Fall 2008
	Classroom D.I.Y.

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Classroom D.I.Y.

Transform four bare walls into a powerful educational tool

By Alain Jehlen and Karen Zauber

The 30-year veteran next door has a beautiful, inviting, stimulating classroom.

You’ve got…just about nothing.

Where do you start? How do you plan a room that will not only feel like home, but help you teach and manage your students? We asked experienced teachers how they did it and got both fun and practical answers.

In the printed version of Go!, we’re showing off the extraordinary room of Louisville fifth-grade teacher Jason Hubler with photos that show about half of the room.

Here online, we’ve got Hubler’s whole room and photos of more great classrooms, plus a paper by Garner, North Carolina, literacy coach Lynn Flood that lays out the how’s and why’s of classroom design.

First, Hubler:

“I want it to be a place kids feel comfortable in and like going to,” he says of his masterpiece classroom.

 His advice for getting neat stuff for your room? “Don't be afraid to say, ‘Can I borrow this? Can I use that in my classroom?’

“You’ll be amazed what you can get just by asking.”

We’re not suggesting you try to recreate his digs—for one thing, he did this in a double room, much more space than you probably have. For another, it took him many years to put it together. But we hope his example will inspire you to create a classroom that works for your students and fits your personality and teaching style.