MINI-LESSONS

Definition: Mini-lessons are short, succinct lessons (approximately 10 minutes) that focus on teaching children a needed procedure, behavior, or strategy. The teacher chooses the mini-lesson based on the needs of the class group. During the mini-lesson, the teacher uses clear demonstration and explicit teaching to lead the children in understanding the lesson objective. After the demonstration, children practice. Particular emphasis is placed upon why the objective is important and how its application makes one a better reader/writer. Mini-lessons do not involve worksheets.

Description of strategy as used in classrooms:

Kindergarten: Mini-lessons early in the kindergarten year may focus on daily classroom procedures used in the Reading and Writing Workshop. Lessons on how to sharpen pencils, how to choose a book, how to talk with a partner, or how to get help from the teacher are all examples of lessons needed to establish workshop routines.

First and Second Grade: Mini-lessons in first and second grade may focus on the use of meaning, structure and visual cues used to read text. Children must know that they can think about the meaning of the text, the structure of the language and the visual information within words as cueing systems to be considered when solving words. Lessons may involve the use of a cloze procedure with a big book text in which students predict the covered word. Mini-lessons on using meaning, structure, and visual cues are also taught during small group guided reading lessons.

Grades Three through Five: Mini-lessons in these grades may focus on teaching comprehension strategies. One strategy is using schema (background knowledge) to construct meaning while reading. The Relatives Came, by Cynthia Rylant, is one text that the teacher can use to demonstrate and teach this strategy. The teacher reads for awhile, then stops to think aloud to show students how he/she uses schema to make connections to text. After several demonstrations, the teacher invites children to join in and practice using their schema to make connections to the text.

A mini-lesson in fifth grade may focus on teaching the student’s role in a reading conference during reading workshop. The teacher will model and explain the conference procedure. For example, the student will need to understand that the teacher will listen in on the reading, perhaps asking the child to read aloud, all the while taking notes on the child’s reading behaviors. The teacher may then ask questions such as “What is going on in your story?” or “What are you learning about _________?” or “How did asking questions help you in your reading?”

Web Sources for Mini - lessons:

dygregory.co m /Mini%20Lessons.htm

d.k12.mo.us/cekstrom/reader's_workshop.htm

rner.org/channel/libraries/makingmeaning/makingmeaning/support/workshop.pdf

acham.com/writing.mini.lessons.htm

erspaces.net/6traits/mini.html

ter4kids.com/classroom/guided_reading_mini_lessons.htm

Source for Icons and Pictures

On your classroom computer desktop, go to: Favorites, then Links, then Resources, then Clip Art and Media, and click on ClipArt.com School Edition.

Materials for Mini - lessons

Easel

Place for children to gather

Document camera for photographs

Materials for reading and writing

Resources :

Guided Reading, Pinnell and Fountas, 1996

Launching the Writing Workshop (Units of Study for Primary Writing), Calkins and Mermelstein, 2003.

Revisiting The Reading Workshop, Orehovec and Alley, 2003

Reading With Meaning, Miller, 2002