Amanda+Wiehler

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__Reading area__: I set up the reading workshop area in the upper left hand corner of the classroom. There are two bookshelves, bean bag chairs, and an area rug. On one of the bookshelves, I will have a “check-out” shelf. Students will need to stamp their books with a book stamp, and place their name in a check- out book. I tried to make this reading area comfortable for the students while they are reading. Rief’s article inspired me in this area of the classroom. I liked her idea of a student librarian; students can take turns maintaining the class library. Additionally, I liked Rief’s idea of assigning thirty minutes a night of reading. By assigning reading each night for homework, there is more emphasis placed on the writing workshop during class.======

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__Writing area__: I set up the writing workshop area in the lower left hand corner of the classroom. There are two computers for typing papers and/or publishing papers. Also, I placed two small round tables for peer review and/ or an area for students to write. In addition, there is a white block which represents the “writing studio.” I followed Atwell’s idea of establishing a place where paper, pencils, staplers, Post-it notes, paper clips, etc. are available for students to use while writing. In addition, at this station there is a bulletin board that includes materials to help with publication of papers, as well as other necessary writing resources. Beside the writing studio is a bookshelf where students will find dictionaries, a thesaurus, and other helpful books for writing.======

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I placed the teacher’s desk in the upper right hand corner of the classroom. There will not be a lot of time spent at this desk during class, so I placed it out of the way of where the students will be working. My cooperating teacher has her desk in a similar area in her classroom. In addition, I placed several group tables in the classroom. The tables are set up like this for mini-lessons, writing, reading, and teacher-centered lectures. There is a smart board (labeled projector) at the front of the class. As a final note, I only have six tables set up in this classroom; however, because of the large class sizes in public schools, I may have to add one more table.======