What happens each day during Reader’s Workshop?

Each unit of study has a structure and each day has a specific routine. The class period begins with a short (approximately ten minute) lesson called a mini-lesson.  During this time, the teacher connects learning from the previous day, introduces a new skill or strategy to be learned during the lesson, and provides students with models of the skill or strategy.   The teacher then provides a few minutes for the students to practice the strategy together as a class or with a partner, and sends the students back to their seats to practice this work in reading or writing.  Whether students are in kindergarten or grade five, the structure of the workshop stays the same.

How are reading units organized?

Students begin the year in September, reading books that are at an independent level.  Students read books that are easy to decode, comprehend, and can be read fluently.  The goal of September is to develop structures and build stamina within reading.  Teachers are also focusing on providing students with books that they can read with solid comprehension and can read with excellent fluency.  The units that follow focus on strengthening the reading muscles with print strategies, character studies, ways to accumulate ideas within and across text, and talking about ideas and issues with partners and within book clubs.  The goal is to have students develop the skills to read more challenging texts and to develop students who read for many purposes.