Reader’s Workshop is a method of teaching reading, but it is not based on research and is unlikely to lead to literacy success.
NEWSFLASH: According to episode 6 of the podcast Sold a Story, Lucy Calkins recommends that all beginning readers have access to “decodable” books – books containing words with spelling patterns they’ve been taught. She moves away from her support for the cueing strategies (look at the beginning letter sound, look at the picture, think about what would sound right/look right/make sense, skip it/read on/go back). She says looking at a picture to figure out a word is “inefficient” and might not allow written words into a child’s long-term memory (Sold a Story transcript, Episode 6, page 5).
Reader’s Workshop, developed by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (2001), is an extended period each day during which students participate in authentic reading experiences. These experiences target the skills and strategies students need to develop as readers. Teachers differentiate instruction to meet the needs of each individual. Reader’s Workshop encourages students to see themselves as readers and builds a community that values good literature and thinking.
Reader’s Workshop is part of a balanced literacy approach to teaching reading. A balanced approach to reading emphasizes Reader’s Workshop, Writer’s Workshop, and word study. These three domains allow teachers to differentiate and assess students within their zone of proximal development.
The Workshop is divided into a mini-lesson (10–15 minutes), workshop time (30–40 minutes), and share time (five-10 minutes).
The mini-lesson is for skill or strategy introduction.
Reader’s Workshop fosters a love of reading. Students spend a significant amount of time reading independently at the just right level as they choose books that interest them. The workshop time is for students to engage in independent reading in a just-right book to practice the new skill, strategy, or guided reading sessions. To keep students accountable and monitor their progress, students record their thinking on sticky notes or a graphic organizer, which they will later place in their reading response journal.
Guided reading is a differentiated time when the teacher selects a book just above the group’s independent reading level to work on the skills needed to advance to the next reading level. These skills are based on running records or other developmental reading assessments.
Share time is when students explain how they applied the mini-lesson strategy to their reading or any other thinking they have done while reading. It allows the teacher to assess how students used the mini-lesson strategy.
and First 20 Days in 5th Grade
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