Reading Workshop

The problem is that we teachers are hurried usurers, lending out the knowledge we possess and charging interest. It has to show a profit, and the quicker the better! If not, we might start losing faith in our own methods.                                                             Daniel Pennac,   Better Than Life             In contemporary society, if things don’t happen quickly, we see a need to change them, to hurry them along. For example, fast food restaurants, drive-up dry cleaners and convenient stores have thrived on the basis of providing fast service, not necessarily quality service. In public education, if current school reform efforts don’t show measurable gains on standardized tests in a matter of minutes, they are often discarded in our fervor to locate the next “silver bullet” reading program that will solve the literacy crisis, engage all students, calm the nerves of concerned parents, raise standardized test scores and win someone the next school board election.

Five Curricular Components Five separate, yet interrelated, curricular components form the core of my reading workshop, and offer a comprehensive, balanced approach to reading instruction. These Curricular Components are: 1.      Invitations: Bringing Children and Literature Together – By reading aloud to children and providing access to a wide variety of quality works of literature, non-fiction, poetry and other materials, we invite children into the world of reading. As classroom teachers, it is our job to extend multiple invitations for children to sample, explore and become involved with different reading materials. We need to create an environment that provides the opportunity for literature and children to come together, and successfully invite them to join our literate community. 2.      Explorations: Coming to Know Literature – Children need support in moving past the “I liked the book” phase, in order to make more sophisticated connections to texts. We need to provide experi