# data[].attributes.body
My reading classroom will begin even before students step foot into the classroom. Their experience with books will be "larger than life!"

# data[].attributes.body
My future classroom will also include flexible seating options. Just as this picture showcases, arrangements that foster a feeling of togetherness will be emphasized by their placement in the middle of the classroom in order to convey the importance of community around reading within the space.

# data[].attributes.body
Bookshelves loaded with a variety of books will fill my classroom as well. I will try to make the act of reading as interesting and intriguing as possible by including less conventional book shelves.

# data[].attributes.body
The student-centered nature of the classroom will be reinforced through interactive elements of the physical space as well, such as this one.

# data[].attributes.body
Bulletin boards both within and outside of the classroom space will attempt to engage students as much as possible in reading.

# data[].attributes.body
I will also pay careful attention to the arrangement of seating within my classroom space. The arrangement will be dependent upon what activity we will be participating in for the day, and will be designed with collaborative learning situations (such as book clubs, literature circles, writer's workshop, and classroom discourse) in mind.

# data[].attributes.body
Posters around the room will work to create a culturally responsive and inclusive space as well, as they will be both representative of the students within the space and speak to any silences that exist within the space as well.

# data[].attributes.body
One of my sources of inspiration for my reading classroom will be a coffee-shop. Coffee shops are places where people work both independently and in groups, and the space is conducive to both of these means of working. Further, coffee shops tend to be inviting as a result of their lighting and decor. In my classroom, I want to create a similar cozy environment. However, rather than coming together around coffee, students will be coming together around reading and writing!

# data[].attributes.body
My second source of non-traditional inspiration for my classroom is the Hartford Public Library. After visiting the space for an assignment for one of my courses, I fell in love with the space. I loved how it was so representative of the community, as it featured many cultural products created by community members. Further, although libraries tend to be quiet spaces, there was so much going on within the space; when I walked in, for example, I was immediately met with an activity hosted by a local knitting group. Although this is a space that centers around reading, I love how this public library challenges the conventions of what would be expected of a library, which is a concept that I will apply in the design of my reading classroom as well. While some reading classrooms are dominated by silence, I want mine to have a feeling of liveliness that emulates that of this library.

# data[].attributes.body
As for what will count as reading within my classroom, I will employ a broad definition of text when it comes to what we are reading as a class, what I offer students to read independently (which will be offered in the classroom library and on our classroom website), and what students bring to class. Any material that allows a student to employ any of the reading strategies that we discuss in class will constitute text--the employment of these strategies is what will be emphasized within my reading classroom, rather than maintaining a limited definition of literacy. As such, in addition to traditional print versions of text, students will have the opportunity to "read" pieces of media that exercise their familiarity with multimodality, such as video clips and songs. Further, the texts that I offer students will showcase diverse authors, diverse characters, and a diverse set of experiences, as doing so is crucial to cultivating a group of students who are able to be develop an awareness of the world around them and foster empathy. This also means that students will be exposed to both canonical texts and more contemporary young adult texts. Additionally, I will make sure to curate text sets with the various skill levels of my students in mind; children's books, for example, will count as reading as well, as they act as wonderful access points into the mastering of reading skills and topics.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.meta-chart.com/share/time-spent-in-my-ela-classroom

# data[].attributes.body
While the above graph depicts the percentage of time that I hope to spend on certain types of activities in my future reading classroom, it is also important to note how our time will be spent content wise: something that I don't believe could be accurately represented in a graphic representation, as the content I teach will vary depending on the interests of my students year to year. However, there are certain topics that I will incorporate year-after-year. For example, I plan on weaving social justice education into 100% of the content I teach, as I believe that the ELA classroom offers a wonderful, unique opportunity for students to develop the critical lens that is necessary for identifying and confronting social injustices. Likewise, around 60% of the content will emphasize interdisciplinary learning, as outlining the connections that exist between what can often seem like isolated subjects is what contributes to the relevancy of education (and more specifically, reading) for our students. Community learning will make up for 20% of the content, perhaps in the form of a service learning project as a summative assessment that simultaneously assesses reading and writing skills. As such, when it comes to how time will be spent in my reading classroom, I will make sure that time is spent in such a way that we can capitalize on the numerous connections that can be made between the ELA classroom and the world that students live in.

# data[].attributes.body
The flexibility of my instruction will reside in the opportunities that I provide for student learning and in the constructivist approach (Smagorinsky, 2007) that I employ in the classroom. For example, rather than limiting the reading experiences of my students to how I interpret a text, students will have the opportunity to construct meaning for themselves in literature circles (Daniels 2006) and personalized conferences that I will have with students during reader's workshop (Porath 2014).

While I do want to maintain the study of a class-wide anchor text, flexibility in my instruction will also manifest in the choice that I will offer students in their selection of texts to accompany their study of the anchor text and in their independent reading (time for which I will allot time during class).

Lastly, I will demonstrate flexibility through being prepared for students who do not necessarily love the study of literature as much as I do, as Beers notes that we should be through her recollection of her experience with what she had (incorrectly) imagined her teaching experience would be like (Beers, 2002). As such, I will be prepared to incorporate materials that align with what my students need and are interested in, which will change year-to-year based on the group of students I have. I will gauge students' interests when it comes to reading through methods such as student surveys, which will ask what types of books they like, what they like to do with books, and what types of reading experiences (individual or collaborative) they prefer.

# data[].attributes.body
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t0gKLAKRlWwA-wN-pxI8e5XJJQvvAhsE9Q-Z5psa5b0/edit