I Can Read With Agency by Knowing How Stories Go Reading Workshop Lesson

This week's blog post answers a question asked by i of the Oz Lit Teachers in our community. It focuses on all things Reading Workshop.

What is a Reading Workshop?

The concept of a Reading Workshop was introduced by Nancie Atwell back in the 1980's and has been discussed and used in both primary and secondary settings since then (see Atwell, 1987; Calkins, 2010; Tovani, 2011).

Essentially, Reading Workshop is a lesson construction that enables the total enactment of the Gradual Release of Responsibleness across a reading lesson.

Interestingly, the Gradual Release of Responsibleness (or 'Gradual Credence of Responsibility' as some people refer to it) was actually originally developed for reading instruction. Fisher and Frey (2014) state that it brought together several theories, including those of Piaget (cognitive structures), Vygotsky (zone of proximal evolution), Bandura (attention, retentivity, reproduction and motivation) and Wood, Bruner and Ross (scaffolded instruction). Wow! Now there are some names from back in my uni days!

Fisher and Frey's take on the Gradual Release of Responsibility adds in the layer of 'collaborative learning' to the original framework created by Pearson and Gallagher in 1983. They added this layer to reverberate the research that states that students learn through collaboration with their peers. This is an important addition to the modern-mean solar day Reading Workshop. Their framework looks like this:

Fisher and Frey'southward (2014) adaption of the Gradual Release of Responsibility

Why use the Reading Workshop structure?

Here are just 4 reasons teachers and students should engage in the Reading Workshop structure (there are more, but I need to stop this post becoming a book chapter!).

1. It provides a construction that enacts the Gradual Release of Responsibility (a research backed approach that moves students towards successful independence in reading).
2. It provides a consequent structure for both teachers and students to follow in every reading and writing classroom (spoiler alarm: the Writing Workshop follows the exact same structure).
3. It enables students to engage in inquiry backed practices (such as engaging in large chunks of time for Independent Reading, engaging in substantive conversations around texts and reflecting on lesson goals and success criteria).
4. It enables teachers to appoint in research backed teaching practices (such as modelled, shared, and guided reading, reciprocal teaching and conferring).

How does Reading Workshop work?

Reading Workshop has been refined over the years and several elements accept been critical to highly constructive implementation of this construction in that time. Some of these critical elements include:

• Time- is divided upwardly on the belief that 'the person doing the work is doing the learning,' therefore, large chunks of time are ready aside for independent reading and collaborative exercise. The teacher provides explicit instruction and so gets off the phase chop-chop. Transitions are tight, allowing for maximum time on job.
• Teaching- Teachers engage in explicit teaching focused on a specific and targeted goal that is determined by the needs of the students sitting in front end of them. Information technology is highly responsive and based heavily on formative assessment.
• Tasks- Students engage in accurate and purposeful learning experiences with a goal of supporting them to develop independence as readers. The learning experiences inside a lesson are tied to the goal of the lesson.
• Talk- Students appoint in regular substantive talk about texts.
• Texts- Educatee choice is promoted through text selection, with the classroom library playing a key role in access to a range of texts throughout the workshop.

In terms of the actual structure, Reading Workshop generally consists of the post-obit parts (this is based on Chris Tovani'due south (2011) model:

Intro

The offset of the lesson is where the teacher introduces the Learning Intention and the Success Criteria. They also link this lesson to the prior learning and state WHY they decided to teach this specific lesson. 'Eg. I have been noticing in your reading that many of you lot…' Teacher clarity is really of import here, as it helps the teacher actually focus on what they desire students to understand and be able to exercise as a result of the learning in the workshop. This intentional and specific focus forms the Learning Intention and the Success Criteria and the residue of the workshop should exist focused on building student capacity to achieve these goals. (And, if you lot're a Hattie buff you'll know that teacher clarity has a very high outcome size of 0.75 (Fisher, Frey & Hattie, 2017) so it's really important that teachers become this part right in their planning.

Teachers need to remember similar a GPS:

"If we don't know where we are going, we'll never become there…Merely as when nosotros are using a real GPS, a clear understanding of where we're headed lays the foundation for our route. The more exact the address nosotros enter, the more likely nosotros are to arrive at our destination."

(Thompson, 2015)

Minilesson

As the name suggests, the teacher provides an explicit lesson here that is MINI in time. (Merely MAXI on targeted focus). Ultimately, teachers should exist off the stage in x-15 minutes (of form this is but a goal and some lessons, such as when teachers are reading a mentor text for the start fourth dimension, make take a bit longer.) The minilesson provides an opportunity for the teacher to engage in the 'I do information technology' phase of the Gradual Release of Responsibility, where they could exist modelling or demonstrating using a mentor text, or the 'We do it' phase where they could be engaged in shared reading– either style, it should e'er be straight linked to the Learning Intention and Success Criteria.

"The focused instruction phase of learning provides students with information about the ways in which a skilled reader, author or thinker processes the data under discussion. Typically this is done through straight explanations, modelling, or think-alouds in which the teacher demonstrates the kind of thinking requires to solve a problem, understand a set of directions, or interact with a text."

(Fisher & Frey, 2014)

Student work time #1 ('yous do information technology Lone')

This work time is dedicated to purposeful learning experiences (PLE) that are directly related to students working towards coming together the Learning Intention and Success Criteria. Independent Reading is often the preferred PLE in this part of the workshop as information technology provides students with an opportunity to trial the strategy/focus that was demonstrated in the minilesson with their self-selected Independent Reading text. During this time the teacher could be conferring or engaging in small group instruction such equally Guided Reading, Reciprocal Teaching or Literature Circles.

"Dozens of studies confirm the relationship between the volume of independent reading that students practice and reading accomplishment."

(Moss and Young, 2010)

Catch

Firstly, information technology is important to know that this role of the Reading Workshop is OPTIONAL. Information technology is really a chance for the instructor to respond to the needs of the learners in their room. It is where good formative assessment comes into play. If the students are rolling around on the floor, for example, the teacher might choose to implement this part of the Reading Workshop model to give an enabling or extending prompt. Alternatively, they might use it to take some other become at delivering clearer instructions or depict everyone'due south attention to a specific students' work or thinking etc. The Grab is a brusque abrupt refocus or adjacent steps focus and shouldn't be used as a risk for another minilesson (unless information technology'south a Foundation class, where it could be a 2d minilesson to direct the students for the 2nd work fourth dimension).

Student work time #2 (You do information technology lonely/ You do it together)

This may exist a elementary continuation of the independent reading that occurred in the first student piece of work time (especially in the senior primary and secondary classrooms where students should be building strong reading stamina). Alternatively, it could be an opportunity for students to move into the 'You do information technology together' phase of the Gradual Release of Responsibleness, where they engage in partner reading or book discussions or the like, or they could even work on reader'south notebook responses in this fourth dimension (naturally, students would take first been through a Gradual Release of Responsibility to learn how to create strong and effective reading responses). Similarly to student work fourth dimension #1, the instructor could be conferring, or engaging in small group education. This is prime fourth dimension for teachers to have their determinative cess radars on to see how the students are engaging in the lesson focus and informing the content of the next lesson.

"If kids are to become thoughtful, versatile, independent readers and thinkers who can read between the lines, they need a classroom community that values and expects kids to collaborate, think, and question all day, every day."

(Harvey & Goudvis, 2017)

Reflection

This part of the Reading Workshop should focus on returning to the Learning Intentions and Success Criteria and building students' capacity to self-evaluate using the criteria (this is a critical part of developing agency in our learners). Teachers could ask students to share how they used the strategy that was modelled in the minilesson or turn and talk to a partner about how they improved their reading today or what they learned nigh themselves as a reader today etc. Some teachers apply sentence starter sticks or evaluation stems here to go students to cocky-reverberate and think about their thinking during the workshop. This is all about edifice metacognitive readers and learners and is a very of import role of the lesson that should not exist missed (but frequently is).

"If students know what they are learning and why, and become regular and constructive feedback nigh their learning, they are more likely to experience empowered and positive most their progress and skills as a reader."

(Cameron and Dempsey, 2019)

A few important notes nearly the Reading Workshop

• Pupil work fourth dimension: The main point to note during both student work times is that the work the students are engaging in needs to be purposeful and focused on enhancing their literacy development (rather than purposeless and focused on enhancing behaviour direction). This isn't the time or place for teachers to come up with purposeless reading rotation activities or busy work in lodge to proceed the rest of the form quiet while they run a Guided Reading group etc. This time is disquisitional for all students' development in reading, not but those students who happen to be conferring or part of small group instruction. Before assigning whatever job during this time, teachers should ask themselves 'what purpose does this serve?' and 'is this aligned to the Learning Intention and Success Criteria for this lesson?' For more information and guidance in developing purposeful learning experiences I recommend the volume "What are the Rest of my Kids Doing?" Fostering Independence in the Thousand-two Reading Workshop by Lindsey Moses.

• Small group educational activity during student piece of work fourth dimension: In their bid to have 100% consistency across classes, some schools mandate that teachers must engage in a specific number of Guided Reading groups during the Reading Workshop. This approach is not recommended because it is not responsive to the needs of the students in the class. Guided Reading is a teaching exercise that serves a specific purpose- it is not a i size fits all class of instruction. Some students would be better served through date in a strategy grouping or reciprocal instruction or even a literature circumvolve. The decision around which teaching practice to engage in during the student work times should be decided by the teacher and based on their cess of the needs of the students in their class. (Note: This approach does crave deep content noesis of each of the available teaching practices. Teachers need to know what the different practices are and when they should be used. (For more than on this, meet related blog post: Why Guided Reading shouldn't exist mandated in schools).

• The construction: Don't be a slave to the structure! If teachers can clearly see that their students need more than time in the minilesson or they demand to pull up early on the student piece of work fourth dimension, they shouldn't don't be afraid to modify the lesson to be responsive to the needs of their students. Teachers tin brand the first student piece of work time "You practice information technology together" and the 2d student work time "You do it alone." This is a framework that needs instructor professional judgement and determinative assessment added to it to brand it most successful!

Transitioning towards a Reading Workshop model

If yous currently teach in a classroom where reading rotations are the norm or you lot have a dissimilar structure all together, I propose the best mode to transition into the Reading Workshop construction is to focus on implementing Learning Intentions with an explicit minilesson before your rotations, then move towards adding in Independent Reading (either as a whole class activeness or every bit one of your reading rotations). Y'all can besides experiment with trialling more purposeful reading experiences that are linked to the Learning intention in this fourth dimension. Don't be too hard on yourself: have a small bite of the elephant- don't try and eat the whole affair in 1 go! Once you come across the improvements in both engagement and bookish outcomes you will undoubtedly be motivated to keep going.

If you desire to continue learning about the Reader'due south Workshop, I recommend these books:

• Meliorate Learning Through Structured Instruction by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey (this is all nearly the Gradual Release of Responsibleness)
• "What are the Rest of my Kids Doing?" Fostering Independence in the K-two Reading Workshop by Lindsey Moses. (The Reading Workshop in the junior grades)
• Guiding Readers and Writers past Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (Reading and Writing Workshop in the primary years)
• Then What Practise They Really Know? by Chris Tovani (The Reading Workshop in Secondary School)

Do you lot use a Reading Workshop in your class? How does it work? What Purposeful Learning Experiences practice your students appoint in? Which parts are the most challenging for y'all? Which parts accept you lot had the most success with? What would you like to larn more than about? Join in the chat over on the Oz Lit Instructor Facebook group or get out your comments beneath.

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Related weblog posts:

• Why Guided Reading shouldn't be mandated in schools
• one confession and ii learnings virtually Guided Reading
• 4 practices to avoid in Guided Reading
• 5 common mistakes teachers make in independent reading

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References

• Atwell, N. (1987). In the Middle: Writing, Reading and Learning with Adolescents, second edition. Portsmouth: Heinemann.Calkins, L. (2010). A Guide to the Reading Workshop. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
• Cameron, Due south. and Dempsey, L. (2019). The Reading Volume: A Complete Guide to Teaching Reading. Auckland: South&L Publishing.
• Fisher, D., Frey, Due north. and Hattie, J. (2017). Educational activity Literacy in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades One thousand-5. M Oaks: Corwin.
• Fisher, D. and Frey, N. (2014). Better Learning Through Structured Teaching: A Framework for the Gradual Release of Responsibility, 2nd Edition. 2d ed. Alexandria: ASCD.
• Harvey, S. and Goudvis, A. (2017).Strategies That Piece of work. 3rd ed. Portland: Stenhouse.
• Moss, B. and Immature, T. (2010). Creating Lifelong Readers Through Independent Reading. Newark: International Reading Association.
• Thompson, T. (2015). The Construction Zone: Building Scaffolds for Readers and Writers. Portland: Stenhouse.
• Tovani, C. (2011). So What Exercise They Really Know?. Portland: Stenhouse.

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