Making Spaces

I have been working with a lot of teachers in setting up their rooms to make spaces and a more mobile environment. This involves bringing furniture such as cupboards and tables away from the walls and using it to make spaces within the room. I liked Stephen Heppell's idea about writeable surfaces and I have been encouraging teachers to paint whiteboard or blackboard paint over backs of cupboards and on top of old tables so that they can be used as surfaces for children to write on. Julie has started with this idea and the kids love using the whiteboard. Eventually they will use it for several purposes

• mindmapping
• publishing of work (take a photo when it is done)
• graffiti wall (words only i.e examples of compound words or homonyms)
• graffiti art wall (drawings only i.e. We are studying Communication, add a drawing that has something to do with communication and be able to explain what it has to do with communication when asked)
• maths races (who is the fastest multiplier etc)
• mural on our topic
• practise my spelling words
• do my maths working out
• messages

It is only limited by your own and your student's imaginations.

To add whiteboard paint or blackboard paint to a surface, there does need to be some preparation. Julie's caretaker, sanded it, then added 2 coats of primer. Julie painted it with one coat of pale blue paint and then two coats of whiteboard paint.