6.2 Environment

When and Where Did I Find It: I found this in my assignment reading Daniels, H., Zemelman, S. & Steineke, N. (2007).  Content-area writing.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. p. 121


"So what are some essential approaches for building an environment in which students craft good, thoughtful writing that building learning in your subject?" (Daniels, Zemelman & Steineke, 2007, p.121)

What it means:  Environment has many different meaning  in our language, but I want to explore the phrase supportive environment and how it relates to writing in our classrooms.  As teachers we have to create an environment that harbors learning and that makes students comfortable.  For learning to happen, I think environment is one of the key factors.  


I was very surprised in this section how small it was---talking about creating an environment, but in the following chapters---I could see the authors talking again about how to create an writing environment for students.  

Level of Familiarity:   At the moment, I do not have my classroom, so I have not yet put into practice creating my own classroom environment, but I have a lot of experience with it.  Last year I took LTED 618, a class that focused on writing and we had writing workshop almost every class.  As a class we created a supportive environment that fostered learning and development.  We would use that time effectively because of the environment Dr. Jones and the class created.  

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Yes, like I stated above it is something important I have learned through experience and research.  I want to continue to remember this word and imply it in my one day classroom.  Having an environment that fosters writing and learning is an important part of my teaching pedagogy   

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?:   Yes--everything all teachers should know this word.  I am currently subbing and I can tell walking into a classroom what kind of environment it is.  I can tell what the teacher values and doesn't.  
I think that all teachers should be aware of the environments they create for students.  Reading the content-writing book as given me perspective on this topic and I think it is an important topic.  Environment is key and that is why all teachers should know this word.