurants when they are slightly crooked.  I notice when a sconce is 1/8 of an inch higher than the matching sconce on the wall.  I just have OCD sensitivities, so for me, matching tubs is a must.  Notice that all of my tubs are the same color too.  Even though I have pops of pink, purple, black, silver, white, and lime green throughout my room, my tubs are all consistently colored.  It's less abrasive that way.  It creates a more calming effect, and it becomes part of the background instead of competing for attention with more meaningful classroom items.  As it should be!  Now, I have a basic metal bookshelf.  Nothing snazzy.  To jazz it up a bit and to cover some of the tubs to simplify this area further, I hung simple white curtains on a tension rod.  As an extra bonus, they make the classroom a little cozier too.  Notice how I number each tub with matching labels.  Yes, I could inventory my goodies that way, and it makes it easier for me to tell a student to grab tub number three, it also unifies the collection and distracts from the items inside of the tubs.
If you look at the second photo, you can see how I stash some of my larger props at the top of the stack out of sight.  I want them to be in a convenient location, but I don't want to see them.  :)

Let's take a peek at some of the contents, shall we?  I try to group similar items together according to reading strategies/purposes.  The first tub is full of items I utilize when I am teaching visualization.  The second container contains metacognition goodies.  The third tub is stuffed with sticky notes I've collected from the Target Dollar Spot over the last few years.  The fourth tub contains answer buzzers and the frames I use to label each answer choice to use with the buzzers.  As you can see, they are not organized haphazardly.  I can go over, grab the visualizing tub, and be ready to rock and roll in a small group instantly without wasting time digging through cupboards or sorting through objects.

Now I know that my post is all about organization, and I know that you are spending cash left and right as you prepare for the new school-year.  I am willing to bet that plenty of people reading this have not bought a single thing for yourself.  You might want a new skirt or bag, but you are stressing about buying it because you are spending money on setting up your classroom.  I know that guilt well, so I want to offer a chance to win a gift card for Ann Taylor LOFT.  I LOVE that "LOFT LOVES TEACHERS", and their style is perfect for the classroom.  It's one of my favorite stores... partly for the pretty clothing... and partly because they know how to have a good sale!  I am such a sale shopper, and they deliver on a regular basis.  They also offer a teacher discount when you show your ID badge.  (#winning)  So, are you excited yet?!  Enter to win below!  The giveaway will end on August 2nd.  In the meantime, let's get this party started!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Do you want to hear something else that's exciting?  I am teaming up with a bunch of intermediate sellers to offer a big jackpot prize as well!  I'm offering my newest...Stop, Collaborate, & Listen: Speaking and Listening Like Rock Stars! Speaking and Listening skills are becoming increasingly more important inside of school and in the workplace. I believe that it is so important to lay the foundation in elementary school, to teach accountable talk, and to give my students plenty of opportunities to collaborate, share, and integrate technology! This packet is packed with 173 pages of activities that foster discussion, critical thinking, debate, and more! Of course, it's just one small piece of the pie! I will be choosing one person from the Rafflecopter to win the jackpot bundle too!  Yay!

Are you ready to hop around and find out what other goodies are being offered at my bloggy buddies' blogs?!  Click through below to enter to win more prizes and learn more about the products that are up for grabs!

An InLinkz Link-up