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In my class, we do Readers' and Writers' Workshop for our English Language Arts curriculum. Before students go off to read or write, they meet at the rug for a short mini-lesson and some share time. Over the years, my previous students have either had no rug, or an old, dirty one that was too small for all of them to fit on and was probably older than any of them. I rely heavily upon the rug as a meeting place and "launchpad" for most lessons. During read-alouds, it gives students communal seating, where they can listen to and be a part of the book, while also having peers close at hand to have discussions with. Before the independent reading and/or writing portions of Readers' and Writers' Workshops, the whole class meets at the rug for a brief mini-lesson--or tip for the day that they can choose to try to help their reading or writing. And, when sharing how they solved math problems with the class, the rug is the place where to be. Having a nice, new rug that has enough space for all of my students is very important to me. I believe that environment is very important to student learning. I strive to keep a clean, orderly class (when possible) with the highest quality of things that I am able to provide (though that is a constant challenge). With that said, the message to the students should be: You are worth the expense; you deserve nice things; you are important and valued.
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