As a teacher, it is my greatest desire to instill in my students the same passion for reading that I have always felt. I have so many ideas that I hope to use in order to create the most literature rich classroom possible. One such idea is my "Reading Paradise" literature corner.

In this "Reading Paradise," there are many elements that I feel will be very inviting to my students. The couch will be one of the main elements. I hope to buy a very simple light blue couch that I will revamp to fit my theme. I will sew goldfishes to the back cushions and of the couch and create starfish throw pillows that my students can cuddle with as they delve into their books. Other seating options will include reading rugs that my students may lay on, as well as beach chairs and beanbags that resemble beach balls.

In order to reinforce my theme, I plan to decorate the literature corner with (unlit) tiki torches, leis, shells, stuffed ocean animals, and perhaps on special occasions, tropical treats such as goldfish crackers, shark fruit snacks, and fruit cups among others.

The highlights of my Reading Paradise will include our classroom pets, our goldfish and hermit crabs, whose tanks will rest upon two of the book cases, among standing books.

Another highlight in out reading corner will be the two hammocks on either side of the corner. Tangled in the hammocks will be shells, starfishes, "seaweed," and most importantly, the books of the week.

I hope to have four book cases, each containing two or three shelves in my Reading Paradise. Two of them will contain fiction. On top of the bookcase, as well as the first shelf, I will always feature alternate books every week. On the bookshelf, I will arrange my fiction books alphabetically by title. if there is an abundance of books of a certain genre, (historical fiction, for example), I may separate that particular genre with bookends, label it, and alphabetize by title.

The last bookcase of my classroom Reading Paradise will contain reference books. I will have encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, rhyming dictionaries, and other reference books.

The last touch to my reading corner will be the walls around my Reading Paradise. Every month, I will put up new posters featuring authors from all over the world, as well as as book reports from my students. Also surrounding my paradise will be "vines" and "trees" with monkeys and pythons in them.

I truly hope my literature corner will make passionate readers of my students.