MATERIALS

• 4’ X 8’ “White Board” (Available at Home Improvement Centers)

• 8 self-tapping screws per full size white board

• Washers for self-tapping screws

• 1 roll ¾ inch blue painter’s masking tape (get the good stuff)

• 1 roll double-sided stick tape (or hot glue gun)

• 2 Dry Erase Markers per student, per week

• 2 clothespins per student board (one per board with one extra to replace broken clothespins)

• 1 eraser rag per student board

• Scotch tape

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Learn more about the markers and erasers

 

OPTIONAL MATERIALS

• PVC Rain Gutter with screws to attach

• Wood trim for white boards

• Liquid Nails and Caulking Gun (to reinforce the clothespins) or Liquid Nails in squeeze tube

• Refrigerator magnet clips (1 per student to replace clothespins)

• Laser Pointer: Though listed here in the optional materials section, we strongly recommend you use a laser pointer. A laser pointer allows the teacher to give students clear specific feedback in a flash from across the room. Also, when the teacher wishes to discuss one student’s board, the teacher can join the gathering of students rather than stand at the board. By staying away from the board, the teacher abstains from blocking students’ views of the board work and helps the teacher to maintain proximity to the students. Laser pointers are powerful tools in the Gallery Learning environment!

 

TOOLS​

• Power screwdriver with attachment for screws (above)

• Measuring tape

• Level

• Saw (if needed to trim white board or border)

• Hacksaw (if you need to cut raingutter)

 

WHAT NOT TO BUY

• Idea Paint ($225 for only 50 square feet? Are you kidding me?)

• Real whiteboards (They do work better, but they're very costly.)

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Clear your walls!

2. Measure for white board placement. Consider the following:

   • Each student will need a space approximately 2 feet wide by 32 inches high, although greater than 32 inches works fine. Consider how much space is comfortable for you to write on. Students will write from about their stomachs to about a foot above their heads. This range is normally close to 32 inches.

   •  Avoid mounting boards in the corners. Students will need to stand slightly to the right or left of their board depending on which hand they write with.

   • You can mount boards on cabinets, windows, and doors using double-sided tape. Another suggestion is to use "Command Adhesive Strips." One side sticks to the surface while the velcro side allows the user to take the boards down if necessary. The adhesive side will not leave marks or damage the surface, a nice plus as opposed to nails or screws.

   • Windows can work as whiteboards, but it is not recommended. The trouble is that the writing is harder to see. Some teachers use windows that face indoor hallways and attach butcher paper to the outside of the window to provide a backdrop. Windows facing outside do not work well as it is hard to see the writing.

   • It is best if students stand to work. Boards cannot be mounted too high or too low without causing an inconvenience.

   • As much as possible, the boards should be mounted around the entire room with a path cleared near all the boards.

3. Plan how each 8’ X 4’ white board will be used/cut. Check with your local home improvement center; many will make the cuts for you free of charge. Make drawings on paper to give to the cutter at the home improvement center. Also, figure out how many screws and washers you will need. You should secure the boards with one screw at the top and one screw at the bottom of the board approximately every 2 feet. The self-tapping screws will most likely hold your boards in place, even on foam drywall (which is typical in classrooms, used for staples and push pins.)

4. Purchase your materials. If you buy the whiteboard at Lowes or Home Depot, they will cut it for you at the store.

5. Reinforce the clothespins with the Liquid Nails. Smear some Liquid Nails on both sides of the clothespins where the metal crosses the wood and rests in the groove. Wipe off any excess Liquid Nails. This will keep the clothespins together when the kids are using them. By doing this before mounting the boards, the Liquid Nails will have time to dry before mounting. If you do not reinforce the clothespins, you will continually have to fix clothespins that separate...not fun. Add some Liquid Nails to extra clothes pins so they're ready when any mounted clothespin break. An alternative to Liquid Nails is white glue. It isn’t nearly as strong, but is better than nothing.

6. Mount your boards. Video Get the board close to the desired location without worrying about if the board is perfectly level. Once you have one screw in a top corner, level the board and attach the opposite corner with another screw (use a level). A second person can be very helpful when mounting boards. Consider the height of your students when deciding on board placement. Boards can be mounted on cabinets and doors using double-sided tape. One 2-inch piece in each corner should be sufficient.

7. Section off large boards with blue painter’s tape. Measure your boards at 2-foot intervals (or close) and place a small dot with a Sharpie toward the top and bottom of the boards (to assist in placing the tape in a perfectly vertical line.)

8. Attach the clothespins to the boards. These will be used to hang eraser rags and student worksheets/booklets. Place the clothespins at a height that can be reached by your students toward the top of each student work area. Position it on the top left about 5 inches away from the left border (to allow for pages to be hung without overlapping into a neighbor’s space.)

9. Write numbers on the top right of each board in Sharpie. Each board should be numbered. Start your numbers anywhere that it makes sense to you. In my class of 32 students, I used 8 different colored Sharpies to write the numbers. This gives me 4 boards with each color for creating small groups. So board #1, #9, #17, and #25 are all red. Boards #2, #10, #18, and #26 are all green. Etc.

10. Write A/B Neighbor labels on each board. Below each number, write something like this: <--A  B→  This shows the student at the board to turn to her right when told to work with neighbor B, and turn to her left when told to work with partner A. Each board should alternate directions (A-B, B-A, A-B, B-A, etc.) This way, all A arrows are pointing at each other in pairs and all B arrows are pointing at each other in pairs. Keep in mind that students on corners or near gaps simply bypass those obstacles to form partners. Learn more about the management of the neighbors at other locations on GalleryLearning.com.

11. Make some homemade whiteboard cleaner as follows:

    Mix rubbing alcohol with water in a spray bottle. If pure rubbing alcohol: 4 parts water, 1 part alcohol. If 90% rubbing alcohol: 3 parts water, 1 part alcohol. Many schools provide cleaning solutions that also work. You may want to check with your school district to make sure your cleaning product is approved for use.

12. Attach the rain gutters. If you decide to use rain gutters, screw them into the wall just below the new white boards. This becomes a place for students to place their markers, books, and other belongings while working at the boards. Plastic rain gutters can be cut with a hacksaw.