n chapter 9, the author begins by
talking about the importance of a literacy-rich environment. In a literacy-rich
environment, literacy development and content-area teaching go hand-in-hand and
there is a plethora of materials. It’s important for the indoor space as well
as the outdoor space to have appropriate materials that help with literacy
development. Indoor space is something is something that I often think about. I
want my classroom to have lots of books, papers and pencils. I want it to have
posters on the wall, and word walls, and I’ll have a morning message each day.
But I haven’t really thought about outdoor space. In the book, on page
377, the author list items that should would be beneficial at an outdoor play
area and state “new materials that reflect unit instruction also add to
the interest of outdoor play” and that “The materials generate language during
play and in class discussions and provide information for writing experience
charts and class books.” So that is definitely something to think about.
The importance of classroom centers
is also stressed. Pages 380 and 381 have sample floor plans containing
content-area centers. Centers should not be randomly organized. For instance,
the book gives the example of the art center that’s located near a sink so the
students can easily get to water. Now, I don’t know about you all, but
the classrooms I have been in are not large enough to contain centers. I love
the idea of it, but when I graduate and start teaching, I’m sure my classroom
will be pretty small, and I might have to be very imaginative with what I do
with my classroom.
The author also
talks about whole group, small group, and one-on-one instruction, and explains
when and how to use each instruction. Whole group instruction should be used to
teach information that needs to be introduced to the entire class, while small
group instruction can be used when pairing student in groups for projects or
when a specific number of students need to work on something. Many students enjoy
one-on-one time with the teacher, or the individualized instruction. While it
is important that students are able to get along and work together, they also
need to learn to work individually and solve problems themselves.
I felt that
this chapter was very helpful. I learned a lot about how to create a
literacy-rich environment, and about differentiating instruction.
Hi Michelle! I enjoyed reading your post! I also really liked how the book showed rooms with different centers and how creative the classrooms seemed to be, but I thought the same thing you did. "How do they fit all of this into small little classrooms?!" I have not seen a classroom aside from preschool that is as big as those layouts although I think they would be great in a classroom! I do think that we will need to be creative and manage the space that is given to us. With this we may have to prioritize the centers, for example if I have a third grade class I would want to prioritize my literacy center compared to let's say my art center. Talking about groups in a classroom, I think it is important that students learn how to work together and work as groups, but I also believe students need to do things individually so that they do not become too dependent on group work. And can solve problems for themselves, like you said. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I see what you are saying how you can incorporate everything in your classroom in such a small space! I think it is important to think about what is going to be the most beneficial for the children and put what is most important for their learning. Children also need to learn to work together especially at a young age and incorporating this in your classroom is crucial. They also need to work individually especially in the older grades when things start to get more complicated. Great thinking about the chapter though!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Michelle! I loved your point about indoor as well as the outdoor space being important to the children's literacy learning. Things outside the classroom can always spark curiosity in the children and then they can take that back and learn more inside the classroom. I felt the same way about how big those classrooms were in the book. I have been in many different classrooms in many different schools and I have never seen a classroom that size and it makes me wonder about how well you can condense things in smaller classrooms without cutting out too much? Along with reading, group instruction is hard to do because of the different levels of learning between students so your point about one-on-one, small, and whole group was a wonderful outlook. Thank you so much for the great post!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, like you I also have been thinking about indoor space but did not give much thought to outside space. I also agree with you when you say you will have to be imaginative because yes every classroom I have been in have ben very small. Group work and individual work is so important. I know that when I become a teacher, I will try to balance both of them out so that my students will experience both.
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