My future ELA classroom

In this, my fifth and final blog, I am asked to answer what is the vision of my future ELA classroom, how will my future students and I experience Oral and Written Language, and how has this changed since my first blog entry?

A vision of your ELA classroom

The vision I have of my future ELA classroom is one of freedom and balance. It is important that students first and foremost have the freedom to explore topics that interest and engage them in the reading, writing, representing, listening, viewing and speaking processes of ELA. It is also important that there is a balance of instruction when needed in order to support student learning. My ELA classroom will also provide a safe and respectful environment in which students will be happy and willing to share their completed works. Furthermore, my ELA classroom will be a language rich environment in which language is constantly played with. And finally, my ELA classroom will provide students with ample time to allow students to go into depth on what they are working on in order to gain greater meaning.

How will you and your students experience Oral and Written Language?

My future students will experience Oral and Written Language by having a language rich classroom in which there is a lot of play with language. I will also provide many strategies and projects that will use and develop oral and written language. These include:

-a word wall

-first try spelling booklets

-drama

-podcasts and voice threads

-first blurt

-writer’s workshop

-author visits

- very “local library” section in the classroom library

However, I must also note that this list is incomplete because there is an endless number of fantastic, creative, and inspiring strategies and projects to help students experience, learn and engage in Oral and Written Language.

How has this changed since your first blog entry?

At the beginning of my blog posts, I was just starting out in my ELA course and had a very limited idea of what an ELA classroom would look like. I expected an ELA classroom to have many visual decorations and tools to help teach ELA. I also thought that ELA would be taught to link to other topics. Since this first blog posting, my view of what an ELA classroom would look like has greatly expanded. I know now that an ELA classroom should be a language rich environment with not just posters on the wall, but many many books and much playing with language. This is because learning is a natural process that begins from birth. Children absorb the language environment around them, learning new words from listening and talking (Constructing, 35). I’ve also learned that to give students choice in what they learn will encourage them to become engaged in what they are learning. This is especially important because learning requires the active participation of the child. For this to occur, the child needs to be engaged in what they are doing. Additionally, I’ve learned that using technology in the classroom, such as podcasts or voice threads is a great way to engage students in learning to work with language on many levels. Finally, I’ve learned that when lesson planning, a teacher must have a good understanding of the BC ELA IRP and teaching strategies in order to have a pertinent and engaging lesson.