- Teaching reading using the workshop model
Please share a favorite children's/young adult book with an instructional focus. Tell us why it is a favorite and briefly how you use it.
If your email shows as "crazyteacher@gmail.com" please identify yourself in the post. If your email is something that indicates your name you don't need to this! I will comment below to show what we want. Let's get started! Lindy
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI rate myself a 4. My classroom teaching involved mostly workshop type teaching even though it was before Calkins units! Calkins was still the inspiration but many years ago.
ReplyDeleteMy book is Brave Little Finn by John & Jennifer Churchman. This book is about overcoming fears. For writing it is a good example for kids writing about the topic. For reading it shows character change as the main character is afraid of a new situation and friends help him adjust and learn everything is o.k.
I haven't read Brave Little Finn yet, but read the Sheepover and had a calendar last year...I used to house/animal sit for the Churchmans years ago (before Sweet Pea and Finn) and it's fun to see their books in print!
DeleteI would say my comfort level in terms of actually instructing using the reading workshop model would be a 2 if I am being completely honest. During my student teaching I had the opportunity to teach multiple lessons out of the writing workshop model, but the reading is fairly new to me. I have been going through the different sessions and have found myself at bend 2 of unit 1. Every time I teach I make sure to include a connection, active engagement, link, share, and mini lesson. I believe I am becoming more comfortable as time goes on, but I would also like to make sure I am teaching correctly and to the best of my ability!
DeleteMy favorite book with instructional focus is Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson. This book is not only instructional in terms of teaching respect and anti-bullying, but I use this story to teach about story arcs in reading. This book is amazing! It has a WONDERFUL message for children of all ages! I incorporate this into my story arc unit by using it as the mentor text. Children have the opportunity to listen to the story and then work together to uncover the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Eventually they use this story arc while independently reading and to help create a storyline for their personal narratives! Each Kindness is a great book to get students thinking about respecting one another- but it is also a perfect book to introduce the idea of the story arc for young readers and writers!
-Libby Lane
Liz, That's so neat. I have preordered their next book about Maisey.
DeleteI rate myself a 4. I love the workshop model of teaching but have always kind of improvised it on my own. I love talking with students about books and sharing my love of reading with them. I am really looking forward to learning more about the Caulkins model and helping my students to grow as readers.
ReplyDeleteMy book would probably be Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I have read this book with 8th graders for years. I love to spend the first half of unit talking and exploring the Great Depression and then connecting John Steinbeck's experiences as a writer to the book. Students are always deeply moved by this book, and I love to watch that happen.
I would have to rate myself a 3. Although I've been teaching writing for a few years now, I feel as if there is much more to learn about in terms of the reading workshop model. I'm excited to see what I will learn throughout the course!
ReplyDeleteMy novel of choice would most likely be Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Although this text deals with many extremely heavy and challenging themes, it is set up in a way that is accessible to young adult readers. This text was recommended to me by a colleague during my first year at WMHS, and I have used it in my classroom multiple times since then. My focus is usually on the figurative language used throughout the piece, and the students continue to seem engaged during these discussions. This success has usually happened in my ninth and tenth grade classes because of the maturity level, but I'm sure it would also work for eighth grade students.
Best,
Steve
I rate myself a 3. I am comfortable with the workshop model, but now that we have the Units of Study, I feel a little less comfortable, in a way. It just seems that there is SO much that can be done, and given the fact that we have less time than the Units plan for, I have a hard time choosing exactly which parts are most important to cover. I am excited to have conversations around this during this course, and hope to feel more comfortable by November!
ReplyDeleteLast year I read The Thief of Always aloud to my 5th graders as part of the Fantasy Book Clubs unit at the end of the year. We were all on the edge of our seats and really enjoyed making inferences, predictions, sketches, and having discussions about the text. I just find it to be fully engaging for all students, with accessibility for every student to be able to share their thinking and ideas. I'm really looking forward to reading it again this year.
I too had a tough time fitting the lessons into a single day. I had to either modify and shorten the lessons, or most often I would break a lesson down into smaller chunks to do over a day or two if necessary in order to be able to fit it all into the limited amount of time we had.
DeleteI would rate myself as a 3. I'm comfortable with the workshop model but know I can improve on my delivery and management of it. This is my 3rd year using the Lucy Calkins units of study. As silly as it sounds, I love the Frog and Toad series. We use these books in 1st grade to help students learn to understand characters and messages in stories. Frog and Toad are kind of old friends now.
ReplyDeleteI would rate myself as a 4 for understanding and familiarity. As my role has changed from classroom teacher to interventionist/coach my understanding has spanned across multiple grade levels but for the day to day teaching I would look to my colleagues for what works and what could be improved. I LOVE the Mercy Watson series (and Kate DiCamillo in general). They are great for teaching the younger students about how a series develops and perfect for character studies and retelling.
ReplyDeleteI love this series!!! I believe you were the one to introduce me to it. Now I read them every fall.
DeleteI would rate myself as a 4 for understanding and familiarity. As an intensive special educator and interventionist, my understanding needs to span across grade levels. My focus is how to modify and adapt readers workshop so students with more complex needs can participate. I love Elephant and Piggie for younger students, the text is accessible for reading and it is a fun and engaging way to teach dialogue, emotions and at times cause and effect.
ReplyDeleteAnother one of my favorites. The kids love this series. It is great for all reading abilities!
DeleteI'm rating myself as a 2 at teaching in the workshop model. I have some experience and have read lots about it, but have only had limited experience.
ReplyDeleteSo many favorites, but I guess I'll go with The Tale of Despereaux (DiCamillo). Dear reader, let me tell you why. :-) Character feelings and continual predicting work very well with this beautiful story. Oh, and I couldn't forget about symbolism!
Overall I would rate myself between a 3 and a 4. This will be my 3rd using the readers workshop model. I am looking forward to this class to give me a boost and revive my enthusiasm for the workshop model. I give myself a 4 for understanding the process. Favorite author is difficult. I use Seuss for beginning readers to feel good and confident and for my higher level readers to build fluency. I use Mo Willems for expression and punctuation. Love it for unfreezing characters. I use Cynthia Rylant for character and story development.
ReplyDeleteBeing only a second year teacher,I would rate myself at a 3 to 3+.I still feel as though I have a lot to learn. My favorite book (as a child, and still as an adult)is Charlotte's Web. I use it as the first read aloud of the year. It teaches about friendship, teamwork, faith and the circle of life. This is only a few of the many teaching points of the book.
ReplyDeleteBecky
My comfort level is a 2 for teaching the workshop model in reading.
ReplyDeleteMy book is Iva Honeysuckle Discovers the World by Candice Ransom. I used this book last year in my reading group. While trying to find a high interest and engaging book for them I came across this book and used it to help enhance the character study unit we were doing during literacy. All of the students really enjoyed the book and were excited during reading group to find out what was going to happen with Iva on her adventure. This book allowed for engaging conversations about the type of person Iva is, her relationship with her cousins/ sisters, and how Iva changed from the beginning of the book to the end of the book and why. This is a book I hope to use with my reading groups in the future.
I would have to rate myself at a 2.5 for teaching reading using the workshop model. This is my second year teaching first grade and using Lucy Calkin's Unit of Studies.
ReplyDeleteIt is so difficult to pick a favorite book, however at the beginning of the school year I love to read Robert Munsch stories to the children. These stories are very silly and the children always become very engaged with the text. They help to first build that love of stories and read aloud, secondly they are great for making predictions and recently I have used his book Up,Up,Down to have students retell the story.
As far as running a reading workshop, I would rate myself a three on the comfort level. The biggest struggle I have is conferencing; I feel like I am always running out of time.
ReplyDeleteAs far as my "go to" novel for my classroom, I would have to say Freak the Mighty is my favorite; it is a sure thing. There are so many themes in that book; each year I am able to read it with a different spin. Bullying, friendship, family, diversity, poverty...they are all topics that are significant to young adults. We also discuss the science behind Kevin's disease and the synergy that Max and Kevin share.
This year, I am teaching Freak the Mighty through the lens of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey. The teaching opportunities for this young adult novel is endless.
In regard to comfort level, I would rate myself a 3. I have taught the workshop model for the last 2 years. While I am comfortable with it, I know there is always room for improvement, and by no means, am I a pro. Our team did work really hard to condense Lucy's lengthy lessons into just 1-2 pages of the important teaching points. Unfortunately this year I am not teaching reading, but I am using her workshop model for writing.
ReplyDeleteAs for a text, I really love the Junie B. series. I find her very funny and I enjoy reading these books to my students, but really I am enjoying them a lot myself as I read. I think it helps the children understand what realistic fiction sounds like, and they can easily relate to her as a 1st grader. With her there are many teaching points, behavior, language and how she changes as a character/feelings in each chapter, cause and effect, grammar.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteFor running a reading workshop, I would rate myself around a 3. I feel comfortable teaching reading strategies, however, I would like to focus on the explicit routines of the workshop model. I'm really excited to see how beneficial this structure will be for students.
For my go-to novel, I use The Outsiders. I have found over the past couple years of using it that students connect well to the strong, teen voice, and the hardships the boys face. We discuss themes of rebellion and class, as well as character traits and development. Talking about the slang and comparing it to what students use now is always an interesting discussion, too. :)
--Sarah
I rate myself a 3.5. I was given a unit kit last year and expected to use it. I am so glad to be taking this class to help me feel more comfortable teaching the units in a workshop model.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite young adult book to read aloud to my class each year is, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret. It is an autobiography of a 12 year old who contracts polio in Minnesota. It details her struggles in the hospital and then rehab center slowly learning to walk and be independent again. I love reading this with my class because it teaches them about friendships, grit, and most of all empathy. We always write a letter to Peg when we are done reading because they have hundreds of burning questions. This is also a great book to use as a health and history lesson because it talks a lot about the polio virus and what has happened to help eradicate it. Excellent memoir that I highly recommend!
I would rate myself a 2.5. Last year was my first year teaching and using the Units of Study.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite book is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. This story follows the adventures of a bunny, a very spoiled and proper bunny, named Edward Tulane. Through his journey, he is able to open his heart and learn what it means to love, to truly love. I have used this story as a read-aloud and my students fell in love with Edward (almost) as much as I did. It is a very touching story filled with emotions. This story provides many opportunities to discuss how a character changes, develops and grows over time.
I would rate myself at a level 4. I'm very familiar with the workshop model and the units of study for grade 3. However, I would to fine-tune group/conferencing strategies, formative assessment and incorporating more intentional vocabulary work.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite books is Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. This is a great story for the beginning of the year. It helps me to lead discussions about kindness, perseverance and growth mindset. It is also a reminder to those who quickly become ashamed, that we all have things that are difficult for us.
I would rate myself as a 2. I taught math and science last year and have been removed from the literacy world for that long. In my student teaching placement I did not see a workshop model. There was a whole group lesson and silent reading, but there was never too much conferencing or small groups with students. This was second grade, which I know they would not be used to a workshop model. However, I know the basic outline of what a workshop model looks like. I just haven't done it myself yet.
ReplyDeleteI read a new book this year called Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Dr. Seuss. It stresses the importance of different ways of learning and that it would be boring if we all thought, acted, dressed, and learned the same. It also stresses that it is more important to know how to learn rather than what to learn (skills vs. memorization). This book aided in our work around growth mindset and being respectful to other ways of learning.