Larson/ Maier Response

This image above of multiple children’s books correlates with the image of the classroom full of books. I think it’s a great idea that Maier would send children home with a set of books each night. I can relate to this because at my elementary school when I was attending it they had something called “Book In A Bag.” Once or twice a month we would all meet in the multi-purpose room and each grade had a different color bag filled with books that we would take home and read. Maier does this but takes it a little further by putting a comment form that the parents have to write and sign on. This is a great concept because it has the children reading at least one book each day. They can read it with their parents, siblings, etc. Like at my elementary school she would make sure that the children were reading at their appropriate reading level. 

I thought this picture above was a relevant point to talk about because Maier’s classroom is a place she wants her students to feel comfortable and a safe place to be. Maier wanted to get to know her students while they also get to know her. In addition to this she wanted her students to be comfortable with each other. When I was in a classroom in elementary school where I felt comfortable I was able to ask questions in front of all the other students because I felt that no one would judge me. Many of my teachers did make the classroom a comfortable environment, like Maier has, and I plan on doing that when I have a classroom of my own.

The idea of this next image, which shows the classroom full of books, really caught my eye while I was reading. In her classroom, Maier has a lot of different options for her students. I really like this because it promotes students to read what they want to read and not have it seem so forced. “Students read alone, they read to one another, and they read to any person, adult, or child who spent time in their classroom.” Maier shows the importance of having literature in a classroom for the students. Additionally she allowed students to take books home by checking them out from the classroom. This got students to read what they want to read outside of the classroom as well. I think the way she promotes literacy gets the kids wanting to read, not just reading because their teacher says they have to.