Readers' Workshop is a teaching method that has been around for many years.  Its main focus is to foster the love of reading within our students, and to differentiate, or personalize, instruction in order to accomodate the learning needs of all students.

There are three major components to Readers Workshop...

1. Mini lessons                        cutecolorsschoolread1.gif

    2 Independent Reading

                                       3.  Sharing Time

 

 

Students:

  • take more responsibility for their learning.

  • choose books that appeal to them and are at their own instructional level

  • respond to the text they are reading

  • share thoughts and ideas within small groups

Teacher:

  • teaches mini-lessons based on observations to student needs

  • conferences with individual students

  • personalizes instruction

  • keeps records of student progress

 

 

 

1.  Mini Lesson

Mini lessons are short focused lessons about workshop procedures, specific reading strategies, or literacy skills.

 

2.  Independent Reading

During independent reading the students read, respond, and conference with the teacher.

3.  Sharing Time

During sharing time, students should meet with a partner or a small group to discuss their book.  They can discuss a strategy they tried during workshop, something from their response journal, or recommend a book.  Sharing time is brief and allows all students a chance to speak about their books.

 

Additional Activities included in Readers' Workshop

We are doing a variety of things in reader's workshop this year.  We have a reading series, which we will be using to teach reading strategies to the entire class.  We will also have some guided reading groups and literature circles in which students will read fiction and/or non-fiction texts and have small group discussions. Each child will have a job and will have to participate in a group discussion.  The children will discuss their favorite part of the book, what the book was about, whether or not the made any connections (text to text/ text to self) and any questions they may have about the book.  They will also have to find words they have difficulty with and discuss them with their friends.  These small groups will change throughout the year and will allow us to meet the needs of all students.  
     Students will also read books of their choice.  We will be setting reading goals and keeping a log of the books we read.  Students will be expected to read each night.  I would like the students to respond to the books they read for their independent reading through their reading notebook.  Each student will be expected to write a letter to me at least once a week and discuss what their are reading.

 

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