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Creating Community from
the First Day of Class
It's time for school bells
to start ringing, classrooms to start buzzing, and teachers to start
off on their year-long adventure with a new group of students. By tapping
the following resources, teachers can build community in the classroom
that will support literacy instruction throughout the school
year and encourage students to participate as reflective and creative
members of a variety of literacy communities.
A teacher educator and an elementary classroom teacher share their experiences
in "Creating
Learning Communities through Literacy" (E) from
Language Arts. Read the Primary Voices' article "Democracy
in Room 122" (E) to
hear how one first-grade teacher sets up and supports a democratic
classroom where students and teacher work together to make decisions
about the learning that goes on in the class. See how students in a fourth/fifth-grade
classroom make decisions and enjoy school because they are invested in
their own learning
in "Encouraging
Active Learning in the Classroom" (E) from
Primary Voices.
The Language Arts' article "Organizing
and Managing the Language Arts Workshop: A Matter of Motion" (M) provides a classroom portrait of Linda
Rief's middle school language arts program, in which students move and work
independently and interdependently, following procedures that are developed
at the beginning of the year.
Secondary students can begin the year by writing together, using the activities
in "Building
Community through Poetry: A Role for Imagination in the Classroom" (S) from English
Journal. The article includes details on the circle poem, the "poetic
interview," the
found poem, and the poetic field trip.
Read creative
ways of producing a positive first impression on the first day of school in "Teaching:
First Impressions First, or Choosing Atmosphere over Method and Management"
(C) from Teaching English in the Two-Year College.
"First-Day
Class Activities (What Works for Me)" (S-C), from Teaching
English in the Two-Year College, presents six short descriptions of activities
for the first day of class, involving thinking critically from day one; reading
and responding to each other's work;
getting to know each other to develop class cohesion; promoting class participation;
posing problems in an American literature survey course; and integrating a
syllabus review with a writing activity.
For even more activities and resources, check out the Back
to School Teaching Resource Collection (G), which includes lesson
plans and additional articles to help get your year off to a great start.
NOTE: Free access to journal articles mentioned in this Inbox is provided
for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available
to journal subscribers only. This Inbox Idea was published 02-15-2005.
Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary,
M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, G=General).
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