Everything is good in moderation...even lamination
The scent of hot laminate wafting through the workroom is a smell all educators are familiar with! The pile of items to be laminated at the beginning of the school year or when creating a GLAD® unit could rival the Eiffel tower and is somehow synonymous with productivity.
Laminate item that will be stored and used again so you only have to create them once:
- Observation Charts
- Big Books
- Narrative Input Chart
- Picture File cards
That's pretty much it!
In order to take full advantage of the language functional environment you have created leave everything else as paper charts. This gives you and the students the freedom to interact with the charts on a daily basis. Add information, revise, sketch, highlight, post pictures.
Laminating black line charts, inputs, or chants and then using vis-a-vis or dry erase markers to process is an idea that many teachers have during their initial training that they think will be a time saver, but is an idea that is usually quickly abandoned when put into practice.
Quick Reminder:
Butcher paper is way cheaper than laminate. Save the yards of laminate it would take to cover your paper charts for items that need it: observation charts, big books, narratives, and picture files.
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Author
Jody Bader
Jody Bader is an educator with two decades of experience as a classroom teacher, ELD specialist, instructional coach, education researcher, and one of the Northwest’s leading OCDE Project GLAD® Consultants. She has worked with teachers in the US and internationally who are committed to improving their practice and the culture of their classrooms for all students through the OCDE Project GLAD® model. She has trained and coached thousands of teachers and has a passion for mentoring new trainers in training.
Author
Dr. Sara Martinez
An educator for nearly 20 years, Dr. Sara Martinez has worked with individuals from preschool through adulthood. She has extensive experience and background in education among English language learners and individuals in low socioeconomic status environments, combined with her doctoral work and experience in leadership development and change dynamics. Having trained and consulted with thousands of K-12 teachers and administrators, she has a wide base of knowledge and educational experience.
