Sunday, November 2, 2008
Creating Community In The Classroom
I feel a way of creating community in the classroom is through writing. There are plenty of writing samples in Walking Trees showing how students express themselves through writing. I liked the Half Autobiography story that was written on page 120 in Walking Trees. When students write autobiographies it can serve many purposes. First, students will get to know themselves better, second, they will have the chance to learn about each other. Writing gives students the opportunity to talk about their families. It will also give them the chance to talk about what is important to them and what they value. This leads to community building, students create a place in the community to which we belong. By sharing autobiographies, it allows others to hear and understand who we are in ways that support the view we have of ourselves. For a teacher, reading students writing can help you learn about students' interests and structure the classroom around them. In parent teacher conferences writing shows parents that you value their child's individual needs.
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4 comments:
I agree very much with your post. Writing is a powerful tool in creating community in the classroom. I especially agree with your comment about writing and parents and that "writing shows parents that you value their child's individual needs." It shows parents that you are sensitive and genuinely care about a child's life outside of the classroom. In addition, children like to share stories and experiences. They enjoy being "star of the week" and telling their classmates about their favorite food, book and color. It gives children the opportunity to shine as an individual but also come together as a class.
It is very important for children to express themselves. I agree that a great way for children to express themselves is through writing. It helps children express their feelings and that is important.It is also important for students to hear what other students have to say.
When I first read the book that gave me the idea of having students write a school autobiography. I hope to have people share their personal stories in the future. In the past I had very young children bring in an autobiography in a bag. My students brought in 6 important items that describe them as individuals. This process created such a great experience. Students had special pictures, jewelry, dolls, posters etc...
Professor Perez, I like the idea of the autobiography. We learn so much about people when they write about themselves. I liked the idea you had about your students doing "6 important things that describe themselves as individuals".
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