Reader's Workshop

I am considering some changes, alterations, to our Literacy time. The first change is in the name... While it seems aesthetic, I want to change the name to Reader's Workshop. Literacy is broad word, and one that I am not sure all kids really get. The word ends up being a catchall, when what we are doing revolves around reading. So the renaming places the emphasis on reading, something all kids know.

What will happen during Reader's Workshop? Let me say that I've been re-reading Regie Routman's Reading Essentials, and going through Growing Readers by Kathy Collins. Both use similar concepts. Currently we have a block of 75 minutes, and the time is spent with students reading just-right books. The books depend on their level... so some are reading out of a Houghton Mifflin basal reader. Others are reading books like Junie B Jones, or the Dragon Slayers Academy. Guided reading happens while students read, and then there are some extension activites such as grammar worksheets, spelling, etc.

I want to keep spelling as part of word study, but wrap that into the end of the morning meeting time (Use it to introduce words, have students looking for patterns, and uncovering meanings). The guided reading I want to retain, at least partially, as well.

What I want to do is add in an Independent Reading time. The idea comes from Routman's Reading Essentials, which is that in order to become better readers and writers we need to read and write more. Much of this needs to be independent, and with just right books (in the case of reading). During that time I will do formal/informal assessment as well as meet with guided reading groups. I also want to add in Partner Reading time. This will be when they are retelling what they have read to an assigned partner. This will help them talk about books, work on comprehension, and interact with each other about texts. I will also have some whole group instruction prior to reading time- the goal being to model strategies, and demonstrate what careful readers do...

Other thoughts I'm having are about including reading centers. These would be around like-topics (different non-fiction topics, or character study, etc) and involve students of like ability and interests looking at different books (above and below their level) to practice the skills careful readers use. I still have more to add, and more to flesh out. But I am excited about where I want to go...