-
Reader’s Workshop
Reading workshop is a research based instructional approach from the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University, NYC.
Reading workshop fosters daily opportunity for students to read independently. Research has found that student achievement in reading is directly related to the amount of time students spend reading.
THE STRUCTURE OF READER'S WORKSHOP
MINI-LESSON
Each Reading Workshop session will begin with a mini lesson that lasts approximately 10-15 minutes. During each mini lesson, the teacher will introduce a specific concept, also known as the teaching point. Most often the teaching point will focus on a reading strategy or skill. The teacher will explicitly model or demonstrate the skill for the students.
Students then get a chance to practice the skill or strategy on their own or with a partner. This part of the mini-lesson is called the active engagement.
IndEPENDENT READING
40 Minutes
During this time students are engaged in self-selected texts at their independent level. They use this time to practice the skill that was taught during the mini-lesson. Students are reading in book nooks around the room while the teacher holds individual reading conferences or meets with small groups of students for guided reading, strategy lessons, or book clubs.
CLOSING
In closing, the teacher will link what they have taught to what the students should do as a writer.
We taught you this … now go to your book and apply. Come back to share how you’ve applied it.
During this time the class might:
-Meet as a whole group to refer back to the mini-lesson and think further
-Meet together to think about and respond to questions such as: What did you learn about reading today? What did you learn about yourself as a reader?
-Meet with reading partners to have a quick chat about how the reading is going.
