Why Reader's Workshop?
The research behind why it works!
A Guide to Reader's Workshop!
To read the first 2 chapters of Lucy Calkin's guide to reader's workshop, click on the link below.
http://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/e03744/gsp_uosr35_samppage.pdfUnits of Study: The Reading Workshop Today
What do our Reader's Need?
Learners need teachers who demonstrate what it means to live richly literate lives, wearing a love of reading on our sleeves. Learners need long stretches of time to read. When we teach reading, we are teaching a skill. Learners need opportunities to read high-interest, accessible books of their own choosing. Readers need time to actually read! Learners need explicit instruction in the process and skills of proficient reading. Learners need assessment-based instruction, including feedback that is tailored specifically to them. Strugglers especially need instruction that is tailored to their specific strengths and needs, as well as extra time and extra help. Learners are not all the same, and learners do not all need the same things.
Literacy: Using Mentor Texts in Reader's Workshop
Children deserve opportunities to interact with the richest language, most beautiful art and enticing storylines that we can offer. In selecting mentor texts, books that could serve as exemplary models for readers and writers, we turned to the gorgeous art and enticing storylines of Caldecott Medal winners as well as treasured favorites. These books offer characters and plots that enthrall our learners, texts that you want to revisit over and over again, and topics that will expand children's knowledge of the world.
- Mentor Texts
- boost language development
- promote active listening
- encourage deeper thinking
- provide outstanding models of reading skills/strategies
- feature beautiful art
- support learning more about the world around us
- serve as models of great writing
- are time tested and easily available "classics"
The concept of a mentor text is important. A mentor is one who models, coaches, and lifts another to higher levels. With that in mind, a mentor text must be chosen carefully to ensure that it can establish a model of quality writing that is worthy of guiding our learners. With the help of a beautifully crafted mentor text, we can wonder together about the imagery, the possible themes, and the elements that have come together to create the literary magic that resides in these much-loved books. With a mentor text in hand, we can gently open children's eyes to the inner workings of the selection, savor its beauty, and create powerful links to the standards we want our children to understand.
Mentor texts are chosen for their ability to:
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