Establishing a Reading Workshop in Your Classroom

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What is a Reading Workshop?

• A time for the students to read, read, read!

• A time to work with small groups in Guided Reading and Focused teaching groups

• A time for students to apply taught strategies independently

• A time for students to read with a small group or with a buddy

• A time for students to meaningfully discuss literature

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What happens during a Reading Workshop?

1. Focus Mini Lesson- Whole Class2. Individualised Daily Reading3. Guided Reading Groups4. Sharing and Reflection Time-

Whole Class

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Mini-LessonThis is a 20 minute whole class teaching session in response to a class need identified through data collection and observation.• Comprehension Fix-up Strategies • Comprehension Focus Lessons• Word Attack Strategiesusing Big books, picture books, digital texts …

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Guided ReadingThis is where the students move off from the whole class context. The teacher plans for a group of students with like reading needs to work with the teacher in a guided reading session (about 15 minutes). This group works on a particular skill or strategy at an instructional level of text.• Contextualisation and Purpose• Whisper reading and teacher

conferring• Discussion and reflection• Response

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What is guided reading?

Teacher works with 4-6 students in each group.

Children are grouped according to similarities in reading development and instructional reading levels or comprehension needs.

Teacher introduces stories, strategies, and concepts within group to increase independent application in appropriate leveled text.

Every child reads and is supported by teacher.

Emphasis is on strategic problem solving within appropriate leveled text.

Guided Reading IS NOT round robin reading!

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What are the benefits of guided reading instruction?

Students develop into independent readers while being supported.

Students have more opportunities to independently use learned strategies (decoding and comprehension strategies), with support.

• Instruction can occur at 1-2 levels above independent level- extending vocabulary

• Teacher can observe the four components of reading-

Decoding, fluency, comprehension and vocabularyRUNNING RECORDS

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How are guided reading books selected?Always by the teacher!

High interest

Text type

Level of difficulty- vocabulary, sentence

structure, text format and features

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How are guided reading lessons structured?

Before Reading: A rich introduction must be provided through:

• Looking at the title and front cover

• Activating prior knowledge

• Asking questions (children)

• Making Connections

• Making predictions

• Revising taught reading strategies for reading

• Scaffolding any difficult vocabulary/sentence or text features

• Goals for the reading developed

Think of the discussion from this text!

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Initial Reading: Children read!

• Students read individually (not round robin)- for a set amount of text.

• You ask each child to read a small portion of the text aloud just to you (after some time to read silently) to ascertain the appropriateness of the text.

• Confer with individual students.• Note any strategic needs for discussion.

Follow- up to Initial Reading:• Mini-lesson on decoding strategies (2-3 mins) that need

attention eg. Reading on, chunking big words.

• Discuss meaning of text so far, making reference to small group comprehension focus eg. inferring

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Completing the Reading-Independently

• Students spread out to finish reading the text• Whilst students are doing this, do a running

record on a child as they read aloud to you- approximately 100 words.

• Spend the rest of the time conferring with the individual students as they need help.

• Students may not get to read the entire text if it is long.

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After Reading:

• Lead or monitor a discussion about the meaning of the

text and the author’s craft (comprehension).

• Help students to reflect on themselves as

text problem-solvers (decoding)

• Discuss unknown words and meanings in context

(vocabulary)

• Reread special sections chorally (fluency).

• Provide support for related text choices in independent

reading

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Independent Daily ReadingThose students not involved in a guided reading group or a small book club discussion group are busy reading independently. This could be in “book nooks” around the room. These students choose a text of their own and may be given a task to complete during this time related to reading strategies taught, or directly linked to the mini-lesson. It is important that the task does not detract from the opportunity for the independent reading of “continuous text” at a “just right “ level.

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How Do Students Choose A “Just Right” Text?

Children require explicit teaching about how to choose appropriate texts for their independent reading. This requires students to choose a texts based upon • interest• prior knowledge• purpose• level (five finger test)

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Reading Response Journals

The Response Journal provides :

• A place for students to reflect on and record their thinking using a range of taught strategies

• An ongoing record of the reader’s thinking and ability to independently apply taught strategies

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Literature Circles/ Book Clubs

You may also wish to have a small group involved in a book discussion based around a class novel or a particular text. This could be led by another adult such as a teacher aide or by the children themselves. Such discussions are planned and developed to lead the students to meaningful dialogue about quality texts.

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Students read the same book

Roles allocated:SummariserTravel Tracer

Vocabulary EnricherIllustrator

Discussion DirectorLiterary Luminary

Students can read the same or a different book

Reading tasks are sometimes assigned

Draw or write before, during or after reading

Structure:PREPARE- read, think, markDISCUSS- talk and listenSUMMARISE and EVALUATEEXTEND- Project

Book Clubs

Literature Circles

Purpose

Participation

Planning

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Both Book Clubs and Literature Circles have these common attributes:

PURPOSE:• To encourage wide reading• To generate deep discussion about the meaning of texts

and the author’s craft• To create reading communities within the classroom

PARTICIPATION• To encourage all students to take an active role in

reading• To empower all students to have a voice in discussions

on a regular basis (eg. weekly)• To allow for the gradual release of responsibility from the

teacher to the students with regard to discussions and text choice

• For students to self evaluate and set goals for the group

PLANNING• Careful planning in order to provide all students with

access to texts (reading independently/reading with/ reading to at school or at home)

• Explicit teaching of the process and roles/ protocols• Grouping- small, temporary, heterogeneous

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What about Prep and Year 1?Whole Group-Small group

• Teacher reads aloud

• Children meet in groups of 4 to talk about text for 10-15 mins

• Teacher moves from group to group

• Children draw or write about their thinking

Small Group Choice

• Children choose a wordless picture book

• Children talk for 10-15 mins

Text Set Small Groups

• Children with same stories, authors or illustrators talk about their particular book in a small group

• Children ask questions and share their thinking

Pair Share

• Pairs select the same book

• Children talk together for 10-15 mins about their thinking

• Pairs then share something with the rest of the class or another pair

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Sharing TimeThis is the time to share the learning that has occurred during the workshop. Sharing ideas include sharing:• Independent reading tasks eg. A graphic organiser of

information developed in response to a non-fiction text from one of the independent readers

• Learning that occurred as the teacher conferred with an independent reader eg. Sam, could you tell everyone about that inference you made- it was amazing!

• An observation during Guided Reading eg. John, could you share what we found worked really well in our decoding work today?

• Some of the important points made during a book club meeting eg. Can you tell us one important thing that you found out about the text today?

• Free sharing- has anyone got something they learned or did today that they would like to share?

• Book recommendations eg. Does anyone want to recommend a text for the class?

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Launching a Reading WorkshopThe success and effectiveness of the reading workshop is dependent upon:• The explicit teaching of

necessary skills• The establishment of clear

expectations• The development of routines • The organisation of the classroom

and resources within the workshop space

• Clear and Purposeful planning • Commitment to the benefits of

such practice

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“Setting Up the Reading Workshop” Mini-Lessons• What does independent reading look

and sound like? (RULES)• What do I do during independent

reading? (RESPONSIBILITIES)• How do I choose a just right book?

(SKILLS)• Where do I get the resources I need to

complete my task? (ORGANISATION)• Where do I go after that? How long do I have? Where do I put my work? (ROUTINES) DO NOT RUSH THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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http://www.wrsd.net/literacy/launch.cfm

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Video CLIP

AN ESSENTIAL WEBSITE

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