Out of This World!
This year of teaching in the time of Covid is SO different and unlike anything we've experienced. However, we still knew we wanted to bring in some of that room transformation magic! This year, our gifted enrichment unit was all about the solar system. One of our ELA units this year is called "The Making of a Scientist" (5th grade Guidebooks unit) where the students research the start of the solar system and if Pluto should be considered a planet. So for the first time, we introduced our Solar System Room Transformation! It was out of this world!
To start, we gathered our materials (linked below) and the help of our husbands (they always deserve a shoutout). We cut table cloth rolls displaying constellations to size and hung them up on the ceiling as our night sky. We also draped some star backdrops (also table cloth rolls) on the walls for more of a dramatic look. We inflated our inflatable solar system and hung them from the ceiling with string. We put the sun in the middle and fanned out the planets according to location in the solar system. We put up some glow in the dark stars, displayed our cardboard cut out of a rocket ship- and voila! We were transformed to a new place! Don't forget the Cosmic sounds in the background from YouTube! Sound effects are a simple way to add in another sense. Check out our Instagram story highlight for a full detailed explanation and showing of the room. This was definitely one of the more simple room transformations we've done- but here, a few materials went a long way and made a big impact.
Before we do any room transformation, we always reach out to our student's parents and ask if they have any items related to our topic that we can borrow/they'd like to donate. We've had parents even offer to help create items for us (shout out to Mr. Tim for our cardboard Jurassic Park dinosaurs)! This year, we asked again and were able to borrow a really cool, giant poster about the solar system that we included in the room.
So why a room transformation? Honestly the idea for this one was sparked in part by Mrs. Mercado's least favorite ELA unit to teach. The students don't really like it, and she doesn't really like to teach it (shhh). So how we could we make this unit more exciting to teach and learn about? The minute the students walked in on Monday morning their curiosity was peaked. From there- they were hooked! We found a fun way to introduce our new topic of study without just talking about it.
Year 2 Updates:
Doing a room transformation the second time is always easier than the first. Biggest tip- when picking up, organize your materials! This year, I had ziplocks labeled for wall panels and ceiling panels- they were already measured to size and ready to be put up! I referred to pictures I took last year to help me remember where everything went.
The way this unit works- we don't start talking about the planets until about two weeks in. So instead of doing this room transformation with lesson 1 (and then they're wondering why we're "in space") I waited until lesson 12- when we started talking about if Pluto is actually considered a planet. It made a lot more sense to the kids and gave a connection for us to look into.
I started displaying books that go along with our unit so students are presented with an easy option when they want to check out a book. Reading more about the topic of our unit helps them comprehend more what we're learning.
Recreate this in your own classroom:
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