Hi! I'm Heather from Alabama. I'm a former 3rd grade teacher of 12 years. This is my 1st year as an instructional coach. My favorite Thanksgiving dish is southern cornbread chicken & dressing. #3rdchat
Hello! I learn alongside amazing kiddos and wonderful colleagues in Dripping Springs, TX. My favorite Thanksgiving food is my daughter-in-laws stuffing. She is hands down a much better cook than I am! #3rdchat
A1: A classroom transformation is a way to engage students, support student connection with content, and bring excitement to the learning process for students and adults alike. #3rdchat
A1 A classroom transformation is an opportunity 2 take our learners to another place without leaving the classroom. It's a wonderful way 2 change things up & engage our learners & is so much fun!! I like how the authors of The Wild Card say it's Set the Stage 2Engage! #3rdchat
A1 A classroom transformation is a way to connect and engage students with the content they are learning. It builds excitement and gives kid's brains a hook to hang a memory on. They will never forge them! #3rdchat
A1 A classroom transformation is an opportunity 2 take our learners to another place without leaving the classroom. It's a wonderful way 2 change things up & engage our learners & is so much fun!! I like how the authors of The Wild Card say it's Set the Stage 2Engage! #3rdchat
A1: IMHO - a room transformation could be anything from the class set up to the way the class is run. Lots of room for interpretation here! (I'm thinking student led classroom!) #3rdchat
A1 In my opinion, a room transformation is an amazing way to engage all students in their learning. The purpose is to attach memory to an experience so that it impacts learning faster/longer. #3rdchat
Saw a great example of this on #tlap a Grade 3 teacher transformed her room into a cave and her students went Spelunking! #3rdchat Talk about Transformation!!
I think room transformation goes hand in hand with instructional changes #3rdchat When I intentionally plan learning opportunities that excite and engage, the energy in my room is the catalyst for transformation
A2 My class used to tour around the USA. A train tour through the northeast, a boat tour through the south, etc... we listen to music, eat food, and visit landmarks It was my favorite transformation. #3rdchat
A2: I would like to try something with using textual evidence and detective work. I would love to see pictures or get resource suggestions from our #3rdchat peeps.
A2: I just finished a room transformation! I transformed my room into “the Island” from The Wild Robot. My kids loved it! It was such an exciting week! #3rdchat
A2: this is the first year I’ve tried room transformations. I’ve done a Halloween one, but by far my favorite was our Glow Day review for math! #3rdchat
A2 My students loved it when our classroom was transformed into a cafe for our book tasting event. My favorite was our secret agent training room with “lasers” made from white yarn and black lights #3rdchat
A1: room transformations allow you to take an otherwise not so exciting skill and add an element of magic so that it is fun and engaging for kids! #3rdchat
I think room transformation goes hand in hand with instructional changes #3rdchat When I intentionally plan learning opportunities that excite and engage, the energy in my room is the catalyst for transformation
A3 I've done it both ways. Mostly I've had my curriculum in mind first and thought up a theme to help engage my kids with the content. However, for our Spy Day transformation we came up with the content to go with the theme for the day. #3rdchat
A3: I have always planned the content around the theme.. in a way. So far I have picked how I want to transform my room, and tie our curriculum in to fit it- I think either way is okay! #3rdchat
A3: I start with my standards. I use UbD so I start with my thinking about what I want my students to know and be able to do. Then I think about the kids in my class and how I can best design learning opportunities for them to connect with our content. #3rdchat
Last year, I set up a crime scene in our computer lab and the kids had to use textual evidence to figure out what happened. The suspects were some of my colleague friends. It wasn't super fancy, but I can share what I did and perhaps you can help me make it better. #3rdchat
This makes me think of "notice & note" If using those strategies you could place texts around the room & students could look for evidence of the "signposts". #3rdchathttps://t.co/cW9imlx7Al
A3: Both! I think about what I want students to master. Sometimes it lends itself to a transformation, like animal classification (jungle) or inference (detective). Other times, it’s about bringing learning to life and making it an amazing experience. #3rdchat
When my students were following the Iditarod race in March, we created a kennel for their stuffed animals, brought in a dogsled filled with items that are mandatory, created a map of Alaska - set the stage for great learning. #3rdchat
Absolutely!!! You could sort them by occupation, or what they’re known for and have students go around the room “tasting” different types of people... OR you could organize it by decade or genre.. and have them “taste” the books that way! #3rdchat
A2: we try to do one room transformation each six weeks. We’ve done Olympics, Cosmic Bowling, Toy Story, yarn mazes and our favorite outer space #3rdchat
A4: I am a transformation newbie. For me, I want to be sure that when I do something like this, I don't approach it as "fluff." I want to ensure that it promotes high levels of learning. #3rdchat
Last year, I launched my biography unit my having a package delivered to my classroom. It has a big sign on it that said "Do not open until 10:30 a.m." it was full of books. Great idea but bad timing. They all thought it was an elf on a shelf! Oops! #3rdchat
A4 One of my fears was how 2 transform the room & it not be a distraction from the learning. I soon realized that it added 2 the learning and the room became apart of the whole learning experience. Rm transformation can be as simple as music & table cloths 4 a restaurant #3rdchat
A4: I always wonder if all the planning and preparation will pay off and if our kids will enjoy it. They always do! We hype it up, get excited and that in turn gets our kids excited! #3rdchat
A3: For me it makes sense to use the content as the vehicle to drive the transformation. But admittedly, I would do things on a smaller scale. #3rdchat
It didn't have quite the impact that I had hoped. Let's just say a box of books didn't quite meet the hype of an elf on a shelf. Learned a good lesson. #3rdchat
A4 Fears: Time it takes to set up etc. Some of my bigger ones take hours and hours to set up and the way that we are moving so fast, I just don't have the time anymore for set up. However, I've recently realized that a transformation doesn't have to be big at all. #3rdchat
A4: My only fear is that the transformation will take the focus off the learning. The environment should enhance learning and not detract from it. #3rdchat
A4: I was nervous to do a transformation to start, but after going to RCA I was inspired to actually do one with my students. Their excitement for learning was 100% worth it, and I can’t wait to do another. #3rdchat
A2: pt 2. I am so fortunate enough to be at a school that has admin that supports our crazy ideas. These are transformations from 1st, 3rd and 4th grade. @Ms_Vinson@kdpearson#3rdchat
I love the idea of having items in a box or closed container. I rec'd a trunk from the CivilWarTrust with artifacts inside. We kept it closed for a day so the anticipation would build. Not a true transformation but a small one that got kids thinking! #3rdchat
A5: we’ve taken several ideas from Hope King and Kim Bearden, but our biggest resources are our peers! We have a room where we keep all our transformation stuff so we can all share. We have more table clothes and black lights than we know what to do with 😂 #3rdchat
A2 I was able to help 2 third grade teachers at my school with their camping transformation a couple of weeks ago. They tied it into their reading story The Raft #3rdchat@lwall93 It was so neat seeing the entire class inside the tent ⛺️ for their read aloud.
A6: No matter big or small, just do it! You will be amazed at the excitement and engagement of your students when you do a room transformation!#3rdchat
A6: don’t over think it, and don’t feel like you have to spend a ton of money. We utilize a lot of supplies already on campus (butcher paper to cover walls and create things to hang on the walls), we buy in bulk and try to find items that could be used again #3rdchat
So I'm doing some PD on @Ozobot for my school on Monday. I have some experience, but am no expert. Thoughts on what/how to include for a staff not familiar with them? TIA #elemchat#3rdchat#edtech
My intern @JujuMcDonald did one with cotton balls and confetti snowflakes hanging from the ceiling on fishing wire. We were studying polar bears and Skyped with a polar bear biologist to answer our questions that weren’t answered in our nonfiction text. #3rdchat
A5: we’ve taken several ideas from Hope King and Kim Bearden, but our biggest resources are our peers! We have a room where we keep all our transformation stuff so we can all share. We have more table clothes and black lights than we know what to do with 😂 #3rdchat
A6: pt2, also I would suggest not doing them super often. You want it to be magical for the kids, not something they expect. Like Ron Clark says, you are not entitled to magic, and we will tell students that sometimes.They appreciate our efforts more when we say that 🙂 #3rdchat
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They read the story Penguin Chick, by Betty Tatham. We are doing "stop motion" setting activity tomorrow. Similar to this:https://t.co/2R7VfEnKWV#3rdchat
A7 We are reading Charlotte's Web and putting on the play. I intended to do a spider transformation for Halloween - it didn't happen, so I'm going to do it in November - it works... right? #3rdchat
A7: our next big idea is doing like a puzzle room, like a life size jigsaw puzzle. I have no idea which content area we will utilize this for yet! We have a million ideas and just figure out skills to go with the ideas as we go #3rdchat
A7 Since I’m now and instructional caoch@and don’t have a classroom of my own , I want to do a room transformation for the teachers I work with for an afternoon PD day. Any suggestions? #3rdchat
A6: I think you can start small with some signature pieces in the room to get your feet wet! Keep the standards in the forefront too - don't let them get lost! #3rdchat
A2: We read the biographies of famous baseball players like Roberto Clemente, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. That week, we transformed the room into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Used Google Arts and Culture to take a tour of the museum in Cooperstown, NY. #3rdchat
A8: My take away is that there are some pretty amazing folks who are transforming their classrooms & education for their students - I think we all can..and I'd love to try it with my colleagues like @TeachingJam#3rdchat
A8 My take away is just another reminder that collectively we have so many great ideas! For example, I love the penguin idea, but I might use a winter theme somehow for traditional literature, or persuasive writing...really anything works if you are creative! #3rdchat
A8: takeaway- collab.with your colleagues can be your biggest asset. Our 1st gr team did an AMAZING Mario room transf. It was so huge, they left it up for a week & other grades utilized it for their own content. Use your peers! Get parents involved! #3rdchat@kdpearson
