My elementary school serves first through third graders. A huge passion of mine has always been around classroom culture and climate.
I train and expect my students to be independent, hard-working and cooperative learners focused on setting and reaching their own individual goals.
I offer a variety of seating options including adjustable stools, exercise balls, wobble stools, tall stools, traditional chairs and cushioned benches to sit on everyday.
I opt to not use overhead fluorescent lighting. Instead I have provided over thirty lamps throughout the classroom to foster a more relaxing environment for learning.
We listen to instrumental music during our independent work times in the background.
My students know they are safe, loved and valued. We are family.
My Project
A favorite part of the day in our 3rd classroom is read aloud time.
"Shine more than shines; it GLOWS." -Wendy Mass, author.
I have fallen in love with this brand new book by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein called "Shine!". I want my students to experience this book, this story, this beautiful and much needed to hear message.
A short summary (from the book jacket itself)-
"What do you want to be? And not when you grow up. Right now. Shine on! might be the catchphrase of Piper's hero- astronaut, astronomer, and television host Nellie DuMont Frisse- but Piper knows the truth: some people are born to shine, and she's not one of them. This fact has never been clearer than now, since her dad's new job has landed them both at Chumley Prep, an exclusive private school where everyone seems to be the very best at something...and where Piper definitely doesn't fit in."
First and foremost, I read aloud to my students purely for the entertainment value---students provided the time to just sit and enjoy listening to a story read by their teacher. During read aloud, my students have their own copy of the book in hand in order to track along with the story. This allows for building of their fluency, vocabulary and improved comprehension.
In addition, read aloud allows me to introduce my students to a genre of literature that they might not have otherwise considered. Fantasy, autobiography, historical fiction, realistic fiction, mystery...read aloud time allows me to immerse my class in intentionally chosen books in ways they never dreamed possible.
Thank you for your support...and please consider reading this book!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Heather Stewart and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
