HOW TO BEAT THE HEAT IN YOUR CLASSROOM
Schools in the summertime aren’t always comfortable places to be. When we get hot and bothered, nobody can concentrate, so it’s important to do all you can to mitigate the worst of the heat. Why not follow these tips to beat the heat in your classroom?
Hydrate the class
Hot weather can quickly make us dehydrated, which does nothing for our concentration. In the heat, it’s important make sure all pupils have access to cold water – let them have water bottles to sip from at their desks.
Why not also incorporate water into your lesson, if appropriate? Teach your students about volume and displacement, make water clocks or fill containers with different amounts of liquid to make a musical instrument with a difference. Or go one step further and use ice as a learning aid.
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS
Electric lights emit heat, which just makes things worse on a hot summer’s day. On top of that, the sun blazing through the windows can give your classroom a ‘greenhouse effect’. When the weather gets really hot, keep your classroom cooler by turning the lights off, and pull down the blinds to keep the sunshine out.
As well as turning off the lights, keep your use of other electrical items to a minimum (aside from fans, of course!)
CREATE A BREEZE
In hot weather, the air flow in your classroom becomes really important. Open windows to let in the breeze, and use fans if you don’t have air conditioning. Counterintuitively, you will feel cooler if you point an electric fan towards the window to direct the hot air outdoors.
Why not use an art or craft lesson as an opportunity, and get your pupils to make paper fans?
MOVE THINGS AROUND
Sitting by the window on a sunny day can be uncomfortable. Mix things up a little by changing your seating arrangements – gather together in the shadiest part of the room to avoid being exposed to intense sunlight. Heat rises, so the floor can also be a cooler place to sit, especially if it’s uncarpeted. Use your ingenuity to create a flexible classroom layout to keep everyone out of the sun.
Opt for outdoor learning
Summer days can be wretched when you’re stuck in a stuffy classroom. Why not freshen things up and take the lesson outdoors? Whether you make a virtue of the outdoor environment by learning about nature, or simply choose to settle under a tree to read a story, you’ll find everyone is happier and more eager to learn in the open air. If migrating outside isn’t an option, the sliding doors built into many of our outdoor classrooms offer the next best thing, opening up to let the outside in.
At Vertis, all of our modular classrooms are constructed with exceptional-quality materials and excellent insulation, making them a supremely comfortable learning environment, all year round. Read more about our modular school buildings, and how they could help keep you cool in school.