User:Rene.gover/Reading Workshop model

Reading Workshop model is a model used in education by teachers to engage all children in reading in a classroom. All students are involved in reading books they have picked on levels they can read. In the workshop model, not all students are doing the same activity. These different activities in reading all share the same goal for each individual student. The goal of the teacher is to help students to grow as readers. The workshop model consists of a mini-lesson, independent reading, and teaching share/closing. The Reading Workshop model is similar to the Teachers College, Columbia University's Reading and Writing Project.

Mini-Lesson
The mini-lesson is whole-class teaching. It begins the Reading Workshop. The mini-lesson consists of a reading lesson for the whole class to learn before reading independently. The teacher explains a strategy or skill that will be incorporated into every students' reading time that day. The mini-lesson consists of four main parts, the connection, the "teach" part, active involvement, and the link. The mini-lesson should last about 10-15 minutes.

Connection
The connection begins the mini-lesson. The teacher can pick a variety of ways to make a connection to the students before reading. One way is to make a connection to the previous day's work. Another way is to use an anecdote or story to connect to the students' lives. In the connection, the teacher has to make an explicit point about what the students will be learning and will need to know.

The "Teach" Part
In the teach part, the teacher shows in action the strategy or skill that students will be using in their own independent reading. The teacher models the strategy or skill by demonstrating it out loud while reading. The teacher also demonstrates difficulties that students might face as they read. After modeling the strategy or skill, the teacher will review with students.

Active Involvement
In active involvement, students will try out the strategy or skill that the teacher just modeled. The teacher will monitor the classroom as students work on the strategy or skill out loud. Students are allowed to use partners for help.

Link
The link is the ending activity of the mini-lesson. The teacher will restate the teaching of the strategy or skill and its purpose for students. The teacher will encourage students to use the strategy or skill in their own independent reading time. The strategy or skill will be put on a chart for students to see while reading independently.

Independent Reading
In independent reading, students will read independently on their own for about 30-40 minutes. They will first record their data in a reading log. The reading log will record the date, page number, and time. This will give them and the teacher a way to assess how many pages they have read and how long it took them to read those pages. They can use the reading log to compare their progress throughout the school year. They will use the independent reading time to constructively use the reading strategy or skill the teacher taught in the mini-lesson. The teacher can use this time to do several different activities such as, confer with students, do strategy lessons with small groups of students, and conduct a mid-workshop teaching point with the whole class. The teacher will research what the students can do as readers and manage the classroom throughout this time.

Teaching Share/Closing
The teaching share/closing activity usually lasts about 2-5 minutes. This is the time the teacher uses to wrap up the lesson by getting students to talk about books, themselves as readers and to share their books with other students. It's a time for students to reflect on their growth and ability as a reader. The teacher can use this time to review the reading strategy or skill and to reflect on what was going on in the classroom.