MADISON METROPOliTAN SCHOOl DISTRICT - School Information ...

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
Classroom environment has been shown to affect student literacy achievement. As students interact
with their environment, they make adaptations to meet new situations. According to Allington (1996),
students who are expected to talk, read, and write daily, tend to outperform students in classrooms
where these environmental features are less prevalent (as cited in Roskos & Neuman, 2002).
The observer will see:
1. Classrooms arranged to promote whole and small
group problem-solving discussions
2. Co-constructed charts featuring aspects of the
curriculum currently under study are displayed on
walls.
3. An organized library including a variety of genres and
reading levels representing a variety of cultures.
4. The students responding in a variety of ways to their
reading.
5. The students and teachers engaging and participating
in discussions about their reading.
6. Reading responses through writing are displayed on
walls and in hallways.
7. Writing published pieces are displayed on walls and
in hallways.
Proficiency Leve Is
Meeting Approaching Below
READALOUDS
Read aloud is an important component of effective literacy instruction that improves listening,
comprehension, fluency, vocabulary skills, attitudes about reading, and student ability to visualize text.
Read aloud facilitates comprehension and supports visualization of the thinking process. Exposure to
more sophisticated vocabulary and syntax found in written text is a critical component in building
comprehension skills (Rasinski, 2003). The teacher sets aside time to read orally to students on a daily
basis. The selections should be above students' independent reading level and at their listening level.
Teachers should increase the length and complexity of narrative and informational text over time.
The observer will see:
1. The teacher engaging students in conversation before
reading to share and building background knowledge
and make predictions.
2. The teacher pausing to invite conversation with one
or more kinds of thinking in mind (e.g. within,
beyond, and about the texts.)
3. The teacher incorporating "turn and talk" before,
during, or after reading the text.
Proficiency Levels
Meeting Approaching Below
28