School and Community Winter 2024

TEACHER TIP

Transform Your Classroom At Hallsville Intermediate School, Kelsea Miller isn’t just a fourth-grade teacher. She’s a magician of the classroom, weaving enchantment into learning through classroom transformations. These lessons are immersive

Miller began this project during her first year of teaching - inspired by fellow MSTA member Bryanna Norman’s classroom transformations, she decided to bring the magic of immersive learning to her own classroom. “My first year, I did a pizza transformation for our comparing fractions unit, a Donut Shop for our two-digit multiplication unit and construction for adding and subtracting fractions,” Miller said. “Each year, I have added a new transformation or added something else onto the transformations!” Starting with small-scale themes to review complex concepts, Miller realized the potential these experiences held for her students. In November, during a poetry unit, the class was thrilled to dive into a Caribou Coffee themed lesson. “When they walked into the classroom, it was set up for a Caribou Coffee themed ‘Open Mic Night,’” Miller detailed. “Each student got in the front of the classroom and read their poems out loud to the class with the

experiences that ignite passion and engagement in her students. What could be more exciting for a young learner than walking through the classroom door and into a fully decorated, themed room? Table covers, props and outfits are carefully selected by Miller to coincide with a relevant subject in the course material. These transformations often occur during recess or lunch break, adding to the excitement and surprise of the occasion when the students return. “They absolutely love it,” Miller said. “When they walk in, their eyes light up and you can always hear, ‘Woahhh!’ or ‘This is so cool!’ I always play music to help set the tone with a direction slide that matches and hang a photography backdrop to cover some of my everyday decor.”

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