Angela says: This year for the first time, I can tell you, down to the exact penny how much I've spent on my classroom. Would you believe me if I told you that it's only two digits long, and this included moving to a new school?

Another view of my home away from home. I use details and special touches to make it feel special.

My classroom has lots of good places to read. Can you tell I like lamps?

A bright spot near the door. I like to use the space I have to its fullest.

Lots of greenery both real and not-so-real. Plants, lamps, and photo frames work wonders on classroom space.

My school did away with school-fundraisers. Instead, we ask parents for a check at the beginning of the year ($40.00). It's not required, but most parents do contribute. Depending on your school community, you may or may not be able to ask for parent help.

Student authors share their mysteries with members of a writing team who provide helpful feedback.

My students' individual book bins -- a bright way to organize reading material.

I like our couch because it defines our group work areas. It's also nice to see when you first walk into the room.

Research supports that after 15-20 minutes, students need to be up doing something else. Teaching in our meeting area allows me to physically see when students are no longer engaged.

My recent read-alouds bin. Every Living Thing by Cynthia Rylant includes 12 moving short stories.

Angela's rule #1, Keep it consistent: All of my bulletin boards have black backing. We also have a lot of dark wood throughout the room. We don't have many patterns in our room, just simple bold colors. This helps a room to look less cluttered.

Angela's rule #2, Label, Sort, & Store: For me, junk drawers and messy closets are unacceptable. I break the classroom into small sections and make sure every item has a place. Yes, every item.

Angela's rule #3, Cover up what isn't pretty. Here's the "before" photo. I attached a poster with a "strong endings" example from the book Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe and viola! Storage space is transformed into something meaningful and more attractive.

Angela's rule #4, Make your classroom student-centered. Overall, I think the removing as much "teacher" stuff as possible allows us more space to put the focus on students and student work.

Angela's rule #5, Take the Camera Test. Take a photo of each section of your room. If something stands out, fix it. I noticed certain areas needed more lighting, for example. Out came a new lamp from storage. And I always advocate for three items: lamps, plants, and picture frames. If you feel like something is missing in an area, try adding one of these elements.

Entering "Pier 13," the name we gave our nautical-themed classroom, from the hall. A cruise ship deck serves as the background behind student sailor pictures and individual profile sheets. I like having every students' picture in the hallway so that visitors can see the wonderful kids who reside inside the classroom doors.

Students spend important parts of the day on our meeting carpet: I teach reading and writing mini-lessons, share read alouds with my students, and hold class meetings. Students complete word study activities, read from their book boxes, and meet in small groups.

The dish chairs are a favorite place to read during reading workshop. The tablecloth and lantern add coziness to an otherwise plain table and also compliment our nautical theme.

Students retrieve their book boxes before reading workshop each day. On the cupboards above the bookshelves are theme posters where we will soon post book covers of read-aloud books that share common themes.

At the beginning of the year, I create theme boards with common themes that are found in fiction texts. I color copy read-aloud covers and add them to the theme that they class feels best fits the book. As more book covers are added to the boards, students are able to make thematic connections between different books.

Our classroom library is the heart of our classroom.

One of the bulletin boards that I refer to often is this one that displays the "Reading Genres" posters. Students record the genre code for books they read in their reading logs. These posters help remind them of the genre definitions and the codes to use in their reading logs.

Our book recommendation board is a great way to keep students excited about reading new books. Students fill out book recommendation cards for great books they've read from the classroom library and post them on the board. Classmates take each other's advice and check the board when choosing new books to read.