Reading workshop look fors
- 1. Reading Workshop Look-fors Mini-Lesson (10-15 min.) A mini-lesson is a short piece of direct instruction focused on a s ingle topic. Mini-lessons fall into three categories: Procedures: Anything readers need to do to participate effectively in the workshop: How to get materials; How to store and organize reading; How to select texts; How to confer; How to conduct sharing, etc. Strategies: Thes e lessons are best organized around the reading process. Thi s is the “how” of reading, as i n “How do I increase my fl ue ncy?” “How does phonemic aware ness work?” “How do I determine importance in text?” or “What do I do when I come to a word I don’t know?” Qualities of Good Reading: Thes e lessons are designed to introduce s tudents to examples of good reading. They involve reviewing and analyzing models of good reading. Lessons may include genre and readers craft. Mini-lessons work best when: 1) They are what students need at their level; 2) They are taught in the context of authentic reading; 3) The teacher models for students as the lesson is delivered. YOU DON’T NEED TO GIVE A NEW MINI-LESSON EVERY DAY! GO DEEP! Observation Notes: Observation Checklist Mini-Lesson Time: ______________ Connection ___ Teacher connected today's work with ongoing work. ___ Teacher explicitly stated teaching point that was a need of the class. Teach ___ Teacher told a personal or class story connected to the teaching point. ___ Teacher demonstrated by thinking aloud and explicitly modeling. ___ Teacher pointed out things students should have noticed. ___ Lesson is appropriate length. ___ Lesson uses mentor texts and examples. Active Involvement ___ Students were asked to be actively involved by turning and talking. ___ All students are accountable for the learning. ___ Teacher listened / observed / coached their active involvement. ___ Teacher shared an example of what was heard / observed and created anchor charts for learning when necessary. Link ___ Teacher restated the teaching point. ___ Teacher told students how what was taught can be used in the future. ___ Teacher provided students with explicit directions to practice. Reading Time (15-80 min. – Usually done in rounds) READING TIME IS THE HEART OF THE WORKSHOP! Reading time i s the centerpiece of the workshop and the longest workshop section. During reading time, s tudents read or work at s tations. The teacher can: Model: Work on your own reading briefly. You can read at your desk or at the board or overhead. Allowing students to see what and how you read as you read is very good for them. You will often discover your most valuable mini-lessons when you read in front of your s tudents. Conference: Work with individual s tudents on their reading. This can be one of your most valuable teaching times. Small Group Mini-Lesson: Whi l e the majority of the class is reading or working at stations, you can take a small group of s tudents and deliver a mini-lesson for a skill need. Reading Time (15-80 min.) Time: ____________ ___ There is a smooth transition from the focus lesson to the reading time. ___ Students clearly understand routines and procedures. ___ Students are actively engaged and on task. ___ All students are accountable. ___ Teacher expects students to apply what they learn in the focus lesson to their own reading. ___ Teacher provides students with choice (choice of text at appropriate level, application, sharing, etc.) ___ Students read daily at appropriate level . ___ Students are conferring with each other. ___ Reading area of classroom is easily identifiable. ___ Students have individual book bags with appropriately leveled text. ___ Students have reading logs/journals. ___ Students read appropriate amounts of fiction/nonfiction. Teacher: _______________________________________ Date:_____________ J. Evans St. Clair County RESA
- 2. Guided Reading: Whi le the majority of the class is reading or working at stations, you work with a guided reading group. Reading time works best when: 1) Students have internalized effective classroom procedures; 2) Students read frequently, and for long periods of time, daily and at their level; 3) You explicitly model for your students.. Guided Reading: Before: ___ Students do not interrupt guided reading or conferences. ___ Familiar reading/writing ___ Word study – based on needs of students: ___ Teacher teaches ONLY ONE skill or s trategy. ___ Teacher reads/models the things expected of students. ___ Running records - teacher listens to students read and determines need (perhaps using running records and retrospective miscue analysis ). ___ Students are appropriately grouped. Guided Reading / Conferring (During Reading Time) During reading time you have a chance to work individually with s tudents and in small groups. The keys to successful conferencing and small group instruction include good management and cons istent execution. Guided Reading/Conferencing works best when: 1) Students know how to do i t; 2)You s tay focused on one thing(strategy) at a time; 3) You keep conferences to less than five minutes and guided reading lessons to 20 minutes; 4) You che ck back with s tudents to s ee if they’re following up on what you conference about. 5) You keep appropriate records to guide instruction. GUIDED READING / CONFERENCING IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TEACHING TIME! During: After: Types of questions asked: Guided Reading (During Reading Time) ___ There is no round-robin reading. ___ Teacher uses open ended questions. ___ Teacher affirms the good work the s tudent is doing. ___ Te a cher “teaches the reader, not the reading.” ___ Students are reading and using strategies independently. ___ Teacher listens as students read and determines need/teaching point to move s tudents and reinforce metacognition. ___ Teacher keeps records. ___ Teacher uses recorded observational data to guide instruction. ___ Teacher helps students set goals for what they are working on as a reader. ___ The whole class does not listen to the story on tape. ___ Teacher sees 2-4 groups or 3 – 5 s tudents during a workshop. Sharing (5-10 min) Sharing gives readers a chance to address a real audience and get va l uable feedback a bout what a nd how they’re doing. There are several ways to do sharing, each has its advantages and di sadvantages: Whole Class: Gives authors their best chance for feedback, but i t takes a lot of time. Best tool you have for building classroom community. Small Group: Time efficient, but hard to manage. Very noisy. Kids easily get off track. Monitor each group by participating as a member. Partner: Mos t time efficient but, with only one person in the audience to provide the feedback. Sharing works best when: 1) It i s voluntary; 2) The author asks the audience to listen for or help with something specific; 3) Kids with long pieces read only a short section; 4) You take an active part as a reader and an audience member; 5) Students make constructive comments using the language of the classroom cri teria 7) Students ask questions instead of making comments. Sharing (5-10 min) Time:_______ ___ Sharing time is a part of every workshop. ___ A safe sharing environment has been established. ___ Students have a desire to share. ___ Appropriate feedback is given. ___ Audience is respectful of the speaker. ___ A variety of sharing experiences are demonstrated. Teacher: _______________________________________ Date:_____________ J. Evans St. Clair County RESA
- 3. Teacher: _______________________________________ Date:_____________ J. Evans St. Clair County RESA