We rearranged the tables this week to allow opportunities for group work and collaboration. Instead of rows of desk facing the front, the tables are grouped in 6. On each table we decided to put jars, each with a set of stationary tools and chalk for the feature wall.
We also added a bottle of water on each grouped table because the students requested to have water in the classroom. I have nominated a student from my roll call to refill the bottles every morning. I keep large bottles of water in our fridge in the staffroom and take them in to the classroom.
Each of the jars have little tags saying "use me" or "drink me" inspired by Alice in Wonderland.
How were the tags made?
A friend of mine by the name of George Saad designed a template for the tags. Feel free to use them if you like. You can also check out more designs on his website, Wistful Playground. He specialises in a variety of things, such as invites, business cards and videos.
We also added a bottle of water on each grouped table because the students requested to have water in the classroom. I have nominated a student from my roll call to refill the bottles every morning. I keep large bottles of water in our fridge in the staffroom and take them in to the classroom.
Each of the jars have little tags saying "use me" or "drink me" inspired by Alice in Wonderland.
How were the tags made?
A friend of mine by the name of George Saad designed a template for the tags. Feel free to use them if you like. You can also check out more designs on his website, Wistful Playground. He specialises in a variety of things, such as invites, business cards and videos.
I printed off the tags, resized them using the photocopier settings, and laminated them. They were cut out and small holes were punched at the top (using a hole puncher). Twine was threaded through the holes and tied around the jars.
How did we attach them to the tables?
We thought about the OHS issues involved with placing glass jars on desks which could easily fall off as students move around or move their desks, so we used velcro to attach them down to the tables. It was surprisingly strong and holds pretty well. In the end, the student's reactions were great. They love the attention to detail and small surprises. One student described the new layout as "reliving primary school memories, my childhood and Alice in Wonderland all in one."
We thought about the OHS issues involved with placing glass jars on desks which could easily fall off as students move around or move their desks, so we used velcro to attach them down to the tables. It was surprisingly strong and holds pretty well. In the end, the student's reactions were great. They love the attention to detail and small surprises. One student described the new layout as "reliving primary school memories, my childhood and Alice in Wonderland all in one."