Reading Workshop

This page is pretty bare-bones for now, but I hope to include more information, ideas and pictures as the year progresses.

While I incorporate some literacy choices (fancy term for literacy stations, except that the tasks that children choose between don't require me to change out centres every week) during my literacy block, our richest reading work takes place during our reading workshop.  I don't have enough time in my schedule to do both reading and writing workshop every day, so I do each workshop four times a week.

Reading workshop in my room looks something like this:

• 15 minutes whole group session: mini-lesson, interactive read aloud, modeled reading and/or shared reading
• 20 minutes independent reading: children read just-right books from their literacy baskets while I confer individually with students
• 5 minutes whole group share: "what did you do today that helped you grow as a reader?"

In the ideal world, I'd have at least 30 minutes for independent reading, but - as you all know - teachers learn to work with what we have!  My students can also choose to buddy read or read independently during their literacy choice time.

I use a variety of amazing professional resources to help me plan for instruction during reading workshop.  Every time I revamp my reading instruction, I think to myself "This is synthesis at work!".

Anyway, here are a few of my very favourite can't-live-without-them professional reading books: