What if your students came to class everyday asking, “Do we get to read today?” I promise you, this can and does happen all the time. What’s the key to having students beg for more reading time? Simple – student choice! When students read the books they want to read, they fall in love with reading.
Have you heard of Reader’s Workshop? I’ll admit when I heard about this strategy, I thought “How could this work?” don’t students need lessons on setting, plot structure, writer’s craft, etc…? All they are doing is reading, how can simply reading improve student’s ability to read?
It sounds so silly now, that I would question whether having students read more will really improve their reading, but that is exactly what I did AND questioned its validity. What I came to learn about Reader’s Workshop changed the way I teach middle school reading forever! Even during a pandemic!
Reader’s Workshop is not simply letting students read, although that is what it looks like from the outside. Reader’s Workshop boils down to 4 things choice, time, purpose and reflection.
Allow students to choose the books they read!
That’s right! Not everyone in your class needs to be reading the same book at the same time! This is how I taught (and was considered best practice) for years! Then, about 8 years ago, when I moved states, I was introduced to the idea that choice reading could be used in class as a way to teach reading.
Choice reading is simply allowing students to pick books they want to read. If students are reading a book they chose because it sounded interesting to them, they are more excited about reading. If they are more excited about reading, they will read more (no more fake reading!) and thus be more engaged in their own learning!
Unfortunately, we all know (or are part of districts) that have a set reading list and they expect all teachers to be teaching the same book at the same time, but I would encourage you to challenge your leadership. Ask them for permission to try Reader’s Workshop for a year (or a semester) and, if implemented with the key components, your admin will see a difference in students’ attitudes toward reading, how much students are reading and their overall engagement in literacy education.
When students have choice in what they read and are given the time they need to read, they will read more!
Yes, I’d like to join the waitlist for implementing Reader’s Workshop!
Provide time in class for students to read
I can already hear some of you saying you don’t have enough time to teach now, how can I give up more time for students to read? I can hear you, because I’ve said it. I thought that if I gave up class time for students to read, I would not be able to get through teaching the required standards. But what I realized is that I didn’t have enough time, because I was spending so much time getting students to read the class novel – something that didn’t actually motivate my students to want to read.
When I took away the class novel but kept the literature lessons, I found that I actually had more time (Still not enough, is it even possible to have enough time to teach?) to teach because after providing the minilesson, I conference with each student and am able to help them at their level, using their book. It’s more timely, more relevant and more engaging for students – who can argue with that?
When students have choice in what they read and are given the time they need to read, they will read more!
There are many reasons to incorporate independent reading into class that benefit students across multiple subjects. Benefits, I would argue, that do not come from forced whole class novels. Research shows that students who read more build stronger vocabulary, become better writers, increase their attention span, and are able to feel empathy toward other people.
Use the minilesson to set the purpose for reading
Reader’s Workshop does not take away the need for direct instruction. While allowing students time to read and reflect on their reading, they still need lessons on literary elements, comprehension, goal setting etc…
A component of workshop is the minilesson – mini because of time not content. The minilesson provides the opportunity for you to teach a specific skill or reading strategy that students then practice in their own independent reading and then becomes the focus of your conferences and small group work.
Students internalize their learning through reflection
Good teaching comes from reflecting on our teaching practices – reviewing lessons and seeing what worked and what wasn’t successful. I take this same idea and apply it with my students. I believe that reflection is a big part of learning. Simply going through the motions and completing tasks is not enough, students need to internalize what they have learned in order to take the concepts and skills to the next level.
At the end of each day, I ask students to reflect on what they accomplished for the day, how did they apply the new learning to their work that day, what will they do with new learning as they move forward. Sometimes we spend quiet time in class reflecting and sometimes students write it out in their notebooks and sometime they discuss it with a partner.
Even in the reading logs I assign, I ask students to reflect on what they read – I want to provide an opportunity for students to think about the events in their book, how they connect with the book, what from the book inspires or challenges them.
Reflection is a tool that I feel often gets overlooked. It is something teachers do once in a while or devote very little time to, but reflection helps students internalize what they have just experience (in a book, a lesson, etc..) and, in my opinion, more time should be given to asking students to reflect on their learning.
Since I’ve implemented Reader’s Workshop, I’ve seen my student’s engagement in reading and academics improve. If you are looking for additional information on how Reader’s Workshop could work for you, may I suggest these two books: Book Love by Penny Kittle or The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller (nonaffiliate links – just great resources).
Reader’s Workshop changed the way I view reading instruction. Put simply, Reader’s Workshop is allowing students to choose the books they want to read, giving them time to read, providing structured mini-lessons around reading skills and strategies and then helping students learn to reflect on their new learning. When students have choice in the books they read, and find success and enjoyment in those books, it builds their confidence in their ability to make good reading choices and builds their capacity for making future reading choices.
Please notify me when the registration opens for the masterclass on Reader’s Workshop!
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