The book bins are important for our students as this allows them agency in taking personal ownership of their reading in the class. These bins are a small way in which students invest in their reading: the choices they make in the classroom library and in what they get to share with their classmates. This sharing process is what helps excite them most about their reading, which is physically anchored by these book bins.
The primary journals also make an extreme difference in the classroom. These primary journals allow for my students and I to not only communicate with one another in a more casual, and much more personal, manner but also to practice literacy skills with less pressure. For my students (65% of whom classify as English Learners and 75% of whom test under grade level in reading and writing), personal communication journals that are shared and written in by the student and the teacher have provided students with an avenue that does not involve judgement. In this manner, students have been able to connect more with their class and myself, as the teacher, and primarily subconsciously, students are able to practice literacy without the pressure of academic goals and achievements.
Finally, both the Big Book Storytelling Activity Kits and the Sight-Word Puzzles are important for my students to find and feel the joy of learning and practicing literacy skills. Often, especially with our younger students, they are most able to learn when they are also having fun and able to be creative. I find it important to provide students this access to "different" ways of learning that they may not have initially considered as learning before. This I truly believe especially for my students who are below grade level and (I believe, all my students at this age) English Language Learners.
About my class
The book bins are important for our students as this allows them agency in taking personal ownership of their reading in the class. These bins are a small way in which students invest in their reading: the choices they make in the classroom library and in what they get to share with their classmates. This sharing process is what helps excite them most about their reading, which is physically anchored by these book bins.
The primary journals also make an extreme difference in the classroom. These primary journals allow for my students and I to not only communicate with one another in a more casual, and much more personal, manner but also to practice literacy skills with less pressure. For my students (65% of whom classify as English Learners and 75% of whom test under grade level in reading and writing), personal communication journals that are shared and written in by the student and the teacher have provided students with an avenue that does not involve judgement. In this manner, students have been able to connect more with their class and myself, as the teacher, and primarily subconsciously, students are able to practice literacy without the pressure of academic goals and achievements.
Finally, both the Big Book Storytelling Activity Kits and the Sight-Word Puzzles are important for my students to find and feel the joy of learning and practicing literacy skills. Often, especially with our younger students, they are most able to learn when they are also having fun and able to be creative. I find it important to provide students this access to "different" ways of learning that they may not have initially considered as learning before. This I truly believe especially for my students who are below grade level and (I believe, all my students at this age) English Language Learners.
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