From Stenhouse Newslinks, June 4, 2008 (www.stenhouse.com) In my classroom I determine the geography. I can put up barriers to communication or I can set things up to encourage conversation. I can establish lonely islands of I's or I can form communities and provinces of we's. All the energy can come from me or I can have constellations of energy. And the geography I put in place will do that for me.
—Isabel Beaton, quoted in Becoming a Literacy Leader by Jennifer Allen
As you begin to think about the why and how of your classroom design next year, consider "Literacy Rich Environments" from the AccessCenter. Well-referenced and practical, this article describes key elements that help give special education students access to the general literacy curriculum, and the strategies apply to all students in an elementary setting: http://www.stenhouse.com/rdliteracyrich.htm?r=n141c
Looking for a way to "virtually" plan your classroom space? Try the Classroom Architect. Click and drag furniture, rugs, and other items to create a printable floor plan that works for you and your students: http://classroom.4teachers.org/
"Creating Literate Environments," part of the Pacific Early Literacy Resource Kit from PREL, asks, "Does my classroom environment promote literacy learning?" and offers a dozen strategies (with photos) for print-rich environments and classroom libraries: http://www.prel.org/toolkit/plan.htm/
Creating Literacy-Rich Classroom Environments
From Stenhouse Newslinks, June 4, 2008 (www.stenhouse.com)In my classroom I determine the geography. I can put up barriers to communication or I can set things up to encourage conversation. I can establish lonely islands of I's or I can form communities and provinces of we's. All the energy can come from me or I can have constellations of energy. And the geography I put in place will do that for me.
—Isabel Beaton, quoted in Becoming a Literacy Leader by Jennifer Allen
As you begin to think about the why and how of your classroom design next year, consider "Literacy Rich Environments" from the Access Center. Well-referenced and practical, this article describes key elements that help give special education students access to the general literacy curriculum, and the strategies apply to all students in an elementary setting:
http://www.stenhouse.com/rdliteracyrich.htm?r=n141c
Looking for a way to "virtually" plan your classroom space? Try the Classroom Architect. Click and drag furniture, rugs, and other items to create a printable floor plan that works for you and your students:
http://classroom.4teachers.org/
"Creating Literate Environments," part of the Pacific Early Literacy Resource Kit from PREL, asks, "Does my classroom environment promote literacy learning?" and offers a dozen strategies (with photos) for print-rich environments and classroom libraries:
http://www.prel.org/toolkit/plan.htm/