Literate Environments
Kindergarten Edition!
Take a peek!
Before I became a literacy coach, I taught kindergarten. I believed in creating a print-rich environment. Here are some ideas about independent reading and the literacy environment in general that worked for me!
"Independent" Reading
Most of us would not think of "independent reading" in kindergarten because most of our kindergarteners are probably not yet independent decoders--but they can still read! As children arrived each day, they knew to unpack, "sign in" (kind of like you may clock in at work--they had to write their name to say they were present that day), and then they joined the rest of the class on our large rug. I had a box of books (the black crate) that were available for this reading time (as you can see in the picture above). The students who finished writing their names early were responsible for laying out the books in the crate on our classroom carpet. Then, children would find a book and sit with it. This was not a silent reading time because I believe learning (especially at this age!) is quite social. Children were allowed to share books with friends. At our first bell, the students knew to put the books away (as shown below). During this reading time, I was free to conference with readers or meet with parents who needed me as they dropped their child off. Using this independent reading approach, I was able to get in 20 minutes of reading time for students before we began our day!
Watch it in action!
Here are a few videos of our independent reading time.
Getting ready
The first children on the carpet help set out the books for everyone. My rules are (1) no throwing books; (2) no stepping on books; and (3) spread books out on the carpet. Students are completely responsible for this process.
Preparing for independent reading
Independent Reading
This child just finished reading by herself, so I asked her to read the book again with the camera rolling! I love how the other child just makes herself at home beside the original reader. As the reading goes on, notice the little boy in the background who starts sharing in the reading experience too. I love these moments!
Independent reading
Cleaning up
Again, this is completely student-led. My expectations are that books are placed carefully in the crate, standing up so they do not get bent or squished.
Cleaning up from independent reading
A closer look at the environment
A video tour
Here is a quick video tour of our classroom environment.
Classroom tour
Book Boxes
Each child has an individualized book box. I provide children with books related to topics of interest. The "boxes" are ice buckets from Wal-Mart. The shelf itself I rigged from materials at Lowe's (some wire shelving and 3 red crates).
Interactive Word Wall
I mounted our interactive word wall on the back of our piano, but you could do the same thing on a wall or even the back of a magnetic teacher's desk! The words are paperclipped to the word wall so students can take them to their writing spaces as needed.
Learning Map
I started using this variation on a KWL at the end of last year. The categories are: "I think I know," "Now I know," "I wonder," "Yes, I was right!" and "I was SO wrong." This allows us to adjust our thinking (as recorded on sticky notes) as we learn and grow throughout our units.
Classroom Library
I sorted our classroom library by color: yellow boxes for collections (i.e., favorite characters or authors, and even our own class author box!); blue boxes for fiction; and red boxes for nonfiction. Each box has a corresponding number, and I placed a colored dot with the box number on the back of each book to help students keep the library organized.
Readers & Writers (& vice versa)!
I believe that reading and writing are inter-related, so I set up a display for the books our authors are writing in the reading area! Too often, we finish a writing task and do nothing more with it. This way, we see the purpose behind our writing--to read!
Cozy Library
Here is our cozy classroom library!