Book Introduction

One of the goals in my building is to find opportunities to create anchor charts with the kids. 

Last week, I taught a lesson in a first-grade classroom on how to give your reading partner a great book introduction. The students did a great job during the focus lesson but the teacher felt like many students did not try this new strategy out during partner reading time. 

We decided that creating an anchor chart would give the student's a visual reminder of how to give a book introduction.  We plan to give copies of the anchor chart to partnerships. 

Small Group Reading Instruction

There are so many parts to the school day, and teachers are constantly asked to add more things to their day. There is not enough time in the school day. I find that sometimes teachers have to make changes to their work blocks and one of the things that can get cut, is the small group reading instruction. Hopefully, this blog post will give you a reason to think about WHY small group instruction is so important.

It’s essential that kids are given small group reading instruction for them to become better readers. I have seen it time and time again. When a child is often struggling with reading, and we try to figure out what is going on, it sometimes comes out that the teacher may not feel comfortable with teaching small reading groups. 

The good news is that if you do feel uncomfortable with small group instruction, I hope to write some blog post that will put you on a path to feeling confident and comfortable with small group work.

Small group instruction is a time when a teacher can assist students in areas in which we can offer challenges and the opportunity to problem solve. It is a time in which the teacher can see more deeply into a reader's mind.

I think as teachers can sometimes over think small group instruction and believe that it is more complicated than it actually is or has to be. 

Why Do Small Group?

 So here are my reasons on why you should start to think about doing small group instruction if it is new to you:

1.    More kids get instruction when you do small group work.

2.    A small group is an efficient way to differentiate instructions; we can tailor instruction to meet the needs of the kids

3.    Small groups are flexible and can change based on students needs.

4.    Relationships develop among classmates when they read together.

5.    Students have the opportunity to learn from another classmate.

6.    Small group instruction builds classroom community.

7.    Kids find out more because the get more explicit instruction and more time to practice.

8.    Seeing kids more in a small group gives you information about where they are as readers.

9. Allows more time for kids to practice and have a more focused goal (one teaching point).

10. When discussing the text, all voices are heard.

The bottom line is that when we get in the habit of meeting small groups, we get to know our readers better. 

In my building, teachers are aiming to meet with three groups a day. Some kindergarten classrooms have TA’s who can meet with a group too. Every child does not need to meet with the classroom teacher in a day. The neediest readers would meet with the teacher four/five times a week and some groups two times a week, some once a week. If a child is reading well beyond grade level, they may be reading with the teacher in a one-to-one conference. 

I was recently having a PD workshop on small group instruction and my department head said, “The best thing about the small group is that if you do it wrong, or it doesn’t go right, there is always tomorrow!”

Just like our students, the only way we can get better at small group instruction is if we do it. 

What do you find successful or challenging with small group instruction?

Joyfully yours in getting to know our readers in small groups, 

Melissa 

   

The Power Of the Post-It

I love having students use Post-its. I think it is the easiest way to capture students thinking. I love that they are small. My art teacher always says small hands do better with small things.

What is the Message of this Story?

It can be difficult for a kindergarten or first-grader to record their thinking on a small Post-it. Sometimes I buy the post-its that are a tad bit bigger. I was recently having a conversation with an amazing first-grade teacher who was adamantly against using post-its. They didn’t work for her. She thought they were just two small for her kids. I don’t disagree with her thoughts, as classroom teachers, we need to make a decision based on the needs of our students. Maybe next year, a different group of kids will find it easier.

Our Favorite Part is...

I used to have my student responds to books on big sheets of paper. I am not against the idea of recording on a response sheet or in a notebook that could have lines or blank white paper. I like to start with bigger sheets at the beginning of the year and transition kids into post-its in the middle of the year.

What do you think will Happen to Henry?

 I found that sometimes the bigger response sheets became an art activity rather than a thinking activity about the book. Don't get me wrong I think connecting art to books is important, but there are different times for that. 

 Thinking About Our Reading

What I like about using post-its is that when I had made students stop and jot or stop and sketch,  it was quicker for them to do, and it gave me more time to see and hear their thinking.

Joyfully yours in using little Post-its to show your thinking,

Melissa 

Interactive Read Aloud

Once in a while when you read an amazing book to your class, the students begin to clap at the end. They are often right that there was something magical in the book that deserves an applause. Our classroom communities grow stronger from experiences like this. Read aloud time should be a sacred time in every class. We can’t underestimate the power of a good book. I can’t think of a better way to motivate a student to read.

Not only is read aloud time enjoyable it is also an important teaching time. During interactive read aloud the teacher selects the books with a teaching purpose.

THINK ALOUD

While the teacher is reading aloud, she could be thinking out loud. The thinking she or he is doing is modeling to students the thinking we want them to be doing. As adults, we know the thinking involved in understanding books, but this is not always visible to young children.

TURN AND TALK

The teacher may also be stopping during parts of the story and having the students turn and talk with one another. We need to provide lots of opportunities to just let students talk. It is essential that the books we select have something rich to talk about. Before the lesson, the teacher should have assigned spots in which students can do their best listening. When reading a story, be careful of not stopping too many times. My principal recently did an interactive read aloud with the staff, and she only stopped twice. Some teachers might be surprised, that stopping a few times would have the same results.

Our goal is to dig deep in the conversation; we want to go beyond sharing just our favorite parts of the book. This may be hard for students, and that is why we are explicitly teaching them speaking and listening skills and holding them accountable for their thinking.

KIDS BODIES

During the reading of the book, the students are on the carpet facing the teacher. When talking about a book, you may want the students to get in a large circle. Once in the circle, another goal is to have students talk without having to raise their hands. Our goal is to support students and to encourage participation. During the week, we designated one day to get in a large circle and talk. 

From experience, in kindergarten getting students to have a conversation in the circle, is tricky to do. The process may feel slow, and you may need to modify the structure to meet the needs of your group, but if you are persistent and patient, it can be accomplished. 

CLASS EXAMPLE

I have recently been modeling interactive read aloud in a third-grade class. The teacher and I have planned lessons in which we return to the same book over the course of a week(three sessions).  

Before my lesson, I have placed Post-its on pages in which I plan to have students TURN and TALK. I often share a little bit about the book before reading and any vocabulary words students may need to know. 

When posing questions to students, I give partnerships, at least, a minute to turn and talk. After students shared their thinking with their partner, a few will share with the whole class. 

On a different day, the classroom teacher returned to this book and talked about the characters and their actions and on another day, the big idea/theme. During each discussion, it was important for students to refer to the evidence in the book. The teacher would record the student's thinking on chart paper. 

TIPS TO STRENGTHEN YOUR READ ALOUD

1. Select books with engaging plots and touching stories.
2. Pick books where things are happening with the characters.
3. Model Partner talk and have students practice “Turning and Talking.”
4. Model smart, conversational moves, you may have the student get in a fish bowl and act it out.
5. Provide an anchor chart to support thinking.
6. Use the book during reading and writing conferences.
7. Read the book many times, the more we read a story, the better we get to know it like a friend. Students can act out important parts.
8. A "Jot Aloud" is when the teacher models her thinking on a large Post-it.
9. Students could "Stop and Jot or Stop and Sketch" about a part of the story.
10. The teacher could share their thinking about a part of the text by rereading a
part of the text and acting it out.
11. An excellent resource to use for the interactive read aloud is the Continuum of Literacy Learning by Fountas and Pinnell. The Continuum has many sections that address questions we can ask students within the text, beyond the text and about the text.


Joyfully yours in reading and talking about books,

Ten Fun Ways to Read Books with a Partner

Partner time, as my principal says, is the dessert to reading workshop. When you think about it, here we have our little guys learning all about books.      

For some kindergarteners, this can be an entirely new experience for them. We teach them pretty quickly how to pick out books, how to hold books and how to read books in an appropriate way for that child.

Reading workshop is big stuff we are doing in school.

So when it is time for partner reading, it should feel like dessert! Yippee, I get to read with a friend!  Partner reading should feel play-like and full of joy!

Soon they learn, not only do they get to read to a friend but they get to teach their partner something too!  This should feel like a win-win time for everyone!

Although this time of day can be fun for students, reading with a partner has many benefits to a beginning reader. Rereading just right books facilitates decoding, fluency, meaning making, new word learning and deeper understanding of the text.

When I first started teaching partnerships, I was implementing the Daily Five curriculum. The daily five has a strong format structure on how to get kids to do partner reading. The students loved it, they could read with a friend, and it was a social event. I thought my partnerships were going great too.

Years later, when I went to a Teacher College summer institute, I realized that I could be doing my reading partnerships in a more powerful way. My kids were loving books and having a blast reading them, but I wasn’t always teaching them things to do with their little books. I realized from that workshop that partnerships can be a time when students are practicing specific strategies that they are working on at reading workshop time. Yes, kids go off and read, like before, but now I start with a quick mini-lesson that teaches them something.

Last year I went to an excellent presentation by Cheryl Tyler. She shared a menu of items that partners can do together during the workshop time. My students loved using this tool, it gave them a focus and increased reading engagement.

laminate a file folder and velcro icons on

10 Fun Ways to Read with a Partner 

Shared Reading

Get a popsicle stick if it’s my book I get to be the teacher and read it to my partner

Guided Reading

I get to be the teacher; I give a book introduction to my partner and they read the book to me

He Said She Said

Make a speech bubble you are reading a level C book and you put the speech bubble above

the character (what is the mom really thinking or saying)

On Stage

You pick a part of the book and act it out (drama highest level of comprehension)

Guess My Book

You have three or four books and you put them out in front of you, and you do a retell your partner has to guess the book

5 Finger Retell

Read the book together one partner touches the other partners fingers to retell it

Tricky Tricky Teacher

They cover up a word, and the partner tries to figure it out

See Saw 

I read a page, you read a page

American Idol

Let's sing the book

My Favorite Part 

Read your favorite part of the book to your partner, your partner shares their favorite part

click here for partner icons


Joyfully yours in reread favorite little books with a friend,

Melissa

Bumper Stickers for Books

This bulletin board was in a spot close to the reading rug. Students would refer to it often during talk time.  We realized pretty quickly that books could fall into more than one category. What I liked about this ritual is that it reinforced the idea that author's write stories for a purpose.  Joyfully yours in reading and talking about books in the new year,   Melissa

During read aloud time with accountable talk, we thought about the BIG message of the book. Why did the author write this story? What does it mean to you? What do you wonder about? Lester Laminack refers to this big message as a bumper sticker for the book. Below are some of the messages we learned from books. Never Give Up Be Brave Courage Persistent Friendship Be Who You Are Be Resilient Family is important You learn from mistakes

Guided Reading Groups

For today’s blog post, I hope to share with you tips on strengthening your small group reading instruction such as: guided reading, strategy groups, or shared reading. The goal is to tailor our instruction to meet the needs of our students.

When I first started teaching, I thought every child should be in a guided reading group from the start. I recently have changed my mind about this, from having conversations with colleagues, listening to experts, and reading books. I now think If we are starting guided reading groups, our hope is that the child moves levels within a few weeks of solid instruction. If a child is not going to make a lot of movement with strong instruction, then I would rather use other kinds of group instruction first such as shared reading.

I used to think I needed to meet every child in the class each week, and I have recently changed my mind on this after hearing a presentation from Natalie Louis. Since students benefit from repeated practice, she suggested sticking with the same kids for a few days. Don’t feel like you need to meet with every kid each week. For our bravest readers in the class (the kids who struggle), I would suggest meeting with them on most day.

Tips for The Guided Reading Format (Fountas and Pinnell)

Goal: The Guided Reading Group Should be ten minutes long (brief)

The students should do most of the talking and most of the work, not the teacher. The child should be holding the book and turning the pages. We want to scaffold our teaching rather than rescuing.  

Step 1 Select a book

It is important to find the child’s highest instructional level.   Over the years, I have had a few conversations with teachers who sometimes say things such as,  “I have this group reading in their Just Right Level because I don’t want to push them.”  When a child reads a book, and they get all the words correct, that means it is too easy, there is no teaching taking place.  

Step 2 Introduce the book

When giving a picture walk, the teacher needs to decide what kind of scaffolding does the group need. The question is, do we give them a heavy, medium or light scaffold?  A group of emergent readers will probably need a heavy picture walk. As students become comfortable in the reading group your scaffold should lessen with the students taking a sneak peak/picture walk on their own!

Step 3 Read the book

I like to stagger the books; that way they are not reading round robin style. Have students whisper read unless they are tapped to read aloud. It’s important that students know to reread the book when they finish. Coach with lean prompts to remind the students of the strategies to try. Have the students be in charge of touching and turning the pages.

Step 4 Respond to the book and have one teaching point

What were students working on during the lesson; make that your teaching point. Make your teaching point clear.

Step 5 Assess students

Take notes on how the child is doing in the group. Are they problem-solving independently? Kids can make epic jumps in their levels they don’t necessary go from a level C to a level D to an E. 

At the end of the reading have the students do a quick retell about the book. Make sure students know that readers always understand what they read. 

You could have students do a quick turn and talk to a partner about a favorite part. 
After the reading, send students off to read the book to a friend.

When do we know when kids are ready for conventional reading?

• Looking at the assessment data of the child, what does it tell you?
• Does the child enjoy books and appear engaged and excited to read?
• Does the child retell favorite picture books using the pictures and some story language?
• Look at the child’s writing, are they writing beginning and ending letters when they write?
• Can the child read their writing back to you?
• Remember a child does not have to know all of their letters to begin reading instruction.

Book Baggies
At reading workshop time students should have 10-12 books in their book baggies. These books could be at the child's independent level and books given to the child during reading group time. Students could also have class made books and familiar songs and poems. Here is a post on how students can shop for books.

Below are some templates I have been using for guided reading groups.  You may find them helpful to use. If you have tips and tools that work for you, I would love to hear from you!

template for level A/B

template for level C

template for level D

word template for making your own

Happy Reading!
Happy Vacation!

Shared Reading

The school year has begun, assessments are completed, and you have already set up your classroom structures and routines. Hopefully, you have had plenty of time to foster relationships with your students and build a classroom community.

Now you’re ready to think about the needs of your students. You may find you have many students with (many different) various academic needs. Some students may know a few letters, some the whole alphabet, and some may even be reading! You many think, “ How am I going to reach all of these kids, and where do I begin?

I would suggest we start with two things; shared reading and interactive writing.  For this post, I am going to share with you a five-day format to use during shared reading time.

What is shared reading?

When thinking of shared reading, you may think of “big books” that you share with your classroom and students can read. Shared reading is an interactive read aloud that supports students in their reading development. The teacher reads big books to model fluent, expressive reading and the use of effective reading strategies with a text that is slightly above their independent level.If you have a way to enlarge a book on a screen in your classroom that would work too. 

An easy way to think about shared reading is:

I do

We do

You do

Students gather on the carpet to read a big book together.  Each day of the week something different happens with that book that teaches students something important about the process of reading. Implementing shared reading on a regular basis is a great way to meet the diverse needs of students in your classroom. Students are successful during this time due to the high level of scaffolding the teacher provides.  When teachers revisit the text each day, the scaffold should lessen with students doing more of the work.

Below is a suggested five-day format to use. I think it is important for you to decide on the needs of your students and grade level.  I first learned about this format last spring when I attended a Teacher College Reunion workshop called Shared Reading, Shared Writing, and Interactive Writing Make a World of Difference: Maximize these Components of Balanced Literacy by Lindsay Barton.  The newly published units of study from TCRWP have a fantastic layout for kindergarten, first and second-grade classrooms.

Shared Reading- Weekly Structure

Begin with an anchor chart that connects to the teaching you will do that week. Here are some examples of some anchor chart:

Jen Serravallos book  Reading Strategies  is an excellent resource to have!  

Day 1- Word solving and comprehension

cover 4/5 words 

Day 2- Cross-checking

You want to model checking your reading when you’ve made an error and also when you have solved a word correctly.

Day 3- Word Study

Snap words (word wall words)

• Study phonics

• Grow new vocabulary

• Connect what we know about words

to our reading.

Day 4- Fluency

Reread texts with words automaticity and fluency. Reading not too fast and not too slow. Make the words flow in BIG scoops, not one word at a time. Use your smoothest voice to read together. I’ll listen and help only if you need it. Ready? Go!

Day 5- Interactive writing- write about the text, grand conversation, readers theater, write letters recommending the book, add speech bubbles to the book.

We think Super Mouse is thinking...

Click Here for Template

I think shared reading develops a sense of “togetherness” in a classroom community. The choral reading of the text is powerful. You can hear confident readers. From many conversations,  I have had with primary teachers they feel that this five-day format is revitalizing their shared reading time and giving them a stronger structure to their teaching.  I hope you try it in your classroom too! Let me know what you think!

What to learn more about shared reading?
Read It Again! by Brenda Parks

The Reading Workshop Mini-Lesson Part Two

This week I am going to talk about the architecture of an effective reading workshop mini-lesson. Part one of this blog post is right here.

When I attended the Teacher College Institute, the instructor did not spend a great deal of time going into the nitty gritty of the mini-lesson, but used this framework throughout the training.

Christine would quickly grab books and zoom right in with a captivating story (The Connection) and be explicit about what she wanted us to do by demonstrating with a book (Teach). She seamlessly had us actively engaged in what she was teaching (Active Engagement) and left us with a clear picture of what we just learned and how we can apply to our teaching (link).

Teaching using these steps is second nature to her. Christine shared with us the important of using this structure because

•    It helps kids learn
•    Kids love repetition
•    Students will gain confidence by anticipating what will come next

A personal goal of mine this year has been to use this mini-lesson format each day. Since using this structure of teaching, I feel like it has helped me organize my teaching lessons and be more explicit in what I am teaching.

Here is an example of what a mini-lesson would look like in kindergarten

The Mini-Lesson (10-15 minutes)

Today’s Lesson

Readers solve words by thinking about what looks right, sounds right, and makes sense.

1. Connection (Tell a Quick story)

Boys and girls yesterday during reading workshop, Bobby did a great thing I want to share with you. He was reading this book in his book bag called Pup-Pup-Puppies. When he came to the part of the book (holding the book and showing the page to the class), he read
“Puppies cooddle up to sleep.  Bobby stopped and said,
“Hey wait a minute that doesn’t sound right.”
Bobby put his finger under the word that didn’t sound right while thinking.

Bobby went back to the beginning of the sentence and reread the whole sentence again. Now he read,  “Puppies cuddle up to sleep.”


2.   Teach 

 Readers, today I want to teach you how to make your reading sound right.  I am going to read this big book to you. When I read this book to you, it should sound the way a person would talk. If when I am reading I notice it doesn’t sound right, I am going to go back and reread it again.

Read a sentence and use a word incorrectly. Then think aloud about how the word you chose does not make sense in the sentence.

I chose a word with the same initial letter, like dig for dog.
Then go back and reread the sentence correctly. 
Do this on a few pages reading aloud and thinking aloud.

Teacher:
The words you are reading should sound the way a person would talk. If when you are reading, you notice that it does not sound right, go back and read it again ask yourself did I leave a word out? Did I say the words? Does it sound right?

Tip: You should name the teaching point many times throughout the whole lesson.

Helpful Language: Watch me as I...


4. Active Engagement

Readers, we are going to try this strategy together using the book Wilma and The Pig.

I am going to read a page.

At the end of my sentence have a thumb up if the words in my sentence sound right. Have thumbs down if the words in my sentence do not sound right.

If the sentence did not make sense, turn and talk to your neighbor about what word should be there to make it sound right!



5. Link
What we did together today you can always do when you are reading.

You can reread when you get to a tricky part and check what you read, asking yourself, Does it sound right? Does it make sense? Does it look right?

Tip: Connect the learning to independence


Share:

Today readers, I taught you that when you’re reading it is important that you ask yourself if what you are reading sound right. If it doesn’t sound right, you need to fix up the mix-up! Owen could you share with the class what happened when you were reading today.



BOOK SHOPPING

The second thing I learned at the workshop was how to organize shopping for books.

1. Each child is assigned a day to go shopping for books.

2. The books will stay in the child's book baggie for one week.

3. Each child is assigned a colored dot for selecting books(leveled   by me).

3. Books students receive during guided reading will stay in this bag too.

4. For example, if Owens’s shopping day is on Monday, he will take all of his books out (on Monday) and replace them with 6-10 new ones.

5. When trading books from their baggie students put the guided reading books from the teacher in one bin, and the dot books get put in another.

6. Students should have roughly 10-13 books in their bin. 

7. If a child is reading longer text, they have 4-5 books.

8. Students can also put in LOOK BOOKS. 

9. Students can also read their Poetry/Song Notebooks during Read To Self and Read To Someone.

10. Students go shopping for books at the beginning of the workshop.

11. Students begin shopping for books when they are in a level C/D.


On Fridays we have what we call FRIDAY FAVORITES, the students are allowed to sign up to share something they have worked on during reading workshop time. They just put a Post-It on the board with their name on it. 

Shopping for books is written in Kathy Collin's book Growing Readers 

They can share anything!

My class this year loves to read/sing songs from their Poetry/Song Notebooks. Nellie Edge has some wonderful suggestions for poetry notebooks.

My class still share songs from October. Students are allowed to share with anyone in the class.  Sometimes we perform for the class across the hall, and my students LOVE that! 

I am always surprised by the partnerships when I let students decide who to share with. 

Lucy Calkins is supposed to be coming out with a book this spring on mini-lessons for the K-2 classroom!

If you are using the mini-lesson format, I would love to hear what you like about it and what you may find challenging.

Being A Super Reader

Do you know what it takes to be a SUPERHERO? 

What about a SUPER READER?

There are so many teaching possibilities with this book.

This chart of interactive writing took us many weeks to complete.

Now my class wants to make... Ten Rules Of Being A Super Writer!

Some of the Anchor Charts From Our Unit Of Study

What did we work on a reading workshop time today?

What I Learned From a Teacher College Reading Workshop

Introduction


Over the summer, my colleague, Genie and I attended the Institute for the Teaching of Reading run

by the Teacher College Reading and Writing Project. I thought the workshop was exhilarating; I couldn’t wait to get back into the classroom to teach my kids everything I had learned.
My colleague, was deathly ill; recovering from pneumonia, but didn’t want to miss this great institute, filled with new ideas for us.

 We carpooled together and each day, I couldn’t stop talking about the class while she was dying slowly in my car.




Reading Workshop 
For the past few years, I implemented the structure of the Daily Five in my kindergarten classroom. I loved using the Daily Five, there are still parts of the Daily Five that I miss: but I left this workshop excited to try a different approach to structuring my reading time.


Could I like this structure better or would I want to go back to using Daily Five?


As teachers, I think it is always important to see what works in our classroom. Each year brings a different learning experience.  We learn new things and try doing things in a new way. Over the course of the three-day workshop the instructor Christine talked about the components of a balanced literacy program; reading workshop, writing workshop, read aloud, word study and shared reading.


Today’s blog post is going to share what I learned about the structure of the reading workshop time using the Teacher College approach.

Unit of Study

Every few weeks the students engage in a unit of study that focuses on reading; this approach is similar to the writing workshop model. For example in the month of October the unit of study focuses on reading and talking about emergent storybooks.  All of my lessons that I teach my students will connect to how reading and talking about books will help us grow as readers. The anchor charts we create in the classroom will connect to our unit of study. The studies last for 3-5 weeks.   A resource called A Curricular Plan for The Reading Workshop by Lucy Calkins and the Reading and Writing Project gives you an outline of units to teach each month, an essential to have this book!


The unit of studies gives me a strong roadmap to where I need to take my students. There are times when modifications need to be made, but that is just part of good teaching. Another must have resource is Kathy Collins Growing Reader (Kathy is coming out with a new book soon).

Unit of Study: Readers Study Patterns in Big and Little Books 

To Help Us Read and Talk About Books

The Mini-Lesson (7-12min)

Each workshop begins with a mini-lesson. The mini-lesson teaches the class about what we will be working on at reading workshop time. The Mini-lesson has four parts: the connection, the TEACH, active involvement (turn to your partner and try) and the link.  If you use Lucy’s Calkins writing books, you will notice that all of her lessons are in that format.


Private Reading Time (15-30)

Each day students have assigned spots and begin Reading Time.  Reading time is similar to Daily five- READ TO SELF; one difference is that students sit next to their Reading Partner. They may sit side-by-side or back-to-back. Once the bell has rung, students turn to their partner for partner reading. In the fall, kindergarten students are reading from book buckets on each table. The books can be from shared reading or star books. Students eventually move into book baggies with 'just-right' books. T
his year, I started everyone with book baggies at the same time.

During Daily Five-time, the students do not always have to start with Read to Self.  The Daily Five structure lets student pick their reading partner too.



Partner Reading Time (10-15min)

Students are partnered with a child at the same reading level. Another surprising suggestion was to have the students have the same partner all year long. The thought is that the more students work together, the deeper their relationship/thinking will grow.


I would never have thought of keeping partnerships all year, but I understand the reasoning behind it. During the large group mini-lesson, the students are sitting next to their partner. In my class this year, I have changed partners a few times.  I have found that although students are at the same reading level, their personalities may not be an excellent match.

Teaching Share (5min)

The class gathers on the rug and shares something they worked on as readers. At this time, I may ask kids to share things they noticed during the workshop. For example, if the mini-lesson focused on taking a picture walk before reading, a child could demonstrate to the class how they did that.


Teachers Job

What is the teacher doing during Reading Workshop time?

The teacher is...

• Conferring
• Small group guided reading
• Small group strategy lesson

Quick Reflection 

I believe the primary goal of reading workshop time in kindergarten is to develop confidence and love of reading.  The reading workshop in September will look different then the workshop time in the spring. We want to provide various books for student to read: book bags, writing workshop books, poetry binders/notebooks, classroom made big books, and favorite song charts, the list is limitless!!




No matter what time of year it is; students are at different places in their literacy journey; it is our job to help them grow.


My next blog post will go in-depth about the structure of the mini-lesson what I love about it and what I find challenging.

Comments Today

I would love to hear comments from you...what kind of structure do you use for reading workshop? What do love about it and what do you find challenging?