Macey's ch. 3 reflection

In chapter three of the text, I noted a few of the things I found interesting. The chapter talked about the setup of the classroom. I thought this was a good topic because it is something I haven’t given much thought. Yet, it is something that is crucial to the success of any classroom.

The first thing I liked about the chapter was the pots of books idea. Last semester I was in a classroom where the teacher had reading conferences daily. Each child had a chart that showed which level they were on. Taberski says that pots can be labeled with colors so that you, as a teacher, know what level they are, but the students don’t know which color corresponds to which level. I love this idea because it can help to keep the students’ self-esteem up. I noticed that in the classroom I was in, some of the students would say, “I’m only on level 3.” On the other hand, some of the more advanced students would say things like, “Oh, you’re only on level 3? I’m already on 9.”

Another idea I liked is to have conferences in the same place each day rather than walk around the room to each student. I think it is a good method and I have seen my previous mentor use it. Also, Taberski says that materials should be kept in trays in areas where you’ll need them. This also saves time. I like this idea not only for reading, but for anything you teach. I have heard teachers say so many times that there isn’t enough time in a day, or in a school year. That’s why it is so important to save time wherever possible.

One question I came up with while I was reading is related to time. In the text, the literacy block (reading and writing conferences) run from 8:40 to 11:20 in the morning. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I have not yet seen a classroom where so much time could be dedicated to one subject. As I said earlier, there is not enough time in the day. It would be nice, but if we ran our conferences this long, it would take up half the day. Would it be okay to alternate between reading and writing conferences each day, or would you recommend doing both daily, but maybe for shorter periods?