Building a Community Inside Your Own Classroom

READ 180 Community Newsletter – Winter 2008

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Karrie Brown
READ 180 Instructor & District Administrator

I'm constantly amazed at how READ 180 works wonders with students who are used to failing. I'm certainly not alone in that feeling. I've also noticed how the dynamic of a READ 180 classroom can enhance the learning, and in many ways, actually lead it.

Karrie Brown's READ 180 Class Pioneer Career and Technology Center Shelby, Ohio

Before I talk about that dynamic, let me tell you a little about my background. I've been teaching English for nine years. Five of those have been at Pioneer Career and Technology Center in Ohio, where I've been an 11^th grade READ 180 teacher for the last three years. However, my first exposure to READ 180 came several years earlier.

While working in a different district, I was asked to cover a vacancy in a READ 180 class midway through the year. I had no READ 180 experience and received no formal training. Needless to say, I was at a real disadvantage. The students knew way more about READ 180 than I did. But here's the amazing thing: Since the kids had already learned the process, they were the ones who taught me!

That experience has stuck with me. I realized that the READ 180 classroom really belongs to the students. Once they figure everything out, they can basically run the sessions themselves. I want all of my current students to feel that same sense of ownership. This may sound good, but as we all know, getting students who are used to failing interested and connected can be a challenge. So I'd like to share five tactics I've used to help build a community inside the classroom. I hope you'll find that you can get more from your classes by giving them more control of the classroom.

 Introduce the READ 180 concept from the start
I begin each year with a presentation about how everyday reading, from newspapers to instruction manuals, relates to Lexile® scores. This gives the students a real-world connection to the learning, and when their scores improve, it means so much more. I had one student tell me, "It almost feels like you are being rewarded for doing your work, when you see your reports at the end of each session."

 Demonstrate trust and respect
I tell my students that READ 180 is different. It's fun and they are lucky to be in the class. But words can only go so far. I demonstrate that I trust them enough to get their work done. This is really big for kids who have been told that they are failures, or that they are simply not smart enough. You show them trust, and they'll run with it. This is especially true of high school students who don't want to be treated like children. Here's an example. I usually post the assignments online in advance. So when a substitute needs to step in for me, the students actually tell the teacher, "We know what we're doing. Just sit there and we'll do our work." They've been trusted with that responsibility, so they just go about their business.

 Find little ways to make a difference
I've had kids who have had difficulty because they were never sure how much time they had left in a rotation. So I post a big electronic timer (you can download one from the Internet) on our classroom SmartBoard. It's funny how something so simple can really help. If you don't have a SmartBoard, just place inexpensive kitchen timers at each station. They work just as well.

 Score big with small groups
I've found that the small group rotation is especially popular. I get the chance to sit at eye level with the students and they open up more. I look at it this way:  For 20 minutes, the kids get my undivided attention and they see me as a real person. By engaging with small groups, students gain confidence and have the opportunity to connect with me as the teacher. If you think about it, 20 minutes may be the most undivided attention that they receive from any adult over the course of a day. Make it a priority and you'll make a connection with your students.

 Connect with technology
Students are technology natives, and since READ 180 is so computer focused, adding more technology is a natural extension. I've found that kids are much more likely to post a comment on a blog discussion than write in a journal. So I set up a classroom blog on Wikispaces.com (it's really very simple, you don't have to know any HTML coding) and ask the kids to post their writing assignments and comment-constructively, of course-on their classmates' work and my lessons. Some kids ask me why I want their feedback. I tell them that it's their classroom, so their opinions matter.

What makes the Wiki site so appealing is that it has a social networking component like Facebook and MySpace. This really connects everyone and creates an amazing classroom dynamic. Since individual assignments are posted for all to see, the students are more careful and self-conscious about the quality of their work. Many kids even ask me to check their assignments before they post them because the validation they get from their fellow classmates is as important as the grade. Like READ 180, the Wiki site makes the learning fun and interesting. But the key is that it belongs to the kids. They have pride and ownership of their individual pages and the entire Wiki site.

I hope you find these tactics really helpful in connecting your students to the class and building a sense of community. They've certainly worked for me. My classes are averaging Lexile® gains of 200 points or more per student and most of my kids are passing the reading portion of our state graduation test. Many of their parents call the school asking, "What's going on in that class?" They talk about their kids, many of whom have never read a book cover to cover, coming home and talking about reading in a positive way. That's proof that something is working. Must be our READ 180 community coming together.

Editor's Note: Karrie Brown tells us that Wikispaces.com recently allocated more no-cost, advertiser-free Web spaces especially for educators.

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