Classroom Transformations from Student Inspiration
To me, this is the most important form of inspiration and
the one that makes the biggest difference. Remember, you are doing all of this
for the students…to engage them, so let them dictate your next theme. At the
beginning of the year, get to know a bit about your students. Send home an all
about my child sheet and let the parents tell you about their child. This
should definitely be something that
includes favorites and interests. I also like to give each child their own
interest inventory on the first day or week of school. Let them tell you, in their own words, what they are into and
what they like. And finally, have students interview each other as a part of
the first week of school. Then have them share information about each other in
front of the class. While they do this, be sure you are listening and taking
notes. Once you have done this things, you will have a list of different things
your students LOVE…things like their favorite:
Sports
T.V. Shows
Hobbies
Games
Places
Animals
Etc.
If you notice some of your students love soccer, you may
plan a soccer transformation. If they love the game Candy Land, create from
that. If dinosaurs are their jam…You know what to do.
Classroom Transformations from Teacher Inspiration
Follow other teachers. Check Instagram and Pinterest. There
are some great ideas out there and they are just a click away. Some of my
favorite teachers for classroom transformation inspiration are:
Hope King
Tanya from @giftedteacher305
Joanne Miller from @headoverheelsforteaching
You know how teachers can be…we borrow ideas from each other
all the time. Don’t be afraid to do it. Your students will think you are the
best.
Classroom Transformations from Book Inspiration
Books can be a powerful source of inspiration as well. Are
you doing a novel study? Why not celebrate the end with a room transformation? This
could even be just a picture book that you base your transformation on. The sky
is really the limit here. Here’s a look at two of my book inspiration
transformations:
Charlotte’s Web
As we finished up Charlotte’s Web, I wanted to set up the review
in a fun way. I did this transformation around Halloween time, so I could find
spiders décor and other items at the store. I purchased a fake web and spider
and suspended it from the ceiling. I used pipe cleaner to write the words: Some
Class in the web. Underneath, I pulled in a table and covered it with a red and
white checked tablecloth. This was where I set up the book as well as the
escape room pieces and some other décor. This was super easy and used mostly
things I already had. The biggest expense was that I went to Dunkin’ Donuts and
bought some of their spider donuts. When we finished the escape room, we enjoyed
spider donuts as a treat.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
My students absolutely LOVED this book. We dug deep into the
spiritual themes behind it as well (I teach in a Christian school). This was
one of those books were the students gave a spontaneous round of applause when
it was over. They LOVED the book as much as I did. As a final activity to celebrate
the book, I turned the room into a little piece of Narnia. When students came
up to the classroom, I had taped a sheet of butcher paper that I decorated like
the outside of the wardrobe. When students walked in, they had to go through a “closet
of coats” that were hanging in the doorway. Then they made it into Narnia.
There were snowy Christmas trees at the entrance as well as a light pole with a
streetlight on it. On one side of the classroom was a table that I decorated
with butcher paper to make it look like an altar. I put a huge stuffed lion on
the altar (this was a lion my husband still has from when he was a kid). In the
front of the classroom, I displayed a copy of the book on a tall table draped
with a white lace tablecloth. I put a crown on the table to represent the white
witch and there was a fancy pedestal tray with Turkish delight. I also made marmalade
rolls. Both of these were foods mentioned in the book. I purchased a winter
scene backdrop that I hung at the front of my room. We did an escape room to
review the content of the book. Afterwards, we watched the movie in sections to
really examine and compare/contrast with the book. It was amazing! My principal
heard about what we were doing and came through to tour Narnia because that is
also one of her favorite books.
Classroom Transformations from T.V./Video Game Inspiration
What are kids watching? What video games are they playing? These are always a good place to go to. I have done several transformations based on these sources of inspiration.
Angry Bird
I will admit that I first saw something similar at the Get
Your Teach on Conference. The room for my breakout sessions was decorated in an
Angry Bird Theme. I also knew that kids love that movie and game, so it was a
perfect idea to turn into a transformation. This one was simple and low budget,
but took a little time. I collected different boxes of varying sizes. Once I
had my boxes, I covered them with kraft paper and used a Sharpie to make them
look like wooden crates. Next I placed tags with different numbers on them.
These were to be point values for the game we would be playing. I drew and
colored some simple Angry bird characters on poster board and cut them out. I
also drew and cut out the name Angry Birds to look like the logo. You could use
a projector to do all of this if that intimidates you. Simply project the images and trace them onto
poster board. I set up a wall of boxes with the words Angry Birds taped them to my whiteboard. Then I scattered the Angry Bird characters around on the boxes.
This transformation was going to help my students practice
some math skills, so I created some colorful cutouts for practicing area and
perimeter. I made these from poster board. I made a recording booklet for this,
so students could record their answers and keep score. Lastly, I added pompoms and a
sling shot (I already had both).
Students solved a problem, showed me, and if they were
correct, used the slingshot to shoot a pompom at the boxes. Whichever box
they hit displayed a point value. They would write that in their booklet and
then solve the next problem. After solving all the problems, they added their
points up and could see what their score was. Total engagement, you all! It was
amazing.
The inspiration from Get Your Teach On
Mario
A game, movie, and more inspiration from GYTO…this was one I
just had to do. The big splurge I made here was Mario hats. I purchased them on
Temu, so it wasn’t too bad, and I will be able to use them time and time again.
I purchased concrete forms and my dad helped me cut them in different
sizes and add a ribbing to the top so I could paint them to look like the pipes
in Mario. I got a blue background and some large wall stickers that were Mario
themed. My dad also made me a flagpole and I printed a Mario flag that
students could lower when they completed the challenges. I have not done this
every time, but I highly suggest it...I like to hang a question box (yellow
paper covered box that students can
punch and break into, just like in the game. I only made one, so the group that
got to that challenge first was able to punch the box.
Classroom Transformations from Store & Restaurant Inspiration
Just take a stroll through stores like Hobby Lobby, and you
are sure to find all the inspiration you need. This summer while strolling through, I found inspiration in a discount display. It was a whole bunch of picnic
stuff. Think red and white checked items, ants, and watermelon. I immediately took
notice and a picture. A few days later, I went back to get some of the items.
This is going to be a great picnic themed transformation that I will be working
on creating.
To add in the standards for this one, you could do a book tasting, silent reading, or I enjoy doing it as part of a reading marathon. For the reading marathon, students are using a book of their choice, but it should be a new one they have not started. Each student gets a large art paper and we fold it in half long-ways (hotdog style). Then we fold it in thirds the other day (hamburger style). When we open it, there are six blocks. We outline the blocks and then we are ready.
I set a timer for 10 minutes and students are required to stay busy the entire time. In the first block (top, left) students will create a cover for their book. They must include a picture as well as a Title. They can simply redraw the front of their book, or they could do a new cover design, but should keep the title the same. We alternate our ten minute segments between ten minutes of reading, then a ten minute response activity on one of the blocks. We do activities such drawing & writing a description of one of the characters of their choosing, making connections, writing a summary, drawing and telling about the setting, listing character traits of one of the characters and backing them up with text evidence, creating a scene that was visualized from one of the events, etc. You can choose any reading skill and have the students respond in one of the blocks. I do not allow the students to say, "I'm done." because there's always more details, sketching, or coloring they can add. They can even go back and add more to another block they previously did. We alternate between reading blocks and activity blocks to help the student not get overwhelmed since things are always changing. I saw this idea somewhere years ago and have used it nearly every year since.
As students do their reading marathon, they are able to have a nice warm hot chocolate and some cookies as if they are working at a little coffee shop.
Inspiration is literally all around you. Just keep your eyes open and remember you can find inspiration in your students' interests, what other teachers are doing, books, tv & games, and stores. Inspiration is everywhere.
Be sure to stay tuned for part 3 where we will be talking about how to link the standards into your transformation.
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