Chapter 3: Creating Classroom Community and Connecting with Families

    The main focus of chapter three in Reading, Writing, and Literacy 2.0 by Denise Johnson is creating class communities and connecting with families. The chapter quickly begins to address this idea as it states, “all students who enter the classroom come as members of families, neighborhoods, religious groups, sports teams, clubs, and organizations, each of which is a community of practice or a place, “where human beings develop competence through their interactions with each other” (29). Chapter three really emphasizes the need for a positive community within the classroom that allows students to “define their identities” (30). This chapter also touches upon the importance of remembering that learning isn’t “just about doing more school” but a place in which participating and communicating amongst your peers is an important aspect as well. Without this, students would not be able to expand their learning and communication skills past what they require from written text in school. Chapter three also touches upon the incorporation of language when building this classroom community and how technology can assist in this process as well. The text states, “digital environments can be communities of practice in which culture of various groups of users matters enormously for what they expect of one another and how they work together” (32). The use of technology in the classroom “promotes interaction among students, teachers, and content that results in enhanced learning” (32).

    Chapter three brings to our attention different ways to get children involved in the classroom that helps form a community among one another. We are introduced to VoiceThread, King or Queen for the day, and blogging. VoiceThread allows the concept of digital storytelling to help enforce the idea of community among students. Digital storytelling allows students to incorporate visual and audio aspects when sharing their stories. Students can view each other’s work whenever they are able to get to a computer or other device and share his/her work along with their peers work with their family as well. King or Queen for a day is also a great way to construct a community within the classroom. It is an activity “that helps children get to know one another at the beginning of the year” (41). I feel like this would be a great lesson to incorporate in the beginning of the year to allow students to get over their shyness and get to know one another. This allows the entire classroom to participate in a fun ice breaker making the classroom setting more relaxed and feel less intimidating. This is definitely a lesson I would incorporate into my own classroom to allow students to get to know one another and be able to form more friendships and connections than they would on their own.

    The final example we are introduced to is the blogging and how, when incorporated into lessons can create a comfortable place where students can share ideas among one another and communicate back and forth in a way that allows the more shy students to express their ideas and thoughts on different platform. Blogs also allow students to further share their work and ideas with peers, teachers, and family members in a more diverse and convenient way. The idea of blogs and blogging to me at first didn’t seem as something that would be beneficial but getting to experience it myself and use it to help expand my ideas within a class, has actually become something I enjoy ad would consider incorporating into my own classroom in the future.