Test season, a time when multiple tests are given to young children, is a time when teachers have to reorganize the classroom and take down posters and learning aids. In our school it's also a bridge from a varied menu of learning activities to a menu that mostly includes project based learning. With this in mind, it's also a time when many teachers begin to think about clean up this year and setting up next year.
A good clean up supports a good set up in the fall.
What considerations does a teacher make when transitioning the classroom for test taking, project work, summer vacation, and fall clean-up.
First of all, when you take down those posters, you can assess which posters should stay and which can go. You may also decide to order a few more posters to support student learning better.
Also, it's a good time to clean out closets. As I clean, I decide what to keep and what to throw away with the questions: Have I used those materials in the past year? Can I access those materials online? Will the materials support my future learning/teaching activities? If I haven't used the materials in a year and/or I can find them online, then I typically toss the materials or give them away. If a material won't support my future teaching/learning and if it's not really special, I'll also recycle that material or throw it out. Our classrooms are too small to host countless materials that we don't use.
Doing a bit of clean up every day in the spring saves you from having to work really hard during the hot, muggy days of summer in classrooms that typically don't have air conditioning. A good clean up leads to a positive set-up the following year. It's time to start thinking about that.
