The Big Fresh May 24, 2014 Walled Readers

This spring I visited Gigi McAllister’s fourth-grade classroom in southern Maine. When I entered the room, my eyes were immediately drawn to a large and colorful display of book covers. Inspired by Donalyn Miller’s work, Gigi has created a visual record of her reading throughout the year with four categories. “Currently Reading” is featured at the top, followed by the headings of “Just Finished,” “What’s Next,” and “Read This School Year.”

I asked Gigi about the display, and she explained that it was a challenging wall space to fill. It’s an awkward spot, not visible from most of the classroom because it’s wedged between the coat area and supply bins. Yet students see it first thing when they arrive each morning. They walk by it as part of their morning ritual of taking off their coats, hanging them, and then stepping over the threshold into the room.

Every classroom has a few nooks, crannies, and bits of wall space that aren’t easy to use for instruction or storage. We often forget about them till the classroom is nearly bare in late spring.  Gigi uses her odd wall as a way to hold herself accountable as a reader — if she forgets to update the display, one of her students is sure to remind her. The listing of books is a fun way to see how quickly a list of books read grows throughout the year, and it’s a catalyst for dishing on new titles and authors with students.

As teachers begin to break down and clean up rooms, it’s a wonderful time for rethinking wall displays — which ones build and refine thoughtful work, and which ones have lived beyond their usefulness. Wall displays are our focus this week — enjoy!