Notes 5: Reading & Writing Workshops |
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Nancy Atwell first described the workshop approach in her classic book, In the Middle. Reading & writing workshops are instructional approaches in which students engage in the same practices that readers and writers use outside of school. Students make choices about what they want to read; they use strategies to understand new words and comprehend that they would in "real" reading; they talk to others about what they are reading and writing; and they identify their own ways of enjoying reading and sharing their writing.
Writing workshops usually begin with a mini-lesson. Students then use the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing/sharing.
Writing Workshop Basic Structure:
- Mini-lesson--The teacher models a skill or strategy using their own writing or examples of writing from children's literature.
- Writing Workshop--Students write using the writing process and progress through a written piece. Students in a class will be at various points in the process and move through at their own pace. Teacher conferencing & mini-lessons can occur during the workshop with small groups or individuals.
- Sharing--Students share their completed work using an author's chair. Sharing of writing is always voluntary and can occur among partners or with the whole class.
Reading workshops also include mini-lessons and reading response activities that can include speaking, listening, and writing.
Mini-lessons are teacher demonstrations, modeling, or think alouds that are usually 10-minutes in length. Reading or writing skills & strategies are focused on as are students' needs that emerge as they read or write. After the mini-lesson, students apply the strategy or skill taught through guided practice and then use the skill or strategy in the workshop.
Mini-lessons can occur at any time, but are typically held in the beginning of the workshop when delivered as whole-class instruction. Mini-lessons can also be small group or individual in nature to address specific needs with students or to enrich the instruction for gifted or talented students. These kinds of mini-lessons can occur at any time during the workshop or during individual or small-group conferences.
Status of the class is a component of workshops in which teachers track students' work during workshops by recording the students' plans for the workshop that day. Students can keep a record of their daily work (or status) using a teacher-made form or a log. Status of the class can begin a workshop to set goals for the day or week or at the end of a workshop to track how students are progressing. It can also be addressed as a component of a reading or writing conference.
Conferencing occurs on a regular basis between the teacher and each student. Teachers usually track their conferences with students using a form to record the date and topics of the conference as well as what the student is reading or writing. It can be small group or individual and gives the teacher the opportunity to touch base with each student and to work with them one-on-one.
Grand conversations are a version of the reading workshop in which the typical teacher question/student response after reading is replaced with conversations about a book that the teacher has read aloud or which students are reading. Grand conversations last from 20-30 minutes and can be done in small groups or with the entire class. Students sit in a circle and talk about the book read. While the teacher acts as a facilitator, preparation is essential. Students need to have their conversation topics prepared in order to share and their questions about their reading ready to ask the group. Using post-its while reading to make comments, jot down questions, and respond to open-ended teacher questions works effectively.
Book Clubs are another version of the reading workshop in which small groups of students read the same book or different books on a related topic or with common literary elements (character, plot, theme, point of view, and/or setting). There must be a connection between the books within the book club if using different books so the discussion and subsequent activities join the members of the group (or club).
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