Introduction to Vivian and Reeny

When I teach reading, I want to be just like Paley. Paley walked into her classroom, and paid attention to what interested her students. She realized that her students were fascinated in Leo Leoni's stories, and she saw that she could use them the entire year. Activities were created based on the stories, so it was one large unit. I can only imagine how difficult it was to try to create a large unit of lesson plans. Creating a unit for just a couple weeks is a very difficult taks, never mind trying to have an idea for the entire school year (t-s). Paley probably faced a lot of opposition when she informed others that she was focusing on one author all year, but it would be an experience unlike any other for the students. I can only imagine how much the students would be able to learn from all of the stories of this one author. It was a very bold choice.

I also though it was interesting how well she knew her students, and how well the students knew each other. This is clear from the story about Oliver and his pictures. Paley knew that he would eventually get very scared and start yelling because something seeminly little would happen. She also knew that he would hide in a little spot until he was feeling better. The students knew this as well. Everyone was very accepting of Oliver and his loud tendancies. I can only hope that my classroom will be similar to Paley's in the sense that the students can accept each other and be comfortable working together.