Overview

Classrooms should be spaces where every child feels safe to bring their whole self to school. This book shows how to set up preK-grade 6 classrooms that support student agency, independence, and choice. The results of classrooms designed with these goals in mind include: Greater student engagement with curriculum Students who know themselves and are empowered as learners Students who feel valued and care about their learning as well as the learning of others A more cohesive, authentic, and accepting community of learners Opportunities for choice and decision-making by all learners With examples drawn from real classrooms, the authors demonstrate how to make choices in seating, materials used, books read, and more. Special attention is paid to the design of classroom libraries in which a variety of diverse, quality books anchor so much of the work in helping young readers and writers grow and learn.The book is richly illustrated with photos and samples to provide an inside look at classrooms in which children are centered and the teacher is responsive to creating spaces with student agency in mind. 172 pp. 2023. Grades PreK-6

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9780814101551

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Reviews

"Building on the idea of the classroom space as the ""third teacher,"" Sibberson and Burkins have rethought the impact of the decisions we make around designing classroom spaces and organizing classroom libraries. These decisions can empower and foster student agency and serve as another piece of the experience of students as we prepare them for their ever-changing futures. Simply put, Classroom Design for Student Agency is one of the most beautiful and brilliant books I have ever read. Lynsey Burkins and Franki Sibberson invite us to let go of our conventional ideas about how to set up a classroom space, and instead offer us a practical and aspirational guide to designing classroom spaces alongside our students. They invite us to create spaces that truly belong to children and the classroom community. And they don't just describe these ideas in broad terms. Burkins and Sibberson give us the gift of an illustrated guide to this work, full of small, but powerful moves and tools to design classroom spaces where amazing learning can happen. This book will surely be beloved by teachers everywhere."

Author Information

Lynsey Burkins has worked for children for the past eighteen years and currently serves third-grade students. She works toward creating antiracist spaces where children feel free, have agency, and know they are loved. She believes books are primary vehicles to help children become freer. She also presents on topics such as using literature to help students make sense of their world and literature as a vehicle to nurture students' spirit and minds. She received her master's degree in language, literacy, and culture from The Ohio State University. She is a member of NCTE and the outgoing national chair of NCTE's Build Your Stack, an initiative that works to build teachers' expertise in knowing and using quality literature in the classroom. You can find her at @lburkins on X, formerly Twitter. Franki Sibberson is a literacy leader with over thirty years of experience as an elementary classroom teacher in Ohio. Franki served as president of the National Council of Teachers of English. She is the coauthor of several books, including Beyond Leveled Books, Still Learning to Read, Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop, and Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8. She currently serves as the Executive Director of SproutFive's Institute for Professional Learning. Franki also provides leadership and consulting to schools and nonprofits.

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