Is your classroom looking a little bit the worse for wear? Looking for a quick solution? Spring cleaning is not just for homes and your classroom too can benefit from a quick once over. The trouble, for most teachers, or teaching assistants, is finding the time is really challenging. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and not know where to start.
Introducing The Tidy Classroom Workbook
This short, practical guide will take you through the process and help you to make little changes that can make a huge difference. This is a workbook and it will only help if you print it out and work through the process. Done properly this is a short but powerful way to make some immediate changes for the better in your classroom.
Please Note:The Tidy Classroom Workbook is a short, practical, e-booklet. It comes as a PDF file which you print out. It is not a printed book.
The workbook takes you through a process that you can use again and again. It is not a book of specific tips.
The Tidy Classroom Workbook
Have you really looked around your room recently?
Is your classroom is crammed with work in progress and things you’ve not had time to clear away? Or is it well organised but uninspiring? A messy classroom or a boring one can soon make you, and your learners, feel overwhelmed and exhausted.
Not Just Your Display Boards
This is not about your classroom displays but about the whole visual look of your classroom. A working space can have a big impact not only on efficiency but also how easy it is to concentrate. You could have the most wonderful, creative display boards in your classroom but their effectiveness may be reduced by the visual clutter surrounding them.
Not Creative Mess But Visual Noise
I’m not talking about a ‘creative mess’. Classrooms that are always tidy with nothing out of place are rather dead spaces. Learning is inherently messy! When creative work is underway every classroom gets a bit untidy and that’s a good thing! Creative mess can be cleared away quickly once the creative moment has passed. The trouble starts when it is left to turn into the sort of distracting mess that adds to a general ‘visual noise’. That mess that you can see out of the corner of your eye makes concentration very difficult.
Visual Distraction Is Bad for Everyone
We all know intuitively that it can be hard to think clearly in a very messy space. This applies to you, just as much as it does to your learners. It is even worse for any students in your class who suffer with attention issues, dyslexia or autistic spectrum disorders.
Imagine Being A Child In Your Classroom
We will start by imagining what it is like to be a student rather than a teacher in your room. Once you have taken a look at your classroom through fresh eyes you will find it much easier to see what needs to be done.
You Will See Exactly What Needs to Be Done and How to Do it Quickly.
I’ll show you how you can use your natural visual strengths to quickly create a more effective classroom. Once you know how to really look at your classroom you will find that there are quick and easy solutions staring you in the face.
In 3 steps this workbook will help you to
Step 1: Identify what blocks your students and makes your classroom hard to work in.
Step 2: Create actions to instantly improve things.
Step 3: Make long term changes to your classroom to more effectively support your students’ learning.
The Tidy Classroom Workbook is a short, practical, e-booklet. It comes as a PDF file which you print out.It is ideal for anyone who feels their classroom space is looking a little (or a lot!) unloved and wants to fix it, fast!
The workbook takes you through a process that you can use again and again. It is not a book of specific tips.
The Tidy Classroom Workbook
The ‘No-Risk’ Bottom Line
This workbook will cost you little more than the price of a large coffee (£2.75) and if you honestly try out the process and if it doesn’t work for you just let me know and I’ll refund you in full.
The Tidy Classroom Workbook
About Linda Hartley
Hi, I enjoy helping teachers to make their classrooms into interesting visual learning environments. I write most of this site and I also run the Classroom Displays online course which you can find out more about in the sidebar.