by Yolonda D. ColemanIt's the fifth week of school in Washington, D.C. For new and veteran teachers, the honeymoon is coming to a close as students are ready for engaging instruction. Help your students increase learning by making those reading, writing, and math lessons come to life without saying a word. Create a learning environment that inspires students as well as teachers.
Angela Piccoli of Friendship Southeast Elementary Academy turned her classroom into a pirate's cove. Each student workstation is named after a pirate ship to include The Black Pearl, and The Flying Dutchman, both from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. The theme for Ms. Piccoli's room was inspired by her college alma mater, Seton Hall, where the mascot is the pirate.
Kemi Husbands, also a Southeast teacher, believes her thematic classrooms are as much for the students as they are for her. "I needed to make this environment as enriching as possible," Ms. Husbands said as she began to detail a concept behind her one of her past themes centered around a castle complete with trowns for students to sit in. Ms. Husbands has implemented themes in her classrooms for over three years. This year, her classroom offers students an opportunity to explore space (see the video below).
For more great ideas on classroom themes and organizations, visit http://www.teachnet.com/how-to/decor/index.html#Atmosphere.
OTHER RESOURCES:
Here are a few tips from Katherine L. Hall, author of Reading Stories for Comprehension Success, to help you create a learning environment:
1. Keep a few plants in the room. They add beauty and act as living air filters.
2. Use natural light whenever possible; students seem more at ease without fluorescent lights.
3. Play soft music as students enter the room or while they are doing seat work. The music masks such random noises such as dropped pencils and squeaky chairs.
4. Hang the same color bulletin board paper throughout the room. White paper does not fade, so the same paper will last all year.
5. Use bulletin board borders that are not busy. Even plain borders can be attractive.
Happy Decorating!
