Middle School Classroom Becomes a Winter Wonderland!

Faculty members Lauren Huddleston and Jenn Futrell got the idea to transform a middle school room into the winter wonderland after a visit to a school in Atlanta, Georgia. The transformed room featured a fireplace projected on a screen, Christmas trees, flameless candles, and snow. The idea was to create a sensory experience that would shakeup the day’s usual routine, all while learning continued.

 

To create a warm and inviting space, seventh grade English teacher Huddleston worked with fifth grade science teacher Christa Stigers, sixth grade English teacher Kara Vaughn, and eighth grade teacher Savannah McCausland. Each teacher found unique ways to coordinate what they were doing in the classroom with time in the transformed room. Here are a few of the things that happened:

Huddleston said that beyond seeing the room transformation idea at another school, she had recently read The Power of Moments by Dan and Chip Heath. “In that book, the authors refer to creating meaningful and memorable experiences. For this room transformation, we’re going beyond the routine of the normal school experience by boosting the sensory appeal and breaking the script of what’s expected. Girls aren’t coming into the classroom to sit and listen to a teacher—they’re going to Narnia, drinking hot chocolate, sharing poetry, or trying to crack the code in an escape room.

 

While visiting the winter wonderland, girls also had an opportunity to strengthen their bonds with one another by working collaboratively, listening to each other, and building on each other’s ideas. The transformation heightens their participation in the learning process. By looking at a situation in a new way, girls are thinking outside the box in terms of what it means to be a student. They’re able to take a more creative approach to problem-solving, and they are working on their own content mastery at the same time.