Reading & Writing Workshop

 
bullet I've heard of reading and writing workshop in the older grades, but is it appropriate for Pre-k or Kindergarten?
bullet Yes, reading and writing workshop can be adapted and made age appropriate for the younger grades. 

 

Reading Workshop

 
bullet What is Reading Workshop?
Reading workshop is one of the key components in a balanced literacy program. The purpose of reading workshop is to promote fluency and to provide time to nurture the love of reading and to learn about texts in a variety of ways.  Reading workshop builds a community of readers as students receive support from their peers and interact with each other to develop good literacy skills.  Reading workshop is not just guided reading groups, it's a lesson sequence that if followed can help achieve the goals listed above.  See the lesson sequence below.

bullet How is Reading Workshop structured?  The lesson sequence for reading workshop is as follows:
bullet Mini-Lesson (5-15 minutes depending on the lesson, some may run longer, some shorter- it depends on the lesson)
bullet Independent Reading (the bulk of your time is spent here, 30 minutes, but shorter in the beginning of the year)
bullet Share Time (5-10 minutes)

bullet What is a reading mini-lesson?
bullet A mini-lesson is a brief, focused, teacher directed activity done in a whole group setting.
bullet Teaches specific strategies through demonstration and modeling, such as comprehension strategies.

bullet Can you give me an example of what a reading workshop mini-lesson would look like?
bullet It depends on the time of the year you are doing the mini-lesson.  In the beginning of the year you need to teach "procedural" mini-lessons to teach the children how reading workshop works, everything from how to turn the pages in a book gently to how to track print with their finger.  Then, after they have learned the procedures you can move into more content. 
bullet An example of a procedural mini-lesson you would teach in the beginning of the year would be one about how to use the classroom library and the management system you have set up. 
bullet An example of a regular lesson would be one about left to right progression, tracking print as it's read using a big book.  Again, it depends on the time of the year you are teaching the lesson, and the ages and ability levels of your students. 

bullet What do the students do during independent reading time?
bullet During independent reading time students are "reading" or looking at books.  They are incorporating what they learned from the mini-lesson into their reading strategies.

bullet What does the teacher do during independent reading time?
bullet The teacher will be looking for evidence of students who are incorporating what they learned from the mini-lesson into their independent reading. 
bullet Independent reading time may look different in Pre-K than in Kindergarten.  Kindergarten teachers may be holding guided reading groups during the independent reading time while Pre-K teachers spend more of their time monitoring and observing their students during independent reading time.  Pre-K teachers may have some students who are ready for guided reading later in the year and others who could benefit from focused, small group literacy instruction.  
bullet Teachers should begin guided reading during independent reading time only AFTER they have established a solid reading workshop foundation via mini-lessons, modeling, and practice. 
bullet The time of the year you begin guided reading may also be dependent upon your district mandates. 

bullet What does share time look like?
bullet During share time the teacher may select a few students that he/she noticed were incorporating strategies learned during the mini-lesson into their reading.  Those students then share their books and strategies with the class.  Teachers may have to ask guiding questions to elicit desired responses.  It is also beneficial to ask students questions about who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Writing Workshop

 
bullet What is Writing Workshop?
bullet Writing workshop is another of the key components in a balanced literacy program.
bullet

Writing workshop is a teaching technique that invites students to write by making the process a meaningful part of the classroom curriculum. Writing is an expected activity on a daily basis. Students are exposed to the organization and thought required to create a story or write about a favorite topic.  Because they are allowed to choose the topic, students are motivated to create and complete writing to share with classmates.

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For the youngest students, whose skills vary greatly, the goal is to elicit a story from a drawing, recording the student's words in dictation form on the drawing and encouraging the student to move from drawing to writing by guiding the student in the use of phonetics to sound out words. Eventually, students become empowered and will become more independent and fluent writers.  When combined with reading activities writing workshop can create a powerful motivating tool for teaching literacy.
bullet

Writing workshop is not just journals, it's a lesson sequence that if followed can help achieve the goals listed above.  See the lesson sequence below.

bullet How is Writing Workshop structured?  The lesson sequence for writing workshop is as follows:
bullet Mini-Lesson (5-15 minutes depending on the lesson, some may run longer, some shorter- it depends on the lesson)
bullet Independent writing/Conferencing (the bulk of your time is spent here, 30 minutes or more, but shorter in the beginning of the year)
bullet Share Time (5-10 minutes)

bullet What is a writing mini-lesson?
bullet A mini-lesson is a brief, focused, teacher directed activity done in a whole group setting.
bullet Teaches specific strategies through demonstration and modeling, such as selecting a topic to write about.                                                                                                                                                                                                        

bullet Can you give me an example of what a writing workshop mini-lesson would look like?
bullet It depends on the time of the year you are doing the mini-lesson.  In the beginning of the year you need to teach "procedural" mini-lessons to teach the children how writing workshop works, then, after they have learned the procedures you can move into more content. 
bullet An example of a procedural mini-lesson you might teach in the beginning of the year would be one about how to use crayons and pencils properly.
bullet  An example of a regular lesson would be one about how good writers put spaces between their words.  Again, it depends on the time of the year you are teaching the lesson, and the ages and ability levels of your students.

bullet What do the students do during independent writing time?'
bullet During independent reading time students are writing/drawing in their writers notebooks or booklets.  They are incorporating what they learned from the mini-lesson into their writing.

bullet What does the teacher do during independent writing time?
bullet The teacher will be looking for evidence of students who are incorporating what they learned from the mini-lesson into their independent writing and observing their actions as writers.
bullet The teacher will be conferencing with students. 
bullet In the beginning of the year the students will tell the teacher what they wrote and the teacher will write down what the child says on his or her paper, like dictation. 
bullet Later in the year students will write more independently and conference with the teacher to review their writing.
bullet Independent writing time may look differently in Pre-K than in Kindergarten.  It also depends on what time of the year it is.  Teachers in both grades will spend more time circulating and reinforcing good writing behaviors in the beginning of the year and will spend more time conferencing later in the year after the students have learned the procedures. 

bullet What does share time look like?
bullet During share time the teacher may select a few students that he/she noticed were incorporating strategies learned during the mini-lesson into their writing.  Those students then share their writing and strategies with the class.  Teachers may have to ask guiding questions to elicit desired responses.  It is also beneficial to ask students questions about who, what, where, when, why, and how.

 

 

 

 

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