Before They Arrive

As soon as the calendar turns to August, we can't help but begin to shift into back to school gear.  In the blink of an eye our reading turns from pleasure to professional.  We walk through public spaces with an eye toward classroom design.  That favorite coffee shop has some spaces we'd like to recreate in our classroom.  The library's magnetic wall surely would have some uses for our students.  The book arrangements at the local book store might help us with our own libraries.

Before students arrive we work to create an inviting space for the first steps of our learning community.  We know arrangements might change as students share their learning preferences.  We know the books, tools, and spaces will grow as we discover more about our students and begin to take the first steps in learning together.  We know the room will grow, but we want it to be inviting in those first days of building our learning communities.

I always enjoy walking through classrooms before the year begins.  It is helpful for me to think about the ways other teachers consider using space, plan for tools, and start their libraries in the first days.  The way tables are arranged, the location of meeting areas, the selection of tools, and the books available all help me to think about those first days in our learning community.

Before students arrive I like to think about:

Meeting Area:  Where will we gather together as a community?  I want the space to be large enough for the group to meet and talk.  The space will host our discussions, read aloud, shared reading, shared writing, interactive writing, shared inquiry, connecting with other classrooms and so much more.  I have found it helpful to create visible boundaries to this space.  The space needs enough room for us to sit facing the same direction and to be able to make a circle.  For me, having technology, chart paper, writing tools, and other items needed for whole group instruction at my fingertips is essential in being able to quickly make instructional decisions that follow the groups conversation.  

Cozy Spaces:  Are there a variety of spaces for students to engage in learning?  In addition to the meeting area, I like to have spaces where students can gather in small groups, pairs, and as individuals.  These spaces need to work for literacy workshops, math explorations, science inquiries, and inside recess.  The more students can spread out around the room the more likely everyone is to be comfortable in learning.  Having a variety of types of seating can also be beneficial to students.

Classroom Library:  Do books surround the room?  I've always been someone who prefers my library to stretch around the room.  This helps during reader's workshop as students can move to a variety of spaces to read.  Additionally, moving books around the room can create physical reminders of ways to think about genres, characters, and themes of books.  I've always felt like a room full of books feels inviting and speaks to the importance of reading in our lives.

Books:  Are the books that are accessible to students a good match for the developmental stage of the readers coming into my classroom?  In elementary school a year of growth can be quite significant.  The books available to my students at the beginning of the year are very different from the books that will be on our shelves at the end of the school year.  I try to consider books I know students would have read the year before.  In addition to considering complexity of the text, I try to consider authors, topics, and genres students might already know.  I also try to consider the diversity of my collection, the range in genres, and the different levels of readers that will be coming into my classroom.

Tools:  Are the tools we'll need to get started accessible (or ready to be accessible)?  In the first days of school I am never really sure of the learning preferences of my students so I like to have a variety of types of paper, tools for writing, art supplies, and other materials available for students.  Additionally I try have a variety of tools ready for math explorations and science investigations.

Technology:  Is technology quickly accessible?  In the classroom I have to consider where technology will be located for use.  For me, this has meant making sure technology can be easily accessed during whole group lessons and class sharing opportunities.  It also means finding spaces for the technology that will be available to students.  This means considering the space for the technology and ease of plugging devices in for charging or sharing.

Digital Spaces:  How will we connect beyond our classroom?  More and more I consider the digital space we will live in as well.  I've found having a common space, what I like to a call a hub, for students to use to get to our digital spaces, for parents to access for information, and for other classroom to see our work to be helpful.  Sites like Twitter, Weebly, Symbaloo, Kidblog, Voicethread, and Shelfari are among the sites we will use to connect in our classroom.

Please share your considerations and questions you think about before students arrive.  Looking forward to another great year.

Classroom Environments that Support Inclusive Intervention

Last year was my first year in reading intervention for quite some time.  It was the first time I had been completely out of my classroom and devoting my entire day to supporting readers.  My time is spent with primary students needing additional reading support.  I don't consider my readers to be struggling or deficit, but to be a different place than most of their peers.  My role, as I see it, is to help them to build bridges and make connections so they can be a part of their reading communities.  I still find myself thinking between my role as a classroom teacher and my role as someone providing reading support.  Both roles provide different advantages and challenges in supporting readers.

To support readers I prefer situations in which I am able to go into classrooms (some advantages here).  I'm not a big fan of the word push-in.  It sounds controlling.  It sounds forceful.  For me, I think of it more as working alongside.  There's something that feels more accommodating about going into a classroom.  I feel like it sends the message that the student is most important.  It seems to say, "I'll meet you where you are."  I also find that it helps me to make stronger connections to classroom instruction and help students with transitions between lessons and the work they do in their classrooms.

I am continually reminded of how lucky I am to have teachers who are willing to set up communities that make coming into their classrooms to support readers work.  Of course, for this type of situation to work classroom teachers and support staff must be willing to work together in the best interest of the children.  Communication has to be open and honest.  Time has to be respected on a daily basis.  These are some of the characteristics I find conducive to success:

• Long Literacy Blocks:  Recently I was talking to a few friends who work in the same role I have in other districts.  They were asking how I managed to get into classrooms with schedules being the way they are.  As we talked I realized some of what makes my situation work is that teachers dedicate 120-150 minutes in literacy instruction.  In grade levels where teachers run similar schedules, it is also possible for me to flexibly move students between classrooms to better match lessons to student need without shaking up everyone's schedules.   
• Consistent Routines and Schedules:  It's easier to go into classrooms that have consistent routines and schedules.  In these classrooms students know their role across learning times and teachers are freed up to meet with small groups and individuals.  Coming into classrooms works best in classrooms that are using a workshop model.  There's much flexibility within the structure of a workshop to meet with students.  
• Timeliness:  Both teachers and support staff have to work to respect time.  If I say I am going to be in someone's classroom for a certain period of time it is important that I am there every day at that time.  Because the time of support staff is also limited, it is helpful when classroom teachers are keeping the class on schedule to help utilize the time available for specialists.  
• Cooperative Learning Environment:  I find the best inclusive intervention happens when the tone in the room is one where everyone works together, problems are solved as a community, and each member is seen for the strengths they bring the others.  In these rooms the group understands they're stronger together.  The teacher isn't the only one solving problems, and students are connected to others beyond their classroom.  
• Students Engaged in Self-Selected Work:  I have found I've had the most success in classrooms where students have choice and ownership in their work.  In these situations, students know they have time during workshops to complete projects as learning carries across days and isn't as full of deadlines.  Stepping away from their work for a bit doesn't mean they won't be able to finish.  Students given tasks to complete by the end of a literacy block worry they won't be able to finish on time.  Additionally, it is easier for me to connect our learning to the work they are doing when they are working on authentic tasks related to learning.  
• Students Are Responsible for Their Time:  When all students in the classroom are responsible for their time and have ownership in their learning they are more likely to use their time effectively.  Interruptions are much less in these types of classrooms.  
• A Hum of Learning Fills the Room:  Silence isn't necessary for me to go into a classroom.  As a matter of fact, our small group can sometimes be a distraction in a room expected to be silent.  However, in rooms where everyone respects the learning space it is much easier to meet.  In these rooms students and teachers move to one another to talk.  Voices are kept at a whisper and conversations are about learning.  There's conversation in these rooms, but it is purposeful conversation.  
• Thoughtful Movement:  It isn't necessary for everyone to stay in their seats for small group work to happen, but it is easier when movement is limited to purpose.  In classrooms where students collect books, tools, and other items needed before finding a space to begin there is less movement during the time we work together.  

As the calendar turns to August I'm busy thinking of ways I can better support students in the coming year.  What worked?  What needs to change?  I know I couldn't do any of this without the help of the classroom teachers that support these students across the day.  I'm fortunate to be part of a community that believes in the power of literacy and putting students first.