An Open Letter to Language Arts Teachers

This article is a high school student’s perspective on what the ideal language arts classroom should look like and how it is the teacher who creates that environment. It is based on her experience in a middle school language arts classroom that was structured around a Nancie Atwell style workshop model. The workshop model in this classroom was grounded in real life literacy experiences, allowed for choice in writing and reading, included daily shared reading experiences, fostered discussion about texts, and included open communication between teacher and students. It is these aspects of the workshop model that provided the literacy experiences that became part of who she is.