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What Does it Look Like?
A positive learning
environment looks like:
- Small group area that includes materials
such as an easel, book bins, varied and comfortable seating materials,
carpeting
- A reading table or designated area (could
be on the floor!) for small group instruction that includes
instructional posters and resources (at hand and/or eyes’ reach)
leveled books, highlighting tape, anecdotal/running records, writing
materials, dry eraser boards; reading strategies are visible for
instruction
- Print rich environment
that includes word
walls that are at eye-level, word pattern walls, environmental print
and labeled items in early childhood classrooms. Posted student
writing, rich poetry, songs, charts, newspapers, magazines,
dictionaries, thesaurus, modeled writing, and 750 – 1500 available
books for children
- There is a variety of books available for
the students, including non-fiction, poetry, realistic fiction, how-to
guides, riddle books, etc. A majority is placed thematically in book
bins, while the rest are in mixed browsing bins, and leveled (no more
than 30%) for instructional assistance in selecting appropriate books.
- Seating arrangement allow students to
easily work with other students and support group work. There is
enough room for students to all meet on the floor. An easel is easily
accessible form the seating area.
Teaching and
Instruction looks like:
- Independent
reading time – scheduled time, which includes assistance in
selecting appropriate books, and individualized reading conferences.
Many teachers have “Just Right” bags for each child – inside the bags
are books at the child’s independent reading level. In
addition, easy books are available for students to read at other parts
of the day.
- Modeled Shared Writing: writing is
completed in a small group setting where all students can view it,
teacher models rereading and revising, teacher discusses writing with
students, teacher clearly states expectations to help students in
their own writing.
- Interactive Writing:
Teacher negotiates
text with students, text is authentic and meaningful, teacher shares
[en with students, selecting parts for students based on knowledge of
their skills, teacher engages all students while individuals are
writing, writing is “doable” for all students.
- Guided Writing: Begins with a
mini-lesson lasting 10 – 15 minutes. Writing may be student choice or
teacher choice, teacher meets with individual or small groups of
students to teach specific skills. The students are writing, applying
skills learned through mini-lessons, they are aware of and follow
established routines, and are participating in peer conferences.
- Independent Writing: Teacher conferences
with students, and students have the opportunity to go through the
writing process at their own rates, and based on their selected
pieces.
- Textbooks and Workbooks: These are
seldom used and are viewed as a resource, not the
curriculum. Alternate resources are sought to teach state and county
standards.
THERE ARE NO
SHORTCUTS FOR GOOD TEACHING!
J
Increase/Decrease
INcrease
Decrease
*Reading aloud to the
students
*Round-robin oral reading
*Time for independent
reading
*Solitary seatwork
*Student's choice of their
own reading materials
*Relying on sections in basal reader
*Teacher modeling and
discussing his/her own reading
*Exclusive emphasis on whole-class or ability-grouping activities
*Teaching skills in the context of whole and
meaningful
*Primary emphasis on reading subskills such as phonics,
literature
word analysis, syllabication
*Teaching reading as a process:
*Teaching isolated skills in workbooks/drills
using strategies that
activate prior knowledge
*Measuring the success of students' reading only by test scores helping students make and
test predictions structuring help during
reading
*Segregation of reading to reading time providing after-reading
applications
*Primary instructional emphasis
on comprehension
   
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Best Practices
in Action 