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Literacy 4-6

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Literacy 4-6 > Strategies > Dim or Natural Lighting

Dim or Natural Lighting

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Overview

Dim or natural lighting provides a calming environment. For example, when enough natural light comes through windows, dimming the lights supports students Sensory Integration needs by decreasing visual stimulation.

Use It in the Classroom

Watch how this teacher uses LED lights in her classroom to match student tasks as well as influence the general mood in the classroom throughout the day.

  • Using natural light from outside to illuminate a classroom decreases the reliance on fluorescent or harsh lighting, which creates a calm, safe learning environment for all students. Additionally, being able to adjust lighting levels and colors supports students' development of Inhibition & Self-regulation skills to control and moderate their visual stimuli.

    • Design It into Your Product

    Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.

    Learn how lighting products such as Acuity Brands Tunable White Lighting can allow teachers and students to dim and tune lighting in the classroom to support increased learning and focus.

  • Providing features to adjust lighting brightness, warmth, and color allows students to customize the learning environment to meet their personal needs.
    • View References

    Resources

    Below are additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
    Examples

    10 Calming Sensory Strategies

    Ways to support Self-regulation

    Examples

    Sensory Mood Lighting

    How mood lighting produces different calming effects

    Examples

    Video on Dynamic Lighting

    School that uses dynamic lighting settings to simulate different environments

    Research

    Self-Regulation

    Subtopic that explores children's developing ability to regulate their behavior on Digital Promise's Research Map

    Factors Supported by this Strategy

    Literacy
    Cognition
    Inhibition & Self-regulation
    Sensory Integration
    Social and Emotional Learning
    Student Background

    More Physical Space Strategies

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    Multiple Writing Surfaces

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    Quiet Environment/Pockets of Quiet

    Decreasing extra audio input provides a focused learning environment.

    Rich Library: Audio & Braille

    Books for vision differences support reading development for learners with visual needs.

    Rich Library: Complexity

    Reading materials of varying complexity and levels are necessary for all students to experience success.

    Rich Library: Diversity

    Multicultural and diverse books are critical for supporting all students.

    Rich Library: Multimodal

    Providing varied types of resources that align with interests of individual students supports overall literacy development.

    Rich Library: Poetry

    With figurative language and creative sentence structure, poetry supports the development of a deeper understanding of the different ways language makes meaning.

    Rich Library: SEL Topics

    Books on social and emotional learning (SEL) topics, such as developing empathy and productive persistence, help teach these skills.

    Sound Level

    Providing ways for students to adjust sound level supports individual auditory needs.

    Temperature

    Providing ways for students to meet their individual temperature needs supports Attention and Inhibition & Self-Regulation.

    Uncluttered Environment

    Spaces that are structured, organized, and clean provide increased room for collaboration and active learning.

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