Subjects Matter-Building A Community of Learners

The previous blogs have all addressed the importance of expanding what kids read and showing kids how to read it, but this blog takes a different turn this blog focuses on the need to make a classroom a community. Daniels and Zemelman stress, "A classroom should be a place where students feel safe to take the risks involved in learning, where they see it connected with their lives, and where they help and learn from one another instead of working only as isolated individuals. And we do this not just to make students feel good, but to give reading in our subjects the full meaning it deserves." This blog is focused on what conditions promote literacy development. As teachers we can plan a variety of activities, but they won't work if students are turned off to school or are just expecting the teacher to give them all the answers. By providing students with choices they feel respected and trusted which gives them a sense of ownership and control. Many readers, especially boys feel that reading and learning are more engaging when the benefits are within the experience itself, not with serving a future goal like getting into college or joining the workforce. Students need a classroom environment where they see learning as meaningful to them-it has to connect to their interests, or be shared with their friends. This chapter suggested five ways that teachers can build community while using reading, to teach their subjects: "Make the classroom a place where students trust the teacher and believe its safe to take risks, provide students with choices and opportunities to take responsibility in the classroom, connect learning with students lives and the larger issues around them, organize learning so that students work together and help one another, read aloud from engaging and powerful writing in their fields."
Making the classroom a place where students trust the teacher and believe its safe to take risks:
Teachers should share with their students both their likes and struggles as a reader. "It's important to help students understand that along with our passion, we adults also experience confusion and uncertainty, especially with new ideas or new skills." If you are teaching a foreign language share some stories about when you have misused words incorrectly and it has caused problems.  If you are asking students to write a paper about a Shakespearean play bring in a copy of one of your old papers to show them that you have had to do the same thing as them and can easily relate. Some teachers like to make small mistakes in calculations as they work out a problem on the board showing that even teachers make mistakes. Teachers should also value students questions both those that seek to clarify confusion about the material being studied and those about larger implications or related topics. Teachers should do more then ask are there any questions at the end of a lecture, but rather initiate the process of questions. Teachers can have students join groups and each group must pose one or two questions about the topic. Teachers also need to be OK with not having all the answers, there is nothing wrong with looking up the information that night and sharing both the answers and where you found the answers the next day. Teachers also need to hold quick in-class conferences with individual students to discuss their questions and to set individual learning goals to help make their vulnerabilities less public, and to enable you to discover what support each student needs. One way for teachers to help this process is through the use of portfolios in which students select their best piece of work, their most challenging piece of work, and the piece of work that most interested them.
Provide Students with Choices and Opportunities to take Responsibility in the Classroom
Teachers should hold class meetings to set rules for the class and then address needs or issues as they arise. Allowing students to decide the rules sends the message that, "this is a community in which the students and teachers all need to listen to one and other." Teachers also should develop jobs and responsibilities for students and then rotate them periodically. Teachers should schedule in-class reading time with choices of articles and books about the subject. This allows students to listen to their peers persepectives on the subject and share their own insights.
Connect Learning with Students Lives and the Larger issues around Them
Teachers should conduct surveys of students' interests and past experiences, related to the course subject. Teachers can keep a journal about their students and what they have learned about their lives and interests, they can then bring reading material that connects to those interests. Teachers can conduct inquiry projects within the course subject area, or connecting several areas. Teachers begin these projects by asking a question of controversy, students then choose to focus on whatever aspect of the problem connects to their interests and skills and information related to the subject of the course are then introduced when students need them to connect to their inquiry.
Organize Activities for Students to Help One another and Learn from Each other:
The previous blog mentioned the basic structure of book clubs and these should be used to help students both share and learn from each other. Teachers should also make sure that all work is not individual, but that time is provided for group activities and that students get the chance to interact with each other about larger concepts.
Read Aloud from Engaging Material in your Field 
Many teachers don't read aloud past elementary school, but  hearing it as a group allows reflection as a group. When students share as a group they learn from one and another.

Overall creating a community in the classroom is essential for student learning and these are some great suggestions to help build that community. Until next time...