Mineral Point School District | Quick Win: Creating a Environment for Readers and Writers

Matt Renwick | Posted September 14, 2017

Before the students arrived, our faculty learned how to best prepare a classroom (and school) for students. Specifically, we looked at our classroom and common areas to promote reading and writing. Each teacher stated a personal goal that they would work toward regarding classroom libraries, bulletin boards, and relationship building.

Next are some images of our first-week successes in creating a culture of literacy.

Students organizing classroom library books based on topics, genre, or author.

Temporary labels as the students start to put groups of books in classroom library tubs.

A teacher asking students to share something they want him to know about them.

A digital portfolio station, in which students can publish their best work online for families.

A blank bulletin board waiting for students and teacher to post excellent work on it.

Students haven’t decided yet where these books belong. They will come back to these titles.

More bins of books, waiting to be organized by the students and teacher.

Students share ten fun facts about themselves in writing and post on a bulletin board.

I get into the act, displaying several books in my office that represent our student body.

This PreK read aloud center is also a space for students’ favorite books.

There are too many piles and not enough bins, so…

…the class has to decide which groups of books will need to be combined and how to label them.

A classroom library is finally done. The students are excited to start reading.

This teacher kept the students’ handmade labels on the classroom library tubs.

I think my favorite part of this schoolwide literacy experience is when my daughter came home complaining that she was tired. “Why are you tired?” I asked her. “My feet are sore from all the walking we did while organizing our classroom library.” That’s a win for creating a culture of literacy and student ownership!

MATT RENWICK

PRINCIPAL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

This is Matt’s eighteenth year in public education. He started as a 5th and 6th grade teacher in a country school outside of Wisconsin Rapids, WI. After seven years of teaching, Matt served as an assistant principal, athletic director, and building principal all in Wisconsin Rapids. As an elementary principal with the Mineral Point Unified School District, he enjoys working with students, staff, and families in their collective pursuit of lifelong learning.