How do you consider the environment in your classroom choices?
Tara, Science in the City:
I am a science teacher, so environmental considerations fit in well with my class topics, and my personal interests.
I try to almost always copy double sided, or if something is small, just copy it on a half sheet. I also only copy a class set (or some extras) of a reading. Most students don’t really need their own copy. Since I use interactive notebooks, students do a lot of their work in their notebook, eliminating the need for extra papers.
I display posters in stress-free learning zones as visible reminders to look through another person’s view. The result? Laughter becomes a hallmark of our setting, and music upgrades brainwave activity daily.
Students convert boredom into curiosity in stress-free zones that add play. They cultivate relationships without stress, in zones that foster disagreements by building goodwill with those who differ.
Our stress-free zones exchange tensions that characterize most secondary settings, for brain-friendly tools to help students become the person they’d like their peers to see in them.
Stress-free zones start wherever students see their surroundings through another person’s eyes. They increase when we build brain-friendly spaces across differences.
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Clair, High School English on a Shoestring Budget: My environmental considerations also end up being money considerations. I re-use the tri-fold posterboards by having the next class paste construction paper or something over top. I re-use computer print outs and half-sheets, or even strips of paper, depending on what it is. I have students clean out their folders every once in a while and collect clean copies of assignments to use again. I even collect the student folders at the end and reuse those (usually for myself, but some of the really good folders I hand out to students next term.)
Jackie,Room 213:
Probably the biggest change I’ve made is to post a lot of information on a class website. I still photocopy handouts they need to use in class, but information that they need for reference just goes on the website. Also, often my kids will submit assignments electronically. I can either mark them on word, using the comments or on turnitin.com, which has a great system for marking, including comment banks that you can just pull into the student document. I still prefer marking on the paper, but am making a conscious effort to do more online, so as to save paper.
Kim,
at OCBeachTeacher:
My classroom has a window that looks out to a beautiful courtyard enclosed in the center of our school. It’s maintained by our theater teacher; she has her students care for the gardens by weeding, raking leaves, and trimming the bushes. They have also built a small stage where they perform fall and spring theater productions in the evenings. When they aren’t using the courtyard to rehearse their plays, other teachers can take their students out to the area to enjoy class in the sunshine. It’s a great way for us to appreciate and respect the environment!
Mr. Bowyer’s Social Studies Showroom
I try to do small things like cut down on the number of handouts, print things on half of a sheet or double sided, or using whiteboards instead of a worksheet to review a test. I know these small changes might not make a difference in just my classroom, but if everyone tries to do what they can the small things will add up!
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