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As part of classroom jobs, I would like to have children in charge of organizing the literacy centers. I think giving the students responsibility of keeping the literacy centers clean and orderly will also help them feel responsible for the center.

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Utilizing student input helps students take ownership of the literacy center, and helps them make it their own. I think having text that the students made as part of the decor in the literacy center will help give students ownership. I also want to have students do book recommendations which will be displayed, as a way to have their input when other students are looking for a book to read. As part of student input, I also want to give students choice in their reading, and offer time reading as well as social interaction with their peers surrounding books as a positive reinforcement in the classroom. Giving them adequate time to do silent reading with books of high interest help reframe the idea of reading from a task to a reward (Gambrell 23).

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I would utilize a "graffiti wall" for emerging writers to practice writing their letters, words, and sentences. I would also allow students to illustrate a book they just read, write their own endings to books, or create a new book cover. Allowing children to engage with the literacy center to explore emergent writing is beneficial in developing their literacy skills (Reutzel and Wolfersberger 276).

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I believe that having bilingual anchor charts in the room would be beneficial to all of my students. Students who's sole or primary language is English will have exposure to other languages from a young age, and it will make English as New Language learners more comfortable by integrating English and their primary language into the literacy centers.

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Having many accessible and engaging literacy props for children to interact with in the literacy center is key. According to a study in "An Environmental Impact Statement: Designing Supportive Literacy Classrooms for Young Children" by D. Ray Reutzel Mary Wolfersberger, children "acquire literacy through interactions with literacy tools". Allowing for these natural interactions with the literacy props, children take charge of their own learning.

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1. Why Am I Me? by Paige Britt, illustrated by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls.

2. Say Hello by Rachel Isadora

3. Looking for Bongo by Eric Velasquez

4.  Puddle by Hyewon Yum.

5. The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred by Samantha R. Vamos,

6. Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi Y. Stemple, illustrated by Anne-Sophie Lanquetin.

7. I Love Saturdays y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Elivia Savadie

8. When’s My Birthday? by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Christian Robinson.

9. Same Same But Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

10. The Family Book by Todd Parr.

11. Maria Had a Little Llama by Angela Dominguez.

12. Max and the Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper.

13. Feel the Beat: Dance Poems that Zing from Salsa to Swing by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Kristi Valiant.

14. Wild Berries by Julie Flett.

15. Mary Had a Little Glam by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton.

16. Counting on Community by Innosanto Nagara.

17. Sparkle Boy by Lesléa Newman.

18. One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck, illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail.

19. Round is a Tortilla by Roseanne Greenfield Thong, illustrated by John Parra.

20. Deep in the Sahara by Kelly Cunnane, illustrated by Hoda Hadadi.

21. Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan, illustrated by Lillian Hsu.

22. One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree by Daniel Bernstrom, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel.

23. I Hear a Pickle: and Smell, See, Touch, & Taste It, Too! by Rachel Isadora.

24. Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis.

25. Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini.

26. Pet Show by Jack Ezra Keats.

27. Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Lauren Tobia.

28. Here Is the World: A Year of Jewish Holidays by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal.

29. Hush! A Thai Lullaby by Minfong Ho, illustrated by Holly Meade.

30. Thanks to the Animals by Allen Sockabasin, illustrated by Rebekah Raye.

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I would like my book collection to consist of at least 150 books spanning in both genre and grade level. I will have books that are both two grade levels higher and lower than a Kindergarten reading level to accommodate all of my students (Romeo 2), as well as different genres such as poetry, biographies, multi-subject, big books, etc. Below, you will see some examples of the types of books I would like to see in my literacy center. Books help children make sense of their own experiences, and also help to explain experiences that children may not be familiar with. This is why I believe having a section of books around diversity and acceptance is key in any classroom literacy center.

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The layout of the room is crucial to maximize the use of the space. Using short bookshelves in order to section off the literacy center while also making the center visible from different areas of the classroom makes it the safest choice, by keeping the area visible to the teacher. Also, sectioning off the literacy center to create a designated and intentional space has shown to increase the amount of students who utilize the center during choice time (Reutzel and Wolfersburger 269). The section of the classroom used for the literacy center will take up 15% of my classroom (Designing Effective Literacy Centers for the Kindergarten Classroom). New York State requires 50 square feet of room for each child, so in a class with 20 students, my literacy center would be 150 square feet.

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I think that highlighting a different author each month would give students a chance to learn about different styles of writing and illustration. Since the literacy center takes up 15% of the classroom, there is normally a ceiling on how many children can be in the center at one time. Having a themed unit that is incorporated with the literacy center will help tie the center into whole class instruction as well (Morrow and Weinstein 135). Students will  use receptive literacies and read/listen to books by the author, and then utilize expressive literacy by writing, speaking, and creating visuals relating to the author's writing style and books. This station in the literacy center will help students develop all six literacies. Above is an example of a themed unit on Mo Willems.

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Assistive technology is an important part of a literacy center in early childhood classrooms. I believe that implementing QR codes for both audiobooks and TTS (Text-to-Speech) books, as well as providing graphic organizers and mind maps to help with reading comprehension. I also think that using something like Alexa in the classroom to help with independent reading and writing would be beneficial. They could use device to help them spell words, or find definitions. The same principle could apply to using Siri on an iPad.

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Having incoming students from different backgrounds means that they have different experiences with emergent reading. In low SES families, children are normally exposed to more environmental print at home than traditional books. Incorporating both types of print into the literacy center will benefit emerging readers by helping them recognize words in a familiar setting.

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I believe having a warm and welcoming environment in my literacy center is crucial to make it a place where children want to spend time. To make the environment more inclusive and whole-child centered, I believe utilizing a theme is very important. I want my theme to help facilitate my philosophy of teaching students to become global citizens, so I would like to make my theme to focus on  multiculturalism, and tie it into literacy by using Dr. Suess's Oh the Places You'll Go as part of the theme. I believe I could tie this theme into literacy throughout the year. Part of the different categories of books in our classroom library could feature different countries, and we could use reading and writing to learn about different cultures during our holiday units, as well as bring in community members to talk to the class about their traditions and languages, etc. As part of the literacy centers, I would also like to start a partnership with another school, and establish pen pals with students from another country. This would give students the opportunity to write letters to their pen pals in the literacy center.

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Utilizing fluorescent light filters in my classroom will be beneficial to all of the students in my classroom. Flurescent lights can be a stimulant for children with various exceptionalities including Autism, and will minimize distractions while also adding to the warm and comforting aesthetic that I want my classroom as a whole to have.

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The overall aesthetic of the literacy center will be warm and inviting, and I would like the lighting to be good for reading, without being too harsh or distracting. Utilizing natural lighting in the room when possible is my goal, and I plan on using light filters to lessen the effect of fluorescent lights in the room.

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I would like to have several different types of seating in my literacy centers to meet the needs of the different students in my classroom. I think offering different choices such as yoga balls, lap desks, and easily cleaned seating such as vinyl cloth seating on top of milk crates helps to give children choices in the literacy centers based on their preferences. I also want to make sure that all of the seating and surfaces are easily able to be cleaned and sanitized, which is key in any classroom!

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Lesley Mandel Morrow, a., & Carol Simon Weinstein, a. (1982). Increasing Children's Use of Literature Through Program and Physical Design Changes. The Elementary School Journal, (2), 131.
Linda B., G. (1996). Creating Classroom Cultures That Foster Reading Motivation. The Reading Teacher, (1), 14.
Reutzel, D. 1., & Wolfersberger, M. (1996). An Environmental Impact Statement: Designing Supportive Literacy Classrooms for Young Children. Reading Horizons, 36266-282.
Romeo, L. (1999). A Recipe for Promoting Effective Classroom Literacy Environments. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 65(4), 39-44.
Designing Effective Literacy Centers for the Kindergarten Classroom. Region 4 Education Service Center, 0-44