Hi everyone, I'll be teaching my first high school English class next month, and I am SO excited. However, I just viewed the room today, and it is BORING! I need to spice it up. The problem is... I don't know where to buy all of those neat posters (English-related) and border that teachers put up on their walls. Where do you buy those materials? Online? I am in San Diego, if anyone knows if there is a nearby "teacher store" location. Also, I am looking for novel teaching guides (for example, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.) I've seen them before - my master teacher had a bunch of them, but I don't know where he purchased them. If anyone has any feedback, I would appreciate it. Thanks!
I find some teaching guides on the internet. Animal Farm: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/animal_farm.pdf To Kill A Mockingbird: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/to_kill_mockingbird.pdf I have found that lesson plans and study guides on the Internet are better than the ones you find in a store. As for posters, I am blessed with a teacher store nearby. Good Luck finding one...again, look on the internet.
If your area is like mine, the "teacher stores" in your area will carry items geared towards elementary teachers. So, as the previous poster suggested, the internet will probably be your best resources for secondary resources.
Try Allposters or Art.com for the book posters - I think they're made by Discovery School. I have Beowulf, Macbeth, and Frankenstein for my room.
Teachersdiscovery!!! http://http://www.teachersdiscovery-english.com/index.asp?SBJ=English They have book posters that look like movie posters
I agree, lots of good stuff on that site including Novel Guides. Do a little web searching, there are quite a few guides available on the web and teacher designed pacing schedules, etc. available. Teachers do love to share Consider filling your walls with literary terms (devices, genres, etc.) and their definitions. You can just print them on neat cardstock/scrapbook-type paper (go to Michael's. They have a ton of choices.) and you have instant, cheap art. Best of all, it is content specific!
I second the suggestions for teacher's discovery and prestwick house. I also like the downloadable units from teachers' pet publications. I rarely use units as-is. I like to pull lots of stuff from many places and make it mine. Teacher's Discovery is a GREAT place for upper grade room decorations. Also, they are not super-expensive.
A third vote for Teacher's Discovery ... beyond posters, lots of great resources for the English classroom. I find their website a bit clunky (still usable though) so I tend to order from the catalog. Good luck teaching English! I hope you love it as much as I do, it's a blast!
www.webenglishteacher.com has links to lesson ideas for just about anything you could hope to teach, nicely organized. Always check the internet before reinventing the wheel. Also I don't know if you mentioned Shakespeare but www.folger.edu has the best Shakespeare plans. As for decorations . . . I mostly decorate with the kids' work. I have six small boards in my room, so I have one for each class I teach and one for announcements. I put up colored paper and a border that I can stand to look at and it stays there. Posters do not stick to my walls and yes I have tried everything that I'm allowed to try to make them stay! Oh, and we have glass doors so I put seasonal clings on mine. One thing that can be fun, and an icebreaker between you and the kids, is to put a couple things that have to do with you around. I have wedding pictures on my desk and a stuffed tiger with name of my college on it. Nothing too personal, just a little something so they kind of feel like they know something about you.
Just FYI since you're in San Diego. The AVID conference is being held there the next two weeks at the Town and Country in Mission Valley. There isn't a big sales floor but they often have 10 or so booths with posters and supplemental materials in the main lobby of the T&C. Plus, being in San Diego I can pretty much guarantee you'll be asked to learn about AVID real quick. This would at least give you a taste. I know for me it is the highlight of my summer meeting with 5000+ teachers.
