Sharing Good Practice
Makeover your classroom
with household items
By Betina Fuentes
F
or
most
teachers,
their
classroom is their kingdom,
students are loyal subjects
and supplies are the warriors
in the battle for knowledge. Moving
thousands of miles away can put
a serious dent in our supply chain,
but luckily, there are hundreds of
household items just waiting to
stand in for their more expensive,
specialized counterparts. So, take a
quick trip to Ikea, Daiso, or even your
local hypermarket and pick up some
practical, reasonably priced substitutes
to make your classroom shine!
Small but powerful
Binder clips have more uses than
their original job of holding papers
together. They come in plain or
pretty prints and can be found in the
stationery section of almost every
store. For more high-end prints, check
Paperchase in many malls. Ways to
use binder clips include; using them
to hang projects or decorations from
dropped ceiling tiles, organizing work
(label each clip with a student’s name)
and holding small pictures or direction
cards for learning centers.
Hang it up
Clotheslines
and
clothespins
are
the perfect medium for constantly
changing classroom displays. Use
multicolored clothespins for extra
fun. Clothespins can also be used on
behaviour charts or to keep track of
work that has been turned in.
Keep it organized
Shower or picnic caddies with handles
are the perfect organisers for group
table supplies or center supplies. They
are easily picked up at the end of the
day and stored on shelves. For extra
organising points, take a picture of
how the caddy should look when fully
organised and expect students to
return it to that state before they move
to another activity. Caddies can also
be used to store whiteboard materials
in the front of the room, as well as
supplies for guided reading or small
group instruction.
Rack it up
Use a dish rack in your teacher area for
files, lesson plans and resources. The
cutlery cup can hold pens and pencils
as well. Students can use dish racks to
store clipboards, behaviour folders, or
portfolios. Be sure to use a metal rack
with higher dividers for more efficient
use.
Keep it separated
Blue painter’s tape (also comes in many
other colors) has long been a teacher‘s
secret. Used on the whiteboard, it
keeps daily information such as date,
schedule, assignments and learning
objectives separate from board work
and clear for students who need
to copy them into their notebooks.
Tape can also be used to create lines
on whiteboards to give a guide for
handwriting practice. Many teachers
also use it on the floor to create
interactive coordinate grids, maps or
group areas.
The key to teaching is to be creative
and flexible. The next time you are in
a store, take a few minutes and check
the household supplies area and think
outside the box. I have seen pretty
placemats used to decorate windows,
wrapping paper as a bulletin board
background, and even contact paper
used to cover desks to make them into
personal whiteboards. Check Pinterest
sites for ideas and make them into your
own. You don’t need fancy teacher
supply stores to make your classroom
into a place where students love to
learn.
Class Time
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Sep - Oct 2015
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