Have we got designs for you! - inexpensive classroom decoration - Cover Story

In this classroom makeover, our teacher-expert shows how far a little money and a lot of creative thinking can go.

Could simple design techniques and less than $100 transform the look and function of your classroom? You bet! In the tradition of those makeovers in fashion magazines, Instructor set out to find a teacher eager to have her room revamped by a class-design expert.

We found our candidate at P.S. 124, in New York City's Chinatown. At the time of the makeover, fourth-grade teacher Mary Sullivan was finishing her first year of teaching. Everyone from principal Judith Chin to the students agree that Mary is an extraordinary teacher: warm, respectful of children, and imaginative. Like all good teachers, she's not afraid of a little mess, if that's what it takes to paint a giant world map for the classroom ceiling--one of the many ambitious projects she launched last year.

Yet Mary would be the first to admit that she was ripe for some expert advice on making her classroom mirror her teaching. So we teamed Mary up with Frank Garcia, an Instructor advisor and fifth-grade teacher at the Dove Hill School in San Jose, California, who has conducted many class design workshops throughout the Evergreen School District. We sent him snapshots of Mary's classroom, a class design wish list from her and her students, and $100 to spend on supplies, then brought him to New York for the makeover.

Frank selected three trouble spots in Mary's room to focus on, and went to her classroom one day in May to work his wonders. Turn the page to see the results.

MARY SULLIVAN'S WISH LIST

* create a spacious, comfortable, cooperative environment

* establish centers for art, reading, science, music, and math

* organize the classroom library

* replace desks with round tables or a long rectangular table with picnic benches

* set up containers and cubbies for classroom accessories

MARY'S STUDENT'S WISH LIST

* an art room

* a big bin for rolls of paper

* a bigger table for projects

* a new rocking chair for the reading area

* a new bookshelf

* a nearer sink area

* a new message board

* a new rug in reading area

MAKING ROOM FOR LEARNING CENTERS

BEFORE

A corner without a cause: Mary used this area to store all sorts of supplies, but never saw it as a place where she could set up a learning center.

AFTER

Frank responded to Mary's students' wish for an art room by turning the underdeveloped corner into an art center. A red fabric remnant adds a cheery splash of color and hides shelf clutter. Colorful ready-made letters--available for just a few dollars in teacher- and art-supply stores--give the area special definition. Stackable plastic bins make it easy to move the art supplies out of the way when students need more room to work.

RELAXING THE READING CORNER

BEFORE

Committed to a whole language approach, Mary gives students a half hour each day to read on their own--but her reading corner, which she also uses for book discussions, didn't do justice to her philosophy. Topsy-turvy titles added to the feeling of clutter, fish tanks took up valuable counter space, and the seating didn't invite students to sit back and get lost in a good story.

AFTER

Frank turned the reading corner into a cozy and colorful place. A bean-bag chair and a beach chair add comfort and whimsy; the tops of the bookshelves now display theme study books. Frank says that if he'd had a little more money to work with, he would have purchased a small lamp to make the area even homier.

Colorful, interactive bulletin-board designs are Frank's stock-in-trade. On the left side of the reading corner, Frank designed a reading center display that allows Mary's students to select books that are literally off the wall! Velcro adhesive strips give the paperbacks their stick-to-itiveness.

HELP FOR A TEACHER ON THE MOVE

BEFORE

Mary likes to be at students' eye level when she talks with them, but perching on a table edge or crouching by desks was never very comfortable.

AFTER

A lightweight stool that Mary can carry around the classroom ends her precarious perch. While Mary's dream of having picnic-style seating would have broken the $100 limit, Frank did give the desks a less rigid arrangement, pulling them away from the board to give Mary more walking room, and placing them at a more dynamic angle from the board.

Note the fun yellow-and-black posters that have zany sayings like "Enter at your own risk...our good looks might blind you" and "Do not disturb--we're concentrating on tying our shoe laces." Says Frank, "Children love these signs. Their sense of humor is quite innocent and lighthearted, and we all have to keep this in mind as we set up our classrooms."

GARCIA'S GREATEST TIPS

FOR DISPLAYS THAT MATTER:

* Use black as contrast behind bulletin-board borders, pictures, and wall displays.

* Don't be afraid to mix colors. And don't shy away from fluorescent colors; children love them.

* Aim for interactivity. Products such as Velcro, magnetic tape, and clothespins allow children to remove and replace display items as they wish.

* Use your imagination, and keep your eyes open for unusual items at tag sales and discount stores that will help you launch a theme study.

FOR A ROOM THAT WORKS:

* Move your desk to one side or the back of the room to let kids know that you're a part of their community, not an authority figure presiding over it.

* Arrange students' desks to suit the way you teach. Do you often have students work in cooperative groups? Does the arrangement of desks reflect this?

* If you have a computer in your room, set it up so that what's on the screen won't distract children who are working on other projects.

* Be open to adapting your space from time to time. Mary Sullivan's art center, for instance, could be easily transformed into a science center.

WENDY MURRAY, a senior associate editor at INSTRUCTOR, volunteers in Mary Sullivan's classroom.

COPYRIGHT 1994 Scholastic, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group