Reader’s And Writer’s Workshop

Reader’s and writer’s workshops have been shown time and again to be a highly effective instructional approach for teaching literacy. The workshop model allows students to be engaged in authentic experiences designed to move them toward rigorous grade level skills while also fostering a love of reading and writing. Minilessons are the cornerstone of the workshop model. The minilesson in reader’s and writer’s workshops are about 10-12 minutes long. The rest of the workshop time is devoted to getting students engaged in the work; reading and writing for real purposes. Students receive scaffolded support by the teacher along the way. There are four parts, or phases, to a typical workshop minilesson, although not every minilesson will follow this plan.

The video sets below are designed to give you a window into our school day. Each shows a different phase of reader’s and writer’s workshops in action in various classrooms. This series was created to make our literacy curriculum more accessible to the parents and families of Oostburg School District. Enjoy learning alongside our students!

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1. The Connection Phase

The first phase, the Connection, is designed to engage learners and draw them into the lesson. Teachers help students make connections between today’s lesson and previous lessons, in order to build on current understanding.

2. The Teach Phase

Next, and arguably the most important, is the Teach phase. Teachers model, demonstrate, provide examples and explain a strategy that supports students in learning an essential reading skill. Teachers stick to teaching one specific strategy during a minilesson.

3. The Active Engagement Phase

After the Teach phase comes the Active Engagement. Students are invited to try out the strategy introduced by the teacher. Students typically will work with a partner during active engagement, but can also try out the work with a small group. Teachers move around the room monitoring conversation and supporting students as needed.

4. The Link Phase

The last phase is the Link. Teachers link the strategy to today’s work and to future literacy experiences, encouraging students to add it to their repertoire of tools to meet grade level expectations and skills in reading and writing.