This was definitely an interesting chapter to read. I found the information about how the success of your literacy program depends to a large extent on how it is organized, designed, and managed. I am sure that some people don't realize the effect of the physical environment of the classroom has on the success of the students' learning. Many times in the upper elementary classrooms such as second grade through fourth grade people don't focus on the physical environment as much. They don't worry about different centers within the classroom to help and differentiate the learning styles. In learning centers the students aren't just stuck behind a desk working, but instead they could be working in groups, or one-on-one.
I had a few areas of the chapter that I really found resourceful. One was the section about preparing literacy-rich physical environments. We kind of discussed this topic recently in class with motivating the students and throughout the semester so far. This section focused on ways to arrange the space and materials in the classroom so that the teacher can create a physical environment that exert an active positive, and pervasive influence on instruction. I think that this is important to know as a teacher, because there are many times where teachers don't focus on the environment that they are presenting information and only focus on the information or content being taught. They need to realize that the environment effects the students. Having classroom centers, literacy centers and writing areas can have a big effect on the students and their learning. Sadly not many classrooms that I have seen have centers, at least not in the older grades like third or fourth. They might have a little reading area but nothing as extensive as the example classroom set ups that were shown in the book. I know that I will definitely try to have centers in my classroom. I think that they benefit the students and allow them to learn in a different way since they aren't just stuck behind a desk. They also encourage motivation as we discussed in the past few classes.
The second area of the chapter that I found resourceful was the section talking about organization of the classroom for differentiation of instruction. This section was all about grouping the students and different ways of going about doing that. I liked how it described the different instruction strategies such as small-group instruction and its benefits. Differentiation of instruction using small-group instruction and center activities allows the students to work together on some tasks but it also helps students who might be struggling get some extra help or learn the information in a different way. All in all, this chapter was a great read and had very valuable information throughout. It is interesting reading through the later chapters in the book because there are many things that we have discussed in class already, but in this chapter it shows it in a different light or how to use it in a different way. It expands on the information to put it in a similar way.
Hi Sam! Great post! I also enjoyed reading this chapter, I thought there was very useful information in this chapter as well. I think that a good literacy center does give students motivation as well. Thinking back to like my second grade classroom we had a comfortable loft that you could climb up into to read and I just thought that was the coolest thing and the comfortable literacy center definitely motivated me to read every day in class. I think the physical environment of a classroom does have an effect on students' learning. For example I walked into a second grade classroom for an observation and I kid you not there was ZERO physical organization in that classroom, and the kids ran wild. There were stacks of papers all over the room and piles of books that were not even on shelves. This environment had nothing positive or encouraging about it. I agree that it is a great idea to put students into small groups because they can learn from that. And I also agree it is important to differentiate your instruction as much as possible. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree that this chapter was very interesting but also beneficial. I agree with your thinking that in the upper grades they do not focus on the physical environment anymore but rather the students working individually at their desks. While this is important, it is also important to create a literacy rich environment for the upper grades and have them work in groups as well. As future teachers we need to realize how important the classroom is for the child's needs. The physical environment may be just as important as the standards and material we are teaching the children. I also agree with you when you talk about differentiating instruction in the classroom and how you can use that in your set up of the classroom. I found this chapter beneficial as well especially when it comes to setting up the physical classroom and how the classroom benefits the students and their learning.
ReplyDeleteI loved your post Samantha! Organization is a key factor in making your classroom not only nice and neat but also beneficial to the students needs. We as teachers need to set up our classrooms in a way that will provide the students with all the materials that they need but also make it comfortable so that they will be excited to explore the area. Those picture examples provided in the book made me gasp because I have never seen classroom that big. I feel that as long as we carefully plan and evaluate how we want our classroom to look we can provide the children with everything they need. Thank you for the great post!
ReplyDeleteSamantha, I agree that from 2nd grade on teachers do not focus on centers as much. I cadet taught in high school in 2nd grade one semester and 1st grade the next. I noticed how in the 1st grade they did have centers, but in the 2nd grade they did not. I know that when I become a teacher, I will try to do centers in my classroom because they are important. You are right in saying that most of the time people do not think of the environment. I think that is sad because environment does make a difference in students.
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