An Ideal Classroom

An ideal classroom is one in which the children are enriched in learning from the second they step into the classroom until the second they leave at the end of the day. Creating an atmosphere where the children are inspired and excited about learning is the kind of classrooms that we want to see in today's schools. I liked in the reading how it talked about starting the day off with choice centers. By starting the day off with this activity, the children are able to practice independence by choosing where they would like to spend their time and also gives the teacher a chance to walk around and socialize with the children and spend some time observing and taking notes about various experiences taking place in the classroom. By starting the day off with choice centers, the teacher gets the day off to a good start. This activity can be very beneficial to teachers because they are able to have "one-on-one conversations with their students that are related to something they are actually doing. The children will be more willing to talk than when they are in a small group or whole class setting"(Cunningham & Allington, 2010, p. 244). Having this time to interact with students can be very helpful to understanding and getting to know every student in the classroom. What are some other ideas to promote teacher-child communication? and what are other good ways to start the day off in the classroom in a positive manner?

Creating the ideal leveling system

I enjoyed reading the article by Rog and Burton discussing leveling systems and how they are used with emergent readers. I think leveling systems are important to use when teaching children how to read because it helps to evaluate the progress and skills of each child. While I do think leveling systems should be used in the classroom, I think it is important for teachers to use a system that is effective and successful at developing the literacy skills of the children. With numerous leveling systems available to a teacher, I could see how problems could arise if the different systems did not have the same reading material within the same level. The reading discussed five ideas that should be considered when creating a leveling system: vocabulary, size & layout, predictability, illustration support, and the complexity of concepts.  Can you think of any other areas that should be considered when creating a leveling system?

Check out this website for more information on book leveling systems! Leveling Systems