Reading workshop
"It is significant to realize that the most creative environments in our society are not the ever-changing ones. The artist's studio, the researcher's laboratory, the scholar's library are each deliberately kept simple so as to support the complexities of the work-in-progress. They are deliberately kept predictable so the unpredictable can happen." Calkins, 1983
Reading Workshop is a framework for organizing reading instruction that has at its heart the belief that in order for students to become lifelong, proficient readers, they must be active participants in their own learning. Students who learn in a Reading Workshop understand that reading is all about understanding.
Essential components of a reading workshop include:
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creating a literate environment
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reading aloud as the foundation of the reading workshop
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meaningful discussions
- significant units of study
- explicit lessons in comprehension
- literacy assessment
"Time to read, choice in what one reads, and response to one's efforts are the foundations of the reading workshop."
Nancie Atwell (1998)
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| Mini-lesson | Independent reading | Sharing |
"Everything we do in the reading workshop must be done in the service of making meaning when we read." Serafini (2006)
Getting Started: NEW!
These sample lessons created by a Hall County teacher can help you get Reading Workshop started in your classroom.
Reading Workshop Anchor Charts
Reading Workshop Resources:
- Around the Reading Workshop in 180 Days by Frank Serafini
- Revisiting the Reading Workshop: Management, Mini-lessons, and Strategies by Barbara Orehovec
- Lessons in Comprehension: Explicit Instruction in the Reading Workshop by Frank Serafini
- Reading With Meaning by Debbie Miller
- Getting Started: The Reading-Writing Workshop, grades 4-8 by Linda Ellis and Jamie Marsh