[MOSAIC] Lab Classrooms

[Ed Asselin]

Heather, do you have copies of the log forms, etc., on the mosaic site or 
your site?  I'd love to see them.
Sharon in WI

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Heather Wall" <heather_wall_2000 at yahoo.com>
To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" 
<mosaic at literacyworkshop.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2007 20:56
Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Lab Classrooms


> Heather, I'm a bit behind on my emails because I've been on vacation, so 
> hopefully I'm not just restating what someone else has written...
>
> For the past couple of years my room served as an "unofficial" lab 
> classroom, since we don't have "official" ones where I teach. I can't 
> remember exactly how it started, but it probably began after I taught a 
> summer inservice on reading/writing workshop and then invited the 
> participants to visit my class to see it work. After that word spread and 
> a few principals came who were interested in implementing balanced 
> literacy in their schools along with other teachers and coaches. I 
> probably had around 40 people visit that first year. After a few visits I 
> found that teachers always asked for the same types of things (copies of 
> my lesson plan sheet, the book log letter I wrote my kids, the booklog 
> sheet they recorded on, etc.), so my literacy coach helped me put together 
> a packet of these forms along with an article supporting the workshop 
> approach. I found it worked best when my schedule allowed for the workshop 
> followed by the specials schedule (art, music, PE) so I could spend
> time talking with the teachers and answering their questions. WHen my 
> schedule didn't allow for that I ended up taking the kids' conference time 
> to talk with teachers, and that didn't work so well.  I didn't receive any 
> type of compensation or credit, but it was very helpful to me in that it 
> served to help me examine my teaching and verbalize what I'm doing and 
> why. I do think it helped the teachers who observed b/c I heard from many 
> of them throughout the year as they tried it in their rooms. Most folks 
> need to go slowly and implement pieces at a time (I know I was that way!), 
> so it really does work best if the teachers have a literacy coach they can 
> go back to who can help them through the process. Once they've tackled 
> writing workshop, for instance, they often become interested in changing 
> their spelling program, then the reading workshop, then learning about 
> strategies, etc.
>
> It's a very rewarding process!  Congratulations on taking the plunge!
>
> Heather Wall/ 3rd grade/ Georgia
> NBCT 2005
> Literacy: Reading - Language Arts
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: "HFerris at portville.wnyric.org" <HFerris at portville.wnyric.org>
> To: mosaic at literacyworkshop.org
> Sent: Monday, June 4, 2007 1:43:44 PM
> Subject: [MOSAIC] Lab Classrooms
>
>
> A few years ago I saw Ellin Keene speak about lab classrooms. I am feeling
> comfortable with the strategies enough to start to develop a lab classroom
> for next year.  I am looking for how they are running in other schools.
> What are the positive and negatives?  Do teachers really benefit from 
> them?
> Do the teachers who lead the lab classrooms benefit in someway (money,
> in-service credits??)  How do you let other teachers know when they can
> come and observe in the classrooms?  Any information you provide would be
> helpful!!  Thanks!!
>
> Heather Ferris
> "Smart is not something you are, it is something  you become."
>
>
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