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Wipebook DIY Easels?
Greetings!
I purchased a Wipebook pad to use with my students several months ago, but I discovered recently that my classroom next year will have hip-high cabinets on the sides of the room. In the spirit of V(ertical)NPS, i’m worried that if I put the wipebooks on the walls students will sit on the cabinets instead of standing (they may have to in order to reach).
I did not buy the wipebook easels with my original purchase, and easels I’ve found are too short to support the wipebook pages.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Mike
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9 Replies
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Great question! I agree that you want to be mindful of whether students have easy access to “sitting” as this can negate some of the effects of VPNS (i.e.: standing!).
I haven’t used the Wipebook easels, however I know some folks have either purchased easels (likely expensive) or even created some (still costly in time and/or money).
Interested to see what others think…
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My wife had an interesting idea I’m going to try out: science fair poster boards. It turns out, the middle sections on the ones without header boards are exactly 24 inches wide and 36 inches tall. They cost about 10 bucks each: cheaper than buying easels. I might reinforce them with some regular cardboard box (from amazon shipping boxes) to make sure the side flaps don’t fold out or in too far and make them collapse. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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Update: I talked to my father-in-law, who came up with an idea I liked even better. Home Depot has 18x18x24 storage boxes for $1.70 a box. Taped together, they make a face 24×36…the size of a wipebook. I’m going to try these out, and see if I can anchor them down a bit with some old textbooks or attach them with some adhesive. I’ll let you know how it goes.
For less than 4 dollars each, and more stability than a science poster board, I think it’s worth a try.
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Great idea. I’m curious to hear (and see if you can snap some pics) of how it goes!
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I got access to my classroom and finished cleaning it out, I set up the wipebook/box combo today. Here are some pictures. Some ASB students came in (curious to see who I was since I’ve been out of the classroom for 3 years), and suggested I decorate the sides of the boxes.
Any suggestions for decorations?
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Cool idea to bring them forward towards the edge of the counter with boxes! Seems more stable than an easel or science boards. Maybe the sides could have posters with norms for discussions or sentence frames for how to agree/disagree/question each other?
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Those look great, Michael! I am so impressed with your stick-to-it-iveness! My colleague Maggie and I also purchased the Wipebook pads, and we plan to tape them to our walls. I use post-it note pads, which are super expensive and I simply crumple up and throw away when we’re finished, so this has to be better for the environment, yes?
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As for decoration, I think the kids would love the activity of decorating the boxes. You might give them some parameters–like their favorite saying about resilience or whatever, or you might let it be wide open. If you can handle a base coat of paint and some messiness, I think you would create a really nice, customized look in which the kids would have agency and investment!
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Quick tip about the wipebooks, they are fairly sturdy but are vulnerable to ripping I’ve found. Be careful when placing them up. One tore at the side as I was putting it up (I just put tape on the back to reinforce it). I’ve reinforced some of them with gaffers tape, which blends in pretty well with the black sides of the wipebook sheets and adds a nice layer of cloth protection.
<span style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Thanks for the suggestions about decorating them =) </span><br>
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They look great @michaelrubin!
I’m loving the idea of letting the kids decorate as well…
