Word walls and sponge activities

I love how word walls work!! I worked in a classroom in high school that had a word wall and it worked so well. The kids used the wall whenever they needed help spelling one of their sight words. I think it really helped them! I will definitely have a word wall and use it on a daily basis. The word list on our book is great, if you have not had time to look at it then I fell that you should. I know I will be keeping this book to use as a resource in my classroom!
I also like talking about sponge activities. I have a whole notebook of fun games that can be adapted to the classroom. I had never thought about play short fun games in the classroom to fill time. I am glad we talked about this now so that I can make sure to keep all the games I have collected to use in my classroom one day!

Emergent Literacy

Emergent Literacy is so important for the development of children. As teachers and parents review the scribbles and "reading" of young children they can learn such a great deal. The cognitive ability of the children is so apparent when we look at these scribbles. I feel that as elementary school teachers it is our job to help parents understand that their child is learning how to read when they are in this stage. I feel that since the standards are so high parents feel a pressure to get their kids to the top of the class so that they are able to be the best. If we as teachers help these parents see that their child is developing normally I think it will take a great deal of stress off the parents and children which in turn will help the child learn in a more effective manner.

Blog fixed?

I think I have finally had my blog fixed!!! Well at least it is supposed to be fixed within the next few days! I'm not sure why I have been having so many problems but not maybe I will be able to catch up with everyone else and get my opinion out there!

My classroom

I have a love for reading, so I would like my students to have the same love because I believe that this love is what has helped me become a better learner. In order to do this I will work very hard to make my classroom the type of environment that will encourage children to read.
First and foremost I plan on having a reading area that not only has a lot of books to chose from but that is also a comfortable place for children to explore. I plan on having a wide selection of books for children to look through including many different books that are aimed at both boys and girls. In order to do this I will listen to children in my class and buy books that I think will interest individual children to add to my collection. I would also have the reading area be a bright fun place for children to go. Maybe with pillows or a comfy chair. I saw a reading area in a classroom that I worked in that had a bright carpet on the floor and a beach chair for children to sit in. I would like to do something similar.
The other thing I will do is have time set aside for reading so that children in my classroom will have time to explore books of their choosing and not just books that I feel they need to read to learn from. I feel this is important so that children in my classroom are able to grow into their love of reading. In our classrooms today we are so focused on trying to get children to do what is best for the test that we cut out the things that help children learn how to love reading and learning.
Overall I feel that the most important thing for my classroom is helping children not only learn how to read but learn how to love reading.

Literacy

I feel that literacy is not only the way a person reads or writes but also how a person learns. People often times only see literacy as reading a writing but their are many people in our society who do not know how to read or write more than their name but are able to do many other things. For example their might be a person who is unable to read but they are an amazing mechanic who can fix any car. I feel that this person is literate in this area.