Introduction to 6-12 ReadingWorkshop

Rapid City Area Schools

What is reading workshop?

Workshop is a predictable structure, routine, ritual, and system thatallows the unpredictable work

of deep reading, brilliant writing,mind-changing conversations, inspirational epiphanies, and

connectionsof new to the known—that is, learning—to happen. Workshop is the key to listening

to teach for many reasons, but not for any one reason. It is acomplexsystem of intertwining

events that lead to students doing thework oflearning and demonstrating their understanding of

essentialcontent andskills.

In a workshop, as students are busy doing the work of learning, it freesteachers to do their

work as learners. As students read, write, think, andtalk, teachers do the work of learning about

their students: what studentsknow, what they can do, and what they need to be successful adults.

Workshop is a structure, a routine, a ritual, and a system that helpsteachers answer the

question, “How do I know?” (Bennett, 2007, p. 8).

In reading workshop, students:

  • Learn how to work together
  • Set goals and evaluate their own accomplishments
  • Engage in meaningful communication about what they have read
  • Take responsibility for their own learning and support the learning of each other
  • Work at their own pace to accomplish a series of tasks
  • Make choices and carry out assignments

Why should I use the reading workshop approach in my classroom?

What does it look like when students are doing the work of thinking? The work of learning? The work of achieving? The work of becoming better human beings? Literally and metaphorically, it looks like a workshop, a place where works—concrete demonstrations of understanding—are created. (Bennett, 2007, p. 3)

The advantages of reading workshop are many, some of which are listed below. Also see Guiding Readers and Writers, pages 43-45.

Reading Workshop:

  • Builds an effective reading process
  • Increases the amount students read
  • Increases ownership of the commitment to reading
  • Broadens readers’ literary experiences
  • Develops responsibility for reading
  • Encourages personal connections
  • Teaches collaboration

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What support do I have for reading workshop?

In past years, the Language Arts Curriculum Committee recommended to the school board that the Rapid CitySchool District continue using the balanced literacy framework as its instructional model. As a result of the board’s agreement with this recommendation, teachers are not implementing new curricular materials. In June 2007, the school board approved the Writing Next and Reading Next reports to the Carnegie Corporation. The Reading Next report outlines key elements of effective adolescent literacy programs and further supports the balanced literacy framework as Rapid City Area Schools’ instructional model.

Language arts and content area teachers are continually moving toward the use of alternative texts and text sets within their curriculum. In recent years, the secondary schools have received sums of money devoted to nonfiction, informational text for student use. District-purchased textbooks are being used as one of many resources in the classroom rather than as the sole source of information. Teachers can utilize the resources of their building’s literacy library andthe school’s instructional support teacher.

Two important resources that are critical to the implementation of reading workshopareGuiding Readers and Writers, Grades 3-6(2001) and Comprehension and Fluency, K-8 (2006)by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. The high school and middle school teachers will want to modify some of the first book’s information, depending on students’ needs. These resources were not purchased by the school district for the teachers because of their broad availability in the schools already. These books will be referenced extensively in this implementation guide. If you do not have a copy of either book, please check with your building’s instructional support teacher.

Schools havea variety of leveled texts for guided reading and literature circles (book clubs). A large number of these books were selected to support content-area study. These texts relate to our science, social studies, health, and visual arts curricula. In addition to these new content-area books, each building uses its own building budget to supplement with additional texts for students who are at a variety of reading levels and have different interests.

What are the components of an hour-long reading workshop?

The reading workshop includes a brief mini-lesson, followed by time to read, respond to text, meet in needs-based groups, discuss literature, or confer with the teacher or other students. The workshop concludes with a time of sharing as a class or with learning partners.

Please refer to Chapter 4 in GuidingReaders and Writers for more detailed information about reading workshop.

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How do I manage reading workshop?

Fountas and Pinnell, in Chapter 6 of Guiding Readers and Writers, state:

Good management is part of effective teaching and a vital part of students’ learning. Just as you

establish a curriculum for literacy, you teach students how to manage their time and behavior in the

classroom. They learn such “skills for living” as planning, managing time, evaluating, and problem

solving. Self-management, so essential for quality life, is not inborn or intuitive. Self-management is

learned and can be taught.

Chapter six details the many facets essential to effective classroom management during reading workshop and is well worth the time spent reading it. Beginning on page 105, the authors provide suggestions for the first five weeks of implementing the language and literacy framework.

What goals should be accomplished in the first month of reading workshop?

  1. Help students think of themselves as readers by reading books that they enjoy and having them participate in all the choices and decisions readers make.
  2. Establish the roles and routines of the reading workshop while conducting individual assessments.

What is a minilesson during reading workshop?

A minilesson sets the purpose, builds the need to know, and shows students how to do the task for the worktime. A minilesson can include modeling, a think-aloud, a minilecture, a demonstration, etc. For more information, refer to That Workshop Book by Samantha Bennett.

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What are the purposes of conferring with students in reading workshop?

Conferences during reading workshop are conducted between a teacher and a student(s). They are not scripted—and can’t be, because the shape of the conversation arises from the sharing of the teacher and the student. The student does the majority of the talking. The purposes of conferences are to:

  • Engage in meaningful action that supports the reader’s ability to process a text with understanding and fluency.
  • Teach the reader, not the text—that is, the teacher’s focus is on helping a student learn more about being a reader, not simply helping him or her read a book.
  • Become a set of ears, a guide, and a sounding board.
  • Help the student solve problems.

In addition to these four purposes identified by Fountas and Pinell, we would add that teacher-student conferences enhance accountability on the part of the student with respect to her or his independent reading. Also, as with all good responsive teaching, teachers develop insight into students’ needs and can provide next-step instruction during future minilessons. In addition, it is possible to conference with targeted students during or after guided reading or literature studies. Conferencing is an ongoing purposeful teaching method. Sitting beside a student during his or her independent readingbenefits both the teacher and student.

Please refer to Chapter 8 in Guiding Readers and Writers for more information about conferring during reader’s workshop.

What is the difference between guided reading and literature study?

The purpose of guided reading is to:

  • Meet the varying instructional needs of all students and enable them to greatly expand their reading powers.
  • Guide students in reading books specifically selected by the teacher to provide a moderate amount of challenge.

The teacher supports students in tackling necessary problem solving to overcome the difficulties they may encounter. Guided reading allows teachers to help students move forward in their reading development,because instruction is carefully matched to their point of need.

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The purposes of literature study (also referred to as literature circles or book clubs) are to:

  • Increase students’ enjoyment of reading
  • Make students aware of the value of their personal responses to what they read
  • Engage students in meaningful literary discussions
  • Provide rich experiences with a range of genres representing many periods and cultures
  • Expand students’ literacy and background knowledge
  • Build students’ knowledge of authors and illustrators
  • Deepen students’ understanding of the qualities that make well-crafted literature
  • Demonstrate new ways of interpreting and analyzing new text
  • Foster critical thinking

Is writing and responding in writing important?

The teacher’s goal in reading workshop–through independent reading, guided reading, and literature study–is to foster students’ responses to reading so they are active constructors of their own meaning and vary their styles and stances according to purpose. Responding to reading is highly important to extend the readers’ understanding of text. Students can benefit from responding in a variety of ways. See Tools for Formative Assessment, found in the assessment portion of this guide.

Some students respond to their reading by writing a letter to the teacher, a classmate, or a parent once a week or every other week. This typically is known as a response letter. Another response involves targeting a comprehension strategy for students to try out while reading and then share orally or in written form. Both of these response forms are used as formative assessmentsto better understand students’ thinking while reading. Remember that short oral responses are a great way to pull the community of readers together at the close of reading workshop.

How do I assess my students’ progress in reading?

Assessment is ongoing. All forms of assessment, informal and formal, formative and summative, give teachers specific information about the students’ reading achievement and progress. Assessment is not only important for a grade (summative); most importantly, it is used to guide instruction (formative). Please refer to the assessment portion of this guide.

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