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Why do I LOVE using writing & reading workshop components?

Many educators ask me “Why do you LOVE using writing and reading workshop components in your classroom?” And do you know what my answer is? My most favorite part about the workshop model is that I have a large chunk of time devoted to meeting ALL my students’ needs even if they are at multiple levels. I also love that my students have the opportunity for collaborative work time; so that they can learn and grow from each other, and not just from me. 

What are the Components of Workshop?

Okay, take a look at the poster above. This is going to walk us through all the writing and reading workshop components. When I introduce this to my students I say it like a song. It goes like this:

“Reading and Writing Workshop goes this way. We read, write, read, write each and every day. Yay!”

This poster is something you would want to have up in your classroom all school year long. Then when you need to remind your students of reading and writing workshop expectations; you will have a visual you can refer back to. Now, let me break down the different parts of the workshop model for you.

Part 1: The Mini Lesson

In the poster above, the mini lesson is a small slice of the whole pie. The mini lesson is very, very short. Try and keep your mini lessons to 10 minutes or less if possible. So that you have a large chunk of time to meet with students in 1 on 1 conferences, partnerships, or small groups later. The purpose of the mini lesson is to teach your students ONE strategy that is going to help them meet the learning target. 

Part 2: Independent Work Time

When you look at the poster above, this is a HUGE chunk of the whole pie. If it's a reading workshop, they are reading, reading, reading. If it's a writing workshop, they

are writing, writing, writing during independent work time. During this time, your role as the teacher is to:

 

  1. Meet with students in a 1 on 1 conference.
  2. Pull small groups.
  3. Coach into partnerships.


Part 3: The Workshop Share

The last part of the workshop components is the SHARE. This is a really small piece of the pie. You bring your students back together after the independent work time is over. Try and keep this share short and sweet if possible to give you even more time for independent work. Keep on reading, because later I’m going to give you several different ways you can do the SHARE component of workshop.

Components of Mini lessons

Let’s dive deeper into the mini lesson. As you see in the picture above there are 4 main parts to a mini lesson. 

 

    1. Connection (1-2 minutes): You revisit past strategies you’ve taught them, give your own personal experience, or share a class or student’s experience that relates to the new learning target. There are many different ways you can deliver the connection part of the mini lesson such as giving a scenario or metaphor. But if you want to keep it simple and easy; you can just review what you taught them the day before that is connected to the learning target or the overall unit of study.
  • Teach/Model (4-5 minutes): This is going to be your longest chunk of the mini lesson. You share the learning target of the lesson and name the “teaching point” or strategy. Show your students HOW they can meet the learning target by providing very specific steps they can follow to practice the strategy. When you demonstrate how to do the strategy, use a mentor text that is already marked up to give your students a visual example of how to do it. 
  • Active Engagement (2-3 minutes): This is the time to have your students practice the strategy with you. Your students can bring their own book or writing piece to the carpet, so they can practice the strategy there. Another option is you can read from your read aloud book and then stop to ask them questions. A third option is your students can stop and jot in their reader’s notebook or writing piece. Lastly, your students can turn and talk with their partner.
  • Link (1 minute or less): This is the wrap up of the lesson. You are going to connect to the work they are going to do in the independent time. You are setting them up for independent work. But please be careful with the LINK component of a mini lesson. You don’t want to come off like you’re telling them what to do or giving them an assignment that they have to do. Instead you want to leave it open; so that your students know that this is one strategy that they COULD TRY along with ALL the other strategies they know. We want them to be able to choose what they want to work on as a reader or writer at that time. 

 

Independent Time During the Workshop Model

Next up is that HUGE chunk of the reading & writing workshop model pie which is the independent time. In my opinion, this time is the HEART of workshop. That’s where the magic happens. The purpose of independent work time is to allow consistent time with your students to practice ALL the strategies you have taught them without you being right by their side. Now it’s time to see what they can do on their own. 

Another reason for independent time is that it gives students the opportunity to transfer the strategies they have learned in mini lessons, 1 on 1 conferences or small groups to now doing it on their own. Lastly, it allows students to make strategic choices about how their learning is going to do. They are the ones who will decide what they want to work on to help them become stronger readers or writers.

Take a look at the poster below because it outlines the teacher and student ROLES during independent work time

Since independent time is the perfect time for you to do 1 on 1 conferences, small groups, and partnerships; you will need to know a variety of conferring methods and techniques. Here’s list of conferring methods you can choose from:

 

I know, I know that’s a lot. If you are looking for the best place to start. I highly recommend getting really good at coaching conferences and strategy groups first. Then once you feel super comfortable with these, feel free to add more methods of teaching. This is a journey my friend. One step at a time. You got this!

Writing and Reading Workshop Share Time

  1. There are many different ways you can do the SHARE component of workshop. Here’s 3 ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

     

    1. YOU, the teacher, pick 1-2 students’ work to share with the class and share 1 specific strategy you noticed they did well. 
    2. Pick 1-2 students to share their own work with the whole class and share 1 specific strategy that they tried and feel really proud about it.
    3. Have partnerships or clubs come together to share with each other about the strategies they tried out today during independent work time.

Now that you know the writing and reading workshop components, are you ready to launch it next school year? If not, no worries because inside my Conferring All-Star Teacher™ Course I will walk you through step-by-step how to launch workshop routines and expectations from start to finish. 

But before you can even think about launching a workshop model in your classroom, you’ll need to think about the type of learning environment that’s needed for a successful workshop launch and classroom management strategies you’ll want to have in your back pocket the first month of school. In my 4-Day Webinar Series called “Strong Start to Writing Workshop”; I will show you how to implement a workshop model in a variety of settings, learning environment tips & tricks, give you a jump start to coaching conferences, and share tons of classroom management strategies for the beginning of the year.

If you’re looking for even more FREE training, strategies, and resources on reading and writing workshop; come on over to my Facebook page and  Literacy Teacher Greatness Community on Facebook. I just love this positive, supportive community of literacy teachers and instructional coaches. We are all in this together and we can fill each other’s toolbox of reading and writing strategies along the way. So hop on over into the group and say hello. I would LOVE to meet you.

Desi's yellow shirt pic