Reading Workshop

Critical Dispositions             In addition to the more global, reader characteristics I presented in the last post, there are five critical dispositions that readers need to develop if they are to become proficient, sophisticated readers. In addition, these five critical dispositions need to be adopted or understood by readers before reading comprehension instruction can be effective. These critical dispositions provide a framework for our lessons in comprehension to “hang on,” and set readers up for success by focusing their attention on reading as a meaning making process. By providing experiences and setting expectations about what is important during the act of reading, we are able to develop these critical dispositions in our novice readers. Disposition #1: Proficient and sophisticated readers understand that reading is a process of making meaning with texts . If readers do not understand that making sense of what they read...

In order to establish routines and instructional approaches in the Reading Workshop, you have to begin by conceptualizing the types of readers you want to create and support. Obviously, we want readers that can decode text, but our preferred vision for our young readers must go well beyond that simple ability. I want to develop and support readers that… Find a Place for Reading in Their Lives – by this I mean, I want children to engage in reading as well as play soccer, watch television, play guitar, go to sleepovers, clean their room and play outdoors. I don’t want reading to be seen as something that replaces the things children already enjoy doing. I just want them to find a place to include reading in their already busy schedules. If it comes down to soccer or reading, many children will opt out of reading. I love to do many things besides read, however, I have carved out time in my schedule to find a place for reading to be part ...

Before summer vacation comes to an end, I begin to plan for the upcoming school year. I consider some of the new selections of children’s and young adult literature that I have read over the summer for my literature study groups. I create and add to the resource files I maintain for the various units of study and literary experiences I provide each school year. If there is time, I re-read some professional literature that has had a tremendous impact on my thinking for the past fifteen years. Some of the books that I have revisited many times during the summer months are Life in a Crowded Place by Ralph Peterson,  The Reader, the Text, and the Poem by Louise Rosenblatt, The Culture of Reading and the Teaching of English by Kathleen McKormick, and The Pleasures of Children’s Literature by Perry Nodelman. Re-reading these books helps me remember the theoretical foundations upon which I build my reading workshop, and provide an impetus for refocusing my thinking abou...