How does displaying student work contribute to a sense of community?

How does displaying student work contribute to a sense of community? Displaying Student Work Lakeita Salley Harmony Leland Elementary

Why is it Important to Establish Environment at the Beginning of the School Year? • To set the tone • To establish rituals and routines • To allow students to feel safe and able to take risks • To foster ownership and pride as a member of a collective body

The Physical Environment • Seating arrangements • Lighting • The classroom library • Access to materials • Wall displays • And so on…

Displaying Student Work Stop and Think: What are some of the ways that you currently display student work?

So What?

What’s on Your Walls? Less commercially made posters and bulletin boards More student work displayed or collaboratively made charts http://www.vickymoore2.com/bulletin_boards.cfm

The First Day of School Create Class Rules Together • Students get to have a say-so

Student Goals • What do your students hope to accomplish this year? • Add photographs of students working towards their goals. • What are your goals as writers? What can you celebrate about yourself as a writer?

Post Ideas and Snippets • Ideas for stories • Story starters • Words for imagery • Cool words! • Descriptions of settings • Metaphors

Student Work • Show drafts as well as published works (works in progress!) • Commentary can be by teacher or peer • Commentary should be specific to standard • Display should change every two weeks • Helpful if it spills out into the hallway

http://www.read180.00freehost.com/displays.htm

Anthologies • Collections of student work (individual or many) • Can be on many different topics • Prominently display them in classroom

http://www.wtc.ie

Graffiti Walls • Collaborative writing on a large sheet of paper • Based on a theme • Personal responses, quotes, poems, images • Can grow over time

Our 6th Grade Graffiti Walls Based on the book, “Maniac Magee” by Jerry Spinelli http://www.nylearns.org/Students will make graffiti walls because it helps them to display their knowledge of the book we are reading in class through visual interpretation. According to Claggett (1992) “the use of graphics will help students make meaning as they read, write, and act, [which] is firmly rooted in current thinking about how the mind works.” She adapts “Jung’s concepts of the four primary ways that we make sense out of the world" (paraphrased as "observing, analyzing, imagining, and feeling") to describe aspects of a balanced approach to learning. Claggett further states that “through the use of graphics, students have opportunities to experience all four functions as they interact with the books they are reading and the essays and stories they are writing.”Teaching students to visualize what they are reading and create graphic symbols helps them develop as readers. Furthermore, sharing their individual responses in cooperative group activities deepens their understanding and skill as readers and writers.

Conclusion The displaying of student work allows students to feel a part of a community and fosters a sense of belonging. Stop and Think What are some of the ways that you plan to display student work differently, or on a more consistent level, to help build community?

How does displaying student work contribute to a sense of community?