Readers Workshop

Readers Workshop

FoundationsStudy

Grade K

TeacheRediTion

America’s Choice® is a subsidiary of the National Center on Education and the Economy® (NCEE), a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization and a leader in standards-based reform. In the late 1990s, NCEE launched the America’s Choice School Design, a comprehensive, standards-based, school-improvement program that serves students through partnerships with states, school districts, and schools nationwide. In addition to the school design, America’s Choice provides instructional systems in literacy, mathematics, and school leadership. Consulting services are available to help school leaders build strategies for raising student performance on a large scale.

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Online ResOuRces: cOmmunity Of leaRningFoundations Study Materials: download before you begin the study.This foundations study includes an Online Resources packet, which is posted on the America’s Choice Community of Learning. In the packet, you will find materials such as graphic organizers, an interest inventory, and tools for monitoring student reading. Additional online resources include language feature lessons, vocabulary lessons, student work with commentary, and ELL resources. When you visit the Community of Learning, you can participate in a discussion group that allows you to post questions and share information.

We recommend that you download and print the entire packet as you prepare to teach the lessons. Because we revise these resources periodically, you will want to visit the Community of Learning each time you teach the study.

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Foundations Study: Grade K

Foundations Study: Grade K i

contentsgrade K

intRODuctiOnAmerica’s Choice Foundations Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Support for English Language Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

lessOnsWeek 1Overview: How These Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Lesson 1 : How to Begin Readers Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1Lesson 2: Student Routines for Read Aloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Lesson 3: Tools of the Readers Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1Lesson 4: How to Read a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Lesson 5: Introducing the Reading Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Week 2Overview: How These Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Lesson 6. Introducing the Reader’s Notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Lesson 7: Introducing Individual Book Bags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1Lesson 8: Choosing Places for Independent Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Lesson 9: Selecting Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Lesson 10: Making Predictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Week 3Overview: How These Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Lesson 1 1: How to Read with a Partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 1Lesson 12: Student Routines for Shared Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Lesson 13: Listening for Rhyming Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Lesson 14: Word Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Lesson 15: Activating Background Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Week 4Overview: How These Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Lesson 16: Practicing Habits of Good Listeners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Lesson 17: One-to-One Matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Lesson 18: Recognizing Letters and Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Lesson 19: Using Meaning Clues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Lesson 20: Good Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

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Week 5Overview: How These Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 15Lesson 2 1: What Good Readers Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 17Lesson 22: Recognizing Letters and Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 19Lesson 23: Listening for Rhyming Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121Lesson 24: Making Reading Sound Like Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Lesson 25: Making Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Week 6Overview: How These Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Lesson 26: Talking About Texts and Saying Why . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Lesson 27: Recognizing Letters and Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Lesson 28: Fluency: Reading the Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Lesson 29: Rereading to Maintain Meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Lesson 30: Practicing Good Reading Habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Readers Workshop

introduction































Foundations Study: Grade K 1

america’s choice Foundations Studies

overview

The America’s Choice Readers Workshop foundations studies are part of the America’s Choice® School Design. They are designed to help teachers establish the rituals, routines, and artifacts of the Readers Workshop in their classrooms during the first 30 days of the school year. Reflecting the most current research on effective reading instruction, these studies:

■■ Teach students about reading, within the context of authentic reading, using texts with authentic language

■■ Use multiple instructional groupings and a variety of instructional methods

■■ Include reading to students daily from a variety of text types on a variety of topics

■■ Build background knowledge of topics and language

■■ Provide specific feedback to students to support their reading development

■■ Model and demonstrate the use of reading strategies

■■ Provide daily opportunities for students to read books that they are able to read and that they choose to read

■■ Give students regular opportunities to respond to reading through discussion and writing

■■ Provide explicit support for English language learners (ELLs) during the Readers Workshop

description

A foundations study is a series of lessons that assist teachers in setting up the rituals and routines of the Readers Workshop. By working through the lessons sequentially, you lead students through a series of learning experiences, from simple to more complex. The lessons use a variety of modeling and think-aloud demonstrations to teach appropriate reading behaviors and the skills and strategies

used by effective readers. As the lessons progress, students develop the reading habits and processes they need for the work ahead. The lessons also provide supports that enable ELLs to participate successfully in the study and to grow as writers and readers.

While using the foundations study lessons, you will develop a greater awareness of your students as readers, collecting anecdotal evidence of their reading habits and behaviors as well as administering an initial standardized assessment of their reading abilities. With this awareness, and the model of the instructional process contained in the lesson continuum, you will be able to continue the Readers Workshop after you teach this study, creating additional lessons tailored to your students’ needs.

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introduction • America’s Choice Foundations Studies


features

The America’s Choice Readers Workshop foundations study lessons include many features to support teaching and to promote learning by all students. The K–3 lessons are aligned with the New Standards® performance standards, and the lessons for grades 4 and 5 are aligned with the New Standards® performance standards and the American Diploma Project benchmarks.

assessmentsAs part of the foundations study, you will administer a standardized assessment to monitor students’ reading progress. We recommend that you use the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). The assessment results will help you identify students’ needs, prepare for challenges, and plan future instruction. This assessment, administered during the second week of the study, establishes the baseline for measuring each student’s growth as a reader. You will repeat the assessment three times over the year and use the results to monitor growth, setting new learning targets and teaching goals after each administration. Between administrations of the DRA, you will use running records—taken as part of reading conferences—to monitor student progress.

Learning objectivesEach foundations study lesson articulates specific objectives for student learning. These objectives build on previous lessons so students develop background knowledge and apply new learning. The learning objectives are supported by the students’ language objectives.

Language objectivesThe language objectives describe the language skills that students need to learn, and they explicitly describe the work students will do with vocabulary during each lesson. Many of the language objectives call for the use of sentence frames to encourage frequent, appropriate use of the language of the workshop.

Target Words: Language of the Readers WorkshopMost of the foundations study lessons identify “target words” or the “language of the Readers Workshop” used within the context of the workshop throughout the year. During the opening lesson, you will introduce these words, written on sentence strips. You will use and reinforce them throughout the lesson. These words should be placed on the word wall (or in another area of the room designated just for posting the workshop words). You should refer to and use these words regularly to help students develop the language skills they need to participate successfully in the Readers Workshop.

Readers Workshop Foundations Study: Grade K 3


teaching the study

The America’s Choice foundations studies for establishing the Readers Workshop are designed for use during the first 30 days of school. The lessons are grouped by the significant work to be accomplished over the week.

establishing Rituals and RoutinesIn Readers Workshop, you will work with students to establish rituals (the way something is done, where materials are kept and accessed, what to do after each activity, etc.) and routines (what we do, predictable structures). In this way, procedures become habits and students can rely on the structure necessary to learn, study, read, and write. When your class understands what must be done, how it must be done, and when it must be done, the flow of teaching and learning is smooth, and interruptions are rare.

The foundations study lessons will help ensure that rituals and routines are firmly established early in the year. You will need to review expectations frequently and may even have to revisit specific lessons. Your success in setting up the rituals and routines from the beginning will determine the level of success for both you and for students throughout the year. Rituals and routines give ELLs and all students predictability in their learning environment, allowing them to focus on learning new content.

Readers WorkshopThe Readers Workshop structure provides time for instruction, independent work, and—most importantly—conferring and guided reading. The typical Readers Workshop has three parts:

■■ An opening meeting, which is whole-class instruction focused on rituals and routines, skills, or strategies

■■ A work period when students work individually or in small groups, and you confer with individual readers or work with small groups on focused guided-reading lessons

■■ A closing meeting that may focus on students’ progress and is usually linked to the instruction during the opening lesson

■■ Within each of these routines, you will establish rituals to help students understand what needs to happen and how, maximizing both teaching and learning that occurs throughout each day and throughout the year.

Many teachers find it challenging to allocate the right amount of time to each part of the Readers Workshop. How you allocate time communicates the value you place on instruction, student work, and reflection. It is important to remain aware of how much time you use for each part of the workshop, so students can read independently every day. But sometimes the opening lessons will run longer at the beginning of the year during the first year of Readers Workshop implementation. This is because the

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Readers Workshop rituals and routines are taught at the start of the year along with content.

Opening (10 to 15 min.)

• Lesson – Skills – Reading strategies – Rituals and routines• Read aloud• Shared reading• Book discussion

to model Book Talks

Work Period (40 min.)

Teacher• Reading conferences• Small groups• Monitor independent

reading activities• Facilitate literacy

activities

Students• Independent reading with

monitoring and feedback – Match to independent

reading text level – Tie to “25 Books”• Partner reading• Book discussion groups• Author and genre studies• Authentic literacy activities

Literacy• Books on tape• Research area

(topics, authors)• Reading responses

Closing (10 min.)

• Celebration• Reflection• Tie to standards• Tie to lessons• Tie to “25 Books”

The Readers Workshop Model

opening (10–15 minutes)In the opening meeting, you teach short, focused lessons on a workshop routine (procedure), skill, or strategy. This is the routine that helps students move into independent, partner, or group work in the work period to apply what was taught in the lesson. In the opening, you can set the focus of the workshop’s reading tasks by the content of the lesson. The opening should take no more than 15 minutes.

Each lesson contains both a learning objective and a language objective. If the language objective includes a sentence frame, write it on a sentence strip, and use the opening to model how to use it. You can post sentence frames so students can reference them as they speak and write.

During the opening lesson, you will also use sentence strips to introduce the “language of the Readers Workshop” words.

Work Period (30–40 minutes)During the work period, students apply what you taught and modeled in the opening lesson. As students build their reading stamina and can work independently for longer periods, the work period will naturally expand from 15–20 minutes at the



beginning of the year to 30–40 minutes toward the middle and end of the year. This is especially true for ELLs. As students learn more about how to work in Readers Workshop, they will be able to engage in a broader range of activities. You should set the agenda in the beginning of the year so students learn each of the routines expected of them as readers. During the work period, students can:

■■ Read independently from the “just-right” books in their book bags

■■ Read with a partner

■■ Respond to their reading in their Reader’s Notebooks

■■ Discuss books in book discussion groups

■■ Read as part of authentic literacy activities, such as:

■– Reader’s theater

■– Reading with books on tape

■– Reading the room

■– Recreating text in a pocket chart

■– Dramatizing a text

■– Researching a topic of interest

■– Retelling

■■ Participate in an author study

Students’ responses (both oral and written) will vary based on their English proficiency levels. The earlier the level of English proficiency, the more support ELLs will need to “try” the strategies.

During most work periods, students have two tasks: independent reading and responding to what they have read in some way. It may be helpful to add icons and models for independent reading and for the types of responses students are expected to craft to the “Readers Workshop” chart created in Lesson 1. Using graphics helps students understand their tasks during the work period and builds independence through self-monitoring of literacy tasks.

The most important factor in the success of the Readers Workshop is the accountability you and your students share for what happens during the work period. You need to hold students accountable for what they know must be done, and eventually they will begin to hold each other accountable.

closing (10 minutes)The Readers Workshop ends with the whole group refocused on what was accomplished through the lesson and its immediate application. Activities that can be part of an effective closing include:

■■ Reader’s chair—students share their attempts at using a reading skill or strategy and describe the difference it made to their reading

■■ Read-around—students share a single example of the focus of the opening lesson (a simile, a question about the text, or a compound word) found in their reading

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■■ Teacher sharing—a time to address an important issue raised during a conference or guided-reading group

■■ Small-group sharing—students share accomplishments

■■ Partner sharing—students share a strategy for reading each other’s work

■■ Evaluation and solving of problems—a discussion of how to solve a reading problem

■■ Book talk—students give a brief book talk to encourage others to read a book they enjoyed

■■ Read aloud—students celebrate the work of reading by listening to you read aloud a favorite text

The closing is a time to reflect on the workshop. It reinforces students’ sense that they are part of a reading and learning community that values and celebrates each other’s work. ELLs benefit from repeated modeling, practice, and application of the various rituals in the closing routine.

Reader’s notebooksLearning how to use a Reader’s Notebook is essential to students’ reading success. Students need to learn how to use the notebook to reflect on their reading, to practice skills and strategies, and to write in order to comprehend text. Becoming a reader requires thinking deeply about text. The entries in the notebook deepen students’ understanding of the texts they are reading. These entries lead students to improved comprehension and a deeper understanding of themselves as readers.

You will keep and use your own notebook to model using reading strategies, to share work, and to reflect on your own growth as a reader.

No matter what goes into the Reader’s Notebook, readers write in it consistently. Possible entries include:

■■ What did I wonder about the text?

■■ What questions did I have?

■■ What books would I like to read?

■■ What character was my favorite and why?

■■ What part of the text did I like best and why?

■■ What words were hard? How did I figure them out?

■■ What did I do when I got stuck in my reading?

■■ What is my current reading goal? How did I accomplish my previous reading goal?

■■ How was this book like something that happened to me?

■■ What was one line in the book that captured my attention? What did it make me think of?

If ELLs are not yet ready to respond in English, allow and encourage them to draw and write in their Reader’s Notebooks in their primary language, if they can.



Reader’s Notebooks can be anything from spiral notebooks to composition notebooks to folders.

Reading FoldersStudents maintain a Reading Folder that contains a Reading Log, an Assessment Notebook, and a Reader’s Notebook. Students record the name and genre of the text they read each day in a Reading Log. The Assessment Notebook contains the assessment data collected during the reading conference along with the student’s reading goal. The Reader’s Notebook includes written responses to text and reflections on reading progress and behaviors. The set of class Reading Folders should be easily accessible by both you and the students.

attribute and Reference chartsMany of the lessons include creating attribute and reference charts to record students’ thinking about reading habits and processes. These charts not only guide students as they read, but they also record the classroom language about reading and support students’ thinking about what they are learning. These charts are a source for developing rubrics and support for student learning.

TextsSpecific texts are suggested for most of the lessons. Because a lesson’s success does not rely on a particular product or a specific text, you can substitute different books as long as they support the lesson’s focus. The lessons include ideas for alternative texts or a description of the type of text that would be appropriate. The lessons are specific regarding goals and purposes, and they guide you in selecting appropriate resources to meet each lesson’s goals.

RubricsThe rubrics developed in the foundations study lessons are based on the habits of good readers and expectations for independent reading. These rubrics are used to clearly define the reading behaviors and strategies that will lead to success in reading. The goal is that by using the rubrics, students will spend more time reading and thus become better readers.

assessment and Grading opportunitiesMany lessons include tasks where students can demonstrate their progress and understanding of specific strategies and skills. These tasks result in a product you can assess and grade. All lessons provide opportunities for formative assessment by allowing you to observe and conference with students.

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supports

The America’s Choice foundations study lessons support and facilitate teaching in a variety of ways. The “Note to Teacher” sidebars provide criteria for selecting alternate texts, background information to supplement the lesson, or tips about how to take the lesson deeper. The “Lesson Adaptation” sidebars identify Spanish-English cognates so if you have Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can

help them make connections between their native language and English. The SaY icon highlights suggested language for sharing and explaining the lesson’s content to students. The chart graphics give you an idea of what your class charts might look like and provide sample student responses.

more on teaching reading

You will find useful information to help students learn about reading in the America’s Choice Reading Monograph Series posted on the Community of Learning. These monographs provide in-depth explanations of the instructional strategies that support reading development and more information about rituals and routines. The titles in this series are:

■■ Fluency and Comprehension

■■ Guided Reading

■■ Independent Reading

■■ Partner Reading

■■ Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

■■ Reading Aloud

■■ Reading Conferences

■■ Rituals, Routines, and Artifacts

■■ Shared Reading

■■ Talking About Books

■■ Vocabulary

what’s it look like?

What should a Readers Workshop look like after 30 days? Life in a workshop classroom is a social experience, where students follow predictable structures and have a predictable time for reading daily. After teaching the 30 foundations study lessons, you should see evidence that students understand the rituals and routines and are beginning to take responsibility for knowing the workshop structure. They should be able to explain what they do in the opening, work period, and closing.

During the workshop, you should hear students reading and discussing their reading with each other. Students should understand what the workshop artifacts are and how these artifacts help them grow as readers.



Envision a classroom where:

■■ Instruction is based on performance and state content standards.

■■ Students have daily opportunities to develop good reading habits, to practice reading strategies during independent reading, and have time to discuss books and reading strategies with others.

■■ The teacher confers with students about their work as readers.

■■ Assessment of student reading, in conjunction with a deep understanding of grade level expectations, drives instruction.

■■ The classroom walls are a rich resource for learning, complete with lesson artifacts and rubrics.

■■ Students understand the importance of focused independent reading time and know how essential it is for their development as readers.

■■ Rubrics guide student improvement.

The foundations study lessons will help students learn to use the classroom purposefully, use classroom resources efficiently, and work independently. After using these 30 lessons, you will see and hear a literate community of students who are ready for a yearlong journey toward becoming successful, proficient readers.

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Readers Workshop Foundations Lessons: Grade K

Week 1

Lesson 1

How to Begin Readers Workshop

Lesson 2

Student Routines for Read Aloud

Lesson 3

Tools of the Readers Workshop

Lesson 4

How to Read a Book

Lesson 5

Introducing the Reading Folder

Week 2

Lesson 6

Introducing the Reader’s Notebook

Lesson 7

Introducing Individual Book Bags

Lesson 8

Choosing Places for Independent Reading

Lesson 9

Selecting Books

Lesson 10

Making Predictions

Week 3

Lesson 11

How to Read with a Partner

Lesson 12

Student Routines for Shared Reading

Lesson 13

Listening for Rhyming Words

Lesson 14

Word Boundaries

Lesson 15

Activating Background Knowledge

Week 4

Lesson 16

Practicing Habits of Good Listeners

Lesson 17

One-to-One Matching

Lesson 18

Recognizing Letters and Sounds

Lesson 19

Using Meaning Clues

Lesson 20

Good Questions

Week 5

Lesson 21

What Good Readers Do

Lesson 22


Lesson 23

Listening for Rhyming Words

Lesson 24

Making Reading Sound Like Talk

Lesson 25

Making Connections

Week 6

Lesson 26

Talking About Texts and Saying Why

Lesson 27


Lesson 28

Fluency: Reading the Punctuation

Lesson 29

Rereading to Maintain Meaning

Lesson 30

Practicing Good Reading Habits



charts and Touchstone Texts Used in this Foundations Study

Lesson chart Suggested Texts

1 Readers Workshop Routines

2 Looks Like/Sounds Like Just Like Daddy (Frank Asch)

Alternate:

Whistle for Willie (Ezra Jack Keats)

3 Tools for Readers Workshop My Little Red Toolbox (Stephen Johnson)

4 How to Read a Book The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle)

Alternate:

The Napping House (Audrey Wood)

5 Reading Log Model

6 Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak)

Alternate:

Julius, the Baby of the World (Kevin Henkes)

7

8 Classroom Map

Independent Reading

9 What to Think About When Choosing a Book

10 Rosie’s Walk (Pat Hutchins)

Alternate:

Nuts to You! (Lois Ehlert)

11 Partner Reading

12 Shared Reading Five Little Monkeys Illustrated, Big Book (Marjory Gardner)

13

14 Poem (Copy)

15 What I Know About Wemberly Worried (Kevin Henkes)

Alternate:

Waiting for Wings (Lois Ehlert)

16 Good Listeners

17 Move Over!. Big Book (Joy Cowley)

18 Words with the Letter ____

19

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charts and Touchstone Texts Used in this Foundations Study

Lesson chart Suggested Texts

20 Good Questions for Talking About Books

Duck on a Bike (David Shannon)

Alternate:

Lucky Song (Vera B. Williams)

21 What Good Readers Do

22 Mrs. Wishy-Washy (Joy Cowley)

23 Rhyming Words

24

25 What Good Readers Do Peter’s Chair (Ezra Jack Keats)

Alternate:

The Ticky-Tacky Doll (Cynthia Rylant)

26 How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? (Jane Yolen)

Alternate:

When I Was Little (Jamie Lee Curtis)

27 Words with the Letter ____ Three Little Ducks, Big Book (June Melser)

28 Reading the Clues

Alphabet Activity

29

30 Practicing Good Reading Habits in Independent Reading Time (Rubric)



Support for english Language Learners

overview

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing population of public school students in the United States. Most, if not all, teachers will teach ELLs sometime during their careers, so schools and teachers must be prepared to include them in meaningful ways in grade-level courses. ELLs are not a homogeneous group. They enter school with a variety of experiences and skills, including:

■■ A wide range of language proficiencies in their home languages

■■ Varied reading and writing skills in their home languages

■■ Varied formal or perhaps no formal schooling experiences, depending on the availability of schooling in their countries of origin

■■ Varied language proficiency levels

The America’s Choice foundations studies address the needs of students who are at the Expanding (L4) and Bridging (L5) levels according to the Pre-K–12 English Proficiency Levels (TESOL 2006.) Students need strong conversational English abilities to participate fully in these studies. (You can find valuable information about language proficiency levels and teaching ELLs at www.tesol.org.)

the five essential practices

The foundations studies begin the process of teaching all students to be readers, including English language learners (ELLs). The Readers Workshop is an ideal structure for responding to ELLs’ academic and linguistic needs. The foundations studies reflect the “Five Essential Practices for Teaching English Language Learners” developed by America’s Choice based on a wide body of research

on second language acquisition, literacy, and effective instruction. These practices support the most appropriate and effective instruction for helping ELLs (and all students) build comprehension, fluency, understanding, and vocabulary.

In the foundations studies, examples of the essential practices are identified before each set of weekly lessons. The essential practices are:

essential Practice #1: develop oral language through meaningful conversation and context.Oral language is the foundation of literacy and a main tool for learning and interacting in both academic and social settings. Natural exposure to, and planned experiences with, oral language facilitates increased expression and understanding of the second language. Oral language also supports vocabulary development in context, paving the way for better comprehension and language production. Exposure to rich oral and written language environments is vital for developing literacy and language skills.

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essential Practice #2: Teach targeted skills through contextualized and explicit instruction.Contextualized instruction provides students with extra linguistic clues that support understanding not only the content but also the language being used. Combining contextualized practices with the knowledge of phonemic awareness, phonics skills, language structures and functions, text patterns, and literary devices help students develop stronger literacy skills. Explicit skills give students the tools they need to comprehend increasingly complex literacy demands.

essential Practice #3: Build vocabulary through authentic and meaningful experiences with words.Developing and deepening a student’s understanding of new words is essential for English language learners. Building vocabulary in the context of literature, experiences, modeled writing, and think-alouds ensures that students will own the new words they encounter. Vocabulary building is a lifelong process, and students must learn ways to integrate and approach new and challenging words. Discussing, playing with, and using new words allow students to gain new vocabulary through meaningful and, therefore, memorable experiences.

essential Practice #4: Build and activate background knowledge.Learning is based on establishing neural connections in the brain by drawing on previous experience, background knowledge, and prior and current environments. It is the job of both the teacher and the students to facilitate these connections in order to construct meaning and understand new ideas and concepts while expanding on their own world knowledge. Actively fostering these connections enables students to more easily interpret their surroundings and assign meaning to new concepts while expanding on their own experiences.

essential Practice #5: Teach and use meaning-making strategies.Intentional teaching of meaning-making strategies provides students with a toolbox to approach future learning challenges. Meaning-making strategies range from helping students comprehend text to teaching strategies students can use to understand English-dependent lessons. Teacher modeling of appropriate behaviors gives students the tools they need to be autonomous learners while simultaneously supplying them with options they can use to interpret both the academic and social environmental input they encounter.



for Spanish-speaking

eLLs

Many of the foundations study lessons include “Language Connection” sidebars. These sidebars identify Spanish-English cognates, and highlight places where the teacher can help Spanish-speaking ELLs make connections between their native language and English. For more intensive support for Spanish-speaking ELLs, America’s Choice offers a bilingual version of the foundations studies. The bilingual lessons scaffold instruction and foster a supportive environment to help students become literate in Spanish. Like the English version, these studies are used in the Readers Workshop setting and provide a strong foundation for language development and reading across the grade levels.






























Week 1






























1



Week 1 • The Five Essential Practices for Teaching English Language Learners

overview: how These Lessons address eLLs’ needs

essential practice

#1

develop oral language through meaningful conversation and context.

■■ Students use sentence frames to support their oral language development and to increase participation in meaningful talk.

■■ Students describe what they do during the Readers Workshop.

■■ Students turn and talk to a partner about the rituals and routines of the Readers Workshop.

■■ Students explain how to get their Reading Folders and how to put them away every day.

■■ Students share what they do well as readers.

essential practice

#2

Teach targeted skills through contextualized and explicit instruction.

■■ Students read aloud by practicing behaviors that they have generated as a class.

■■ Students learn and practice strategies for how to read independently.

essential practice

#3

Build vocabulary through authentic and meaningful experiences with words.

■■ Students discuss the rituals and routines of the Readers Workshop, after the teacher models.

■■ Students name the parts of the Reading Folder, after the teacher models.

■■ Students discuss and chart “Habits of Good Readers.”

■■ Students and teacher co-construct a chart to describe routines for a read aloud.

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students make a connection between tools they use for

eating (plates, cups, forks, etc.) and tools they use for Readers Workshop (Reading Folders, Reader’s Notebooks, etc.).

■■ Teacher reviews the previous lessons and adds to the students’ knowledge of the Readers Workshop.

Readers Workshop20



essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher models how to read emergently and demonstrates a

think aloud to show reading behaviors.

■■ Teacher demonstrates how to record information in Reading Folders.

■■ Teacher models the ritual of using Reading Folders.

■■ Teacher and students generate a list of things to do to get help during Readers Workshop.


1lesson

MaTeRiaLS

■❑ Chart paper and markers

■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frames and workshop words

■❑ Chart:

– Readers Workshop Routines

■❑ 2–3 trade books per student or baskets of books

noTe To TeacheR

Time frames for the Readers Workshop. In this lesson, the routines of the Readers Workshop do not hold to the time frames that will become the workshop’s norm. In this initial lesson, the opening will be 20–30 minutes, the work period will be 10 minutes, and the closing will be 10 minutes. When the Readers Workshop is established, the opening will run only 10–15 minutes followed by a 40-minute work period, and a 10-minute closing.

students’ learning objective

■■ Learn and practice the daily rituals and routines of the Readers Workshop

students’ language objective

■■ Describe what they will do during the Readers Workshop using the specific vocabulary of the workshop model. Use the sentence frames:

– In Readers Workshop, I will _______.

– Today in Readers Workshop, I _______.

target words

■■ opening

■■ work period

■■ closing

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to establish the routines of the workshop—what we will do every day—and some of the rituals—how we do things in this class—for the Readers Workshop. By establishing clear expectations of how time will be used, students are able to focus on the content and the process of learning to read.

prep

■■ Arrange the classroom so there is a clear, well-defined, whole-class meeting area. Often this area is set apart by a large area rug (6’ x 9’) with a special chair. It is often located near or inside the classroom library for easy access to books, chart tablets, markers, and displays.

■■ Label a piece of chart paper “Readers Workshop Routines” and hang it next to your seat in the whole-class meeting area. Write the basic schedule (opening meeting, work period, closing meeting) on the paper. Leave space below the label for each component of the workshop so you can add information during the lesson.

■■ Place baskets or boxes of books on the student worktables or place two or three books at each student’s seat.

how to Begin Readers Workshop

Readers Workshop22

Lesson 1 • How to Begin Readers Workshop


opening

■■ Ask students to meet you in the whole-class meeting area. Because many of the students many have little previous experience with school, it is a good idea to ask them to come in small groups rather than all at once. You will want to establish a ritual—the way we always come to the meeting area in this class—for doing so. Possible rituals might include: call students by table groups, call students alphabetically according to first name, boys then girls, etc.

■■ Instruct students to sit on the edges of the carpet forming a circle or horseshoe. You may want to designate where you would like students to sit (places might be marked with small colored squares, designated with a taped x, students’ names on card stock, etc.).

■■ Explain that this area will be used for group discussions and that sitting here is part of the workshop’s opening (and closing) meeting. Tell students to sit so each person can see everyone else. Explain that they should sit quietly with legs crossed. Tell them that when they sit in this area, they focus attention on the work they are doing and the lessons they are learning. Most importantly, this should be an area for practicing good school behaviors.

■■ Explain to students how the schedule is structured within the Readers Workshop.

about the opening meeting

■■ Begin by explaining that each day, students will meet and you will teach them something about reading. You will read to them, or they will read together. This is called the Readers Workshop opening meeting. On the “Readers Workshop Routines” chart, under the words “Opening meeting,” draw a circle with an open book just below, and tell students that this drawing will remind them that during the opening you will read to them.

Readers Workshop Routines

• Opening meeting

• Work period

• Closing meeting



opening

continued

■■ Lessons for the whole class are held in the whole-class meeting area during this time. Explain that what is happening right now is a lesson and explain the purpose, which is learning the routines of the workshop. It is important for students to understand what they should be getting from your instruction.

■■ Consider adding a sticky-note or arrow to the “Readers Workshop Routines” chart to provide a visual anchor of the workshop hour. The sticky-note or arrow will move through the workshop period as students begin each component. For example, start the note or arrow with the opening meeting. Physically move the note or arrow to the work period once it begins. Do the same when it is time for the closing meeting.

about the work period

■■ Tell students that the next part of the workshop is called the work period. This is when they will read books by themselves or sometimes with a partner. On the “Readers Workshop Routines” chart, under the words “Work period,” draw several smaller circles with books below them, and tell students that this drawing will remind them that during the work period they will be reading books independently.


• Opening meeting

• Work period

• Closing meeting

noTe To TeacheR

Monograph. For more information on how to start and sustain partner reading and discussion groups, see the America’s Choice monographs, Partner Reading and Talking About Books, posted on the Community of Learning.

Readers Workshop24



opening

continued

■■ Tell students they will read and work independently while you confer with other students or lead guided reading groups. Explain that they will be learning how to select just-right books and that you will be working with them to help them become better readers. Students may also work with partners or in small discussion groups

about the closing meeting

■■ Tell students that the last part of the Readers Workshop is called the closing meeting. On the “Readers Workshop Routines” chart, under “Closing meeting,” draw a circle with an open book below it. Then add several circles arranged in a semi-circle and centered under the book. Tell students that this drawing will remind them that in the closing meeting we listen to each other and talk about reading.


• Opening meeting

• Work period

• Closing meeting

■■ Explain that this is a time to come back together as a group and celebrate what has gone on during the opening meeting and the work period. Students will share their accomplishments and discoveries in the reader’s chair. Students will share what they have done that relates to the day’s lesson, talk about finishing a book, share strategies they employed, explain what they noticed in a story, give a book recommendation, etc. This time is a closure, but it also serves to review what was learned and allows all members of the class to ask important questions and share information.



opening

continued

■■ After you explain the structure of the Readers Workshop, make sure students understand that this very lesson you are teaching is the opening meeting you just talked about. Consider adding a sticky-note or arrow to the “Readers Workshop Routines” chart to provide a visual anchor of the workshop hour. The note or arrow will move through the workshop period as students begin each component.

■■ Ask students to turn and talk to a partner about what they will do every day when they have Readers Workshop. Scaffold for those students that need language support by having them use the sentence frame: “In Readers Workshop, I will _______.” Have students describe what they will see and hear. Remind students to use the vocabulary they have learned for the parts of the workshop when they talk about what they will do.

■■ Allow students two to three minutes to talk. Listen as they do so. Monitor the conversation and encourage students to use the terms opening, work period, and closing.

■■ After students have talked, summarize their conversation. You might say:

SaY “ I heard Jerome say he would come to the rug for the opening. I heard Amy say…”

■■ Repeat small pieces of overheard conversation to review the three components of the workshop.”

work period

■■ Tell students that they will now participate in the work period. Today in the work period, they will do two things: take a tour of the classroom and read independently.

■■ Take students on a tour of the classroom, briefly introducing the various parts of the room and their purposes (e.g., the classroom library, places to read quietly, places where the reading materials will be stored, etc.)

■■ Then, ask students to sit at the seats where they will begin to read independently. Remind students that this is Readers Workshop, so if they finish one book they should reread that book or choose another book to read because it is Reading Workshop and our work is reading. Give students 5–10 minutes for reading,

Readers Workshop26



work period

continued

■■ Monitor student behavior as they are reading. Provide students with additional support where needed. Observe students reading habits and make notes on your observations. Help students maintain focus throughout the work period.

closing

■■ After students have participated in the work period, direct them to complete their activities and move to the same places they occupied during the opening meeting (called the whole-class meeting area). Explain that this is the time of the Readers Workshop called the closing meeting.

■■ Briefly review the purpose of the closing meeting. Review the entire workshop to this point: what happened first, next, etc. You may want to have students help you chart the process you have followed in this workshop up to this closing meeting (or refer to the chart with the Readers Workshop parts listed and add to it).

■■ Ask students to participate in the closing meeting by sharing something they have learned during Readers Workshop, asking a question about something they need to have clarified, sharing something they wonder about, or sharing something they accomplished. Chose some of students to share. They should begin their sharing with the sentence frame: “Today in Readers Workshop, I _______.”

■■ After the allotted time for the closing meeting, thank students for their participation in the Readers Workshop and announce that the meeting is officially closed. Explain your ritual for leaving the meeting area.

■■ Remind students that this is the same general structure they will experience in every Readers Workshop.


Student Routines for Read aloud 2lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Writing/drawing paper

■❑ Crayons

■❑ Chart:

– Looks Like/Sounds Like

■❑ Just Like Daddy (Asch) or a book of your choice. A read-aloud book from your core reading program could be a good choice.

■❑ 2 trade books per student or baskets of books


■■ Learn and practice the behaviors expected of good readers during read aloud


■■ Use language to describe the behaviors they should and did use during read aloud using the target vocabulary. Use the sentence frames:

– Today during read aloud, I _______.

– I used _______ behavior in read aloud because I _______.

■■ Describe the behaviors practiced during the workshop using the sentence frame:

– Today in Readers Workshop, I _______.

target words

■■ read aloud

■■ behavior(s)

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is help students establish the habits of good readers. This lesson establishes the concept of reading as thinking. It also helps students understand the behaviors of good readers, what one does or does not do when listening to a text being read. During this lesson, your role is to lead students’ thinking. Through questioning, you will guide them to set clear, achievable expectations for both cognitive and social-emotional behaviors for the read aloud experience.

prep

■■ On chart paper, make a T-chart. Label one side of the T-chart “Looks Like” and the other “Sounds Like.” Consider adding icons or illustrations, such as “Looks Like” (with eyes) and “Sounds Like” (with ears).

■■ Choose a text to read aloud to students. It should have an engaging story that is somewhat close to students’ life experiences and is a relatively short read aloud. Preview the text to ensure you can read it with fluency and phrasing.


Readers Workshop28

Lesson 2 • Student Routines for Read Aloud


opening

■■ Ask students to gather in the whole-class meeting area. Be sure to follow the ritual established in the previous lesson.

■■ Explain to students that an important part of Readers Workshop is listening to books being read to them during a lesson. When they listen to books, they learn about stories, they learn information, they learn words, and they learn about authors and illustrators. Most importantly, they learn that listening to books being read aloud is a wonderful experience.

■■ Tell students that you want them to enjoy the time when they are listening to books being read aloud. To enjoy this time, they need to know how to behave. Ask students to think about what it will look like and what it will sound like when you are reading a book to them. Remind them that if everyone is going to enjoy the read loud, they need to think carefully about their behavior. What will they be doing when someone reads to them?

■■ Show students the T-chart. Ask students to help you think about what the class should look like and sound like during read aloud. Chart their responses. Along with expectations for behavior such as sitting quietly and being careful not to bother students sitting close by, you will want to lead the discussion so students realize they not only listen to the reading but think about the text and ask questions, make connections to their lives, to other texts and to the world. Possible responses for the chart include the following: sit quietly, hands in laps, legs crisscrossed, eyes on the book, looking at the pictures, listening carefully, asking questions, thinking about the book and wondering what will happen next.

■■ Review the chart, then read aloud the book you have chosen.

■■ After the reading, review the chart and ask students to reflect on their behavior. Have them turn to a partner and talk about how they behaved during the read aloud. Ask students to use one of the sentence frames:

– Today during read aloud, I _______.

– I used _______ behavior in read aloud because I _______.

noTe To TeacheR

experiences with reading. Because many of the students may not have had many experiences of being read to previously, you may need to elicit the desired behaviors by posing questions such as “Will we look at the pictures in the book to see what is happening in the story?”



opening

continued

■■ You will want to model the use of each of the frames before students use them. You might say:

SaY “ Today during the read aloud, I thought about how mu cat gets into trouble just like when the cat in the story climbed on the curtains.”

or

SaY “ I used good behavior during read aloud because I sat quietly and looked at the pictures.”

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have two jobs during the work period.

■■ Their first job is to think about the story they listened to during read aloud and make a drawing of the part of the story they liked best. (You may choose to meet with to meet with English language learners or students who have special needs as a small group to model drawing your own favorite part of the story.) After they have completed the drawing, ask them to write a few sentences that tell why this was their favorite part.

■■ Explain to students that their second job is to read independently just like they did the day before. Explain that we read independently every day. Tell them to read the books at their places or choose books from the baskets on their tables. Remind them that their job during the work period is to read, so they will read and reread these books until it is time for the closing.

■■ Have students return to their seats where they will complete their drawings and read independently. Monitor students as they work and provide assistance, as needed. As you monitor, select a few students to share their work during the closing.

closing

■■ Have students return to the whole-class meeting area. Remind them that in this lesson they learned how to behave during a read aloud. Tell them that one way they can judge if they have practiced good reading behaviors during read aloud is to review the chart they made earlier. Review the list created earlier.

■■ As you read each point, have students indicate whether they practiced good behavior with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down signal.

Readers Workshop30



closing

continued

■■ Explain that another way to know if they have practiced good reading behaviors is to look at the work they have done. Give the students you selected an opportunity to share their work. You may want to encourage them to use the sentence frame from the previous lesson. “Today in Readers Workshop, I _______,” as they share.


Tools of the Readers Workshop 3lesson

MaTeRiaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frames and workshop word

■❑ Writing/drawing paper

■❑ Crayons

■❑ Labels

■❑ Collection of tools (plates, cups, forks, knives, hammer, stethoscope, ladle, pots, books, magazines, computers, newspapers, Reading Folders, Reader’s Notebooks, etc.)

■❑ Chart:

– Tools of the Readers Workshop

■❑ My Little Red Toolbox (Johnson)



■■ Learn where and how to get and put away the materials needed for the Readers Workshop


■■ Compare tools for common activities to tools for the Readers Workshop using the sentence frames:

– A _______ is a tool for _______.

– A _______ is a tool for reading.

target words

■■ tool(s)

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand that all jobs require tools, including the job of becoming a reader. In this lesson, students will see, name, and learn how to access the tools for the Readers Workshop. Clearly established rituals for using reading materials and writing implements save time and allow you and your students to focus on the workshop’s real work, which is reading.

prep

■■ Preview the text to ensure you can read it with fluency and phrasing.

■■ Set up a small table with the plates, cups, knives, forks, spoons, napkins, and other tools that you have collected.

■■ Print a set of labels on cards for each collected item; leave space for additional information.


opening

■■ Ask students to gather in the whole-class meeting area following the ritual you have established. Show the book My Little Red Toolbox by Stephen Johnson. Have students predict from the cover what the book will be about, then talk about the illustrations. Remind students to use the expected behaviors as they listen to the text being read aloud. Read the book aloud and have students identify each tool. Discuss who might use these tools.

Readers Workshop32

Lesson 3 • Tools of the Readers Workshop


noTe To TeacheR

Scaffolds to support this activity. Students with less experience with text may need additional support to create this list. You may scaffold this activity by having examples of each tool available to show students. You might also draw a representation of each or take a photograph of each that can be used to create an artifact for this lesson titled “Tools of the Readers Workshop.”

opening

continued

■■ Show students the table with the plates, cups, forks, knives, spoons, and napkins. Explain that these are tools and ask who might use them. They can be labeled by placing appropriate cards by them.

■■ Hold up some of the other tools and ask students to suggest who might use them. For example, hold up a hammer, stethoscope, ladle, or pot, and ask students to name the people who might use these tools, such as carpenters or builders, doctors, chefs, moms and dads, etc. Write the name of each user on the card with the label naming the tool. Later, the tools and cards can be affixed to a display for future reference. Ask students what the tool is used for. Model using the sentence frame: “A _______ is a tool for _______.”

■■ Explain that as readers in the Readers Workshop, students will be using tools, too. Ask what tools readers might use. Write “Tools of the Readers Workshop” on the chart paper. Have examples of readers’ tools such as books, magazines, computers, newspapers, Reading Folders, and Reader’s Notebooks available. Show them to students and model using the sentence frame: “A _______ is a tool for reading.”

■■ Tell students that they will also be writers as they respond to and log what they read in Readers Workshop. Therefore, they need to see writers’ tools such as pens, paper, pencils, or a computer.

■■ Show students where the texts that they will use during the Readers Workshop are stored. Demonstrate how to choose something to read and how to replace it.

■■ Show students where the writing tools are stored. Demonstrate how to get the tools and how to return them. (Both this point and the previous point about reading materials can be addressed in separate lessons and may need repeated presentation.)

■■ Have students turn to a partner and tell the name of a tool they have used and what it is used for. Then have them describe a tool they will use for reading. Have students use the sentence frames: “A _______ is a tool for _______. A _______ is a tool for reading.”

■■ Talk about how you will need to establish a routine for distributing supplies to students.

■■ Have students practice retrieving and replacing supplies at the end of this lesson to reinforce what they will need to do during Readers Workshop.


Lesson 3 • Tools of the Readers Workshop

work period


– Job 1: Draw the tools they talked about with their partners. Have students divide their paper in half. Draw one tool on each half of the page (the tool they have used and the tool for reading). Under each drawing, ask students to write the name of the tool.

– Job 2: Read independently. Remind students that they read independently every day. Tell them to read the books at their places or choose books from the baskets on their tables. Remind students that their job during the work period is to read, so they will read and reread these books until it is time for the closing.

■■ Have students return to their seats where they will complete their drawings and read independently. Monitor students as they work and provide assistance, as needed. As you monitor, select a few students to share their work during the closing.

closing

■■ Have students return to the whole-class meeting area. Remind them that in this lesson we learned about the tools for Readers Workshop.

■■ Ask the students you have selected to share their work. You may want to scaffold the sharing with the sentence frames: “Today in Readers Workshop, I learned that a _______ is a tool for _______. A _______ is a tool for reading.”

noTe To TeacheR

Managing supplies. There are many ways to handle student supplies. You will want to develop a system that works for your class. Some teachers use community supplies stored in a central location. Others decide that a plastic container on each table will hold all of the supplies for everyone at the table.

If you choose a central location for supplies, there are many ways to send students from the whole-class meeting area to retrieve what they need. And from their tables to return supplies. You might send students in small groups by:

■❑ The month they were born

■❑ A color they are wearing

■❑ Alphabetically (by first or last name)

■❑ Table group

Have students practice retrieving and replacing supplies at the end of this lesson to reinforce what they need to know during Readers Workshop.



how to Read a Book 4lesson

MaTeRiaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frame and workshop words

■❑ Chart:

– How to Read a Book

■❑ The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle) or a book of your choice

noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. You may choose any book for this lesson, but it should be one that will be easy for students to engage with and one they might want to hear again and again. The pictures should be clear, colorful and much of the story should unfold in the illustrations.


■■ Practice appropriate behaviors for holding a book, turning the pages, and reading emergently during independent reading in the work period


■■ Describe the good reading behaviors they used during independent reading. Use the sentence frame:

– Today as a reader, I _______.”

■■ Label their drawings using vocabulary from the text

target words

■■ cover

■■ page

■■ pictures

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to expand students’ emerging notion of reading. In this lesson, you model what a reader pays attention to and how a reader interacts with the text. You provide students with a concrete example of concepts of print as you demonstrate how to handle the book. This lesson also establishes the concept of story for the students. As you “read” to the students, you create the sound and structure of story.

prep

■■ Preview the text to plan how you will do an emergent reading of it. You will not be reading the words but will be reading the pictures in a “story-like” fashion.

■■ Plan how you will conversationally think aloud to demonstrate reading behaviors and book-handling skills.

opening

■■ Explain to students that each day they will read independently during the work period. You might say something like:

SaY “ Books are very special. We need to treat them in a special way. Because we are still small and have not learned to read all the words yet, we are going to read in a special way.”

■■ Tell students that you are going to read a book to them now just the way you want them to read. Explain that you want them to listen to what you say and also to watch what you do as you are reading.

Readers Workshop36

Lesson 4 • How to Read a Book


opening

continued

■■ Read the text to the students as you expect them to read—emergently. As you do so, think aloud about the reading behaviors that are important for the students. These include:

– Holding the book right side up, with the cover showing

– Looking at the cover of the book and wondering what the book might be about

– Turning each page carefully so we do not tear the pages

– Looking at the picture and naming objects or talking about things in the picture

– Looking at the left page and then the right page (where appropriate)

– “Reading” the story by telling what you see happening in the pictures in storybook language—you may want to use phrases such as “once upon a time,” “one day,” “the end,” and “happily ever after”

– Turning the pages one at a time

– Reading each page

– Reading the book from front to back

– Closing the book

– Carefully returning the book to where it belongs

■■ After you have completed the emergent reading of the book, ask the students what they noticed you do as you were reading. (For students with less experience with books, you may need to scaffold this discussion.) Capture students’ remarks on a chart titled “How to Read a Book.” Scaffold students’ remarks to include the bulleted points above.

■■ Ask students if they would like for you to read the book again. Reread the book with fluency and phrasing as it is written.

■■ Review the procedures for getting books and materials before the students begin working.



work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have three jobs today during the work period.

– Job 1: Think about the story they just listened to together and decide what part of it they liked the best. Ask students to draw a picture of their favorite part. Encourage students to label the picture with words from the story or use words to write about their picture.

– Job 2: Turn to a partner and share their picture. Students should tell about their picture beginning with the sentence frame: “My favorite part of the story is _______.”

– Job 3: Read independently. Remind students that we learned how to read our books today and that you will be watching to see if they do the things they learned. Tell students to read the books at their places or choose books from the baskets on their tables. Remind students that their job during the work period is to read, so they will read and reread these books until it is time for the closing.

■■ Have students return to their seats where they will draw complete their drawings, share with a partner, and read independently. Monitor students as they work and provide assistance, as needed. As you monitor, look at how students are handling their books and make notes of specific positive behaviors, which you will share during the closing. Select a few students to share their drawings during the closing.

closing

■■ Have students return to the whole-class meeting area. Remind them that in this lesson they learned about how to read their books during independent reading.

■■ Share with students some of the specific behaviors you observed as they were reading, pointing to the chart as you do so. For example, you might say:

SaY “ I saw Jonathan turning the pages one at a time. I saw Maria looking at the cover of her book and thinking about what the story might be about. I saw Demetrius naming the things in the pictures.”

Readers Workshop38



closing

continued

■■ Ask a few students to share what they did well as readers during the work period. Have them use the sentence frame: “Today as a reader, I _______” as they do so. Point to the chart as they identify their reading behaviors. Compliment the students on using good reading behaviors and remind them that they will practice these same good behaviors every day as they read.

■■ Ask the students you have selected to share their work.


introducing the Reading Folder 5lesson

MaTeRiaLS

■❑ Crayons or markers


■❑ Reading Folders (one pocket folder per student), which contain:

– One unlined composition book per student (Reader’s Notebook)

– One small, 3 x 5 or 4 x 6, spiral notebook per student (Assessment Notebook)

– One book log

■❑ Sample Reading Folder for demonstration purposes

■❑ Chart:

– Reading Log Model



■■ Explain how to get their Reading Folders at the start of each work period, how to add work to the folder, and how to return the folder to the proper place so it can be found easily when needed.


■■ Name the parts of the Reading Folder and explain how to get their folders and put them away each day. Use the sentence frame:

– This is my _______. I use it to _______.

target words

■■ Reading Folder

■■ Reading Log

■■ Assessment Notebook

■■ Reader’s Notebook

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to acquaint students with the Reading Folder and its components and help them understand how to use it in the Readers Workshop. This lesson establishes the ritual for getting and storing the folder. This is one more step in ensuring that the classroom runs smoothly. As a result of this lesson, students should understand not only what a Reading Folder is and how it is used but also why the folder is important.

prep

■■ Determine where you would like the student Reading Folders to be stored and how you will organize them. Keep in mind the organizational needs of young students when making this determination. Having the folders stored in baskets or boxes for table groups may be more effective than keeping folders in a central location.

■■ Be sure there is one folder for each student in the class.

■■ Write each student’s name on the folder before the lesson. Use large letters so it is easy to read.

■■ Place baskets or boxes of books on the student worktables or place one or two books at each student’s seat.

Readers Workshop40

Lesson 5 • Introducing the Reading Folder


opening

■■ Announce to students that Readers Workshop is beginning, and you would like them to join you in the whole-class meeting area. Follow the ritual you have established for doing so.

■■ Remind students that earlier the class learned about the tools for Readers Workshop. Explain that in this lesson they are going to learn about a tool that they will use every day called the Reading Folder. The Reading Folder contains three important things: the Assessment Notebook, the Reading Log, and the Reader’s Notebook.

■■ Show students the sample Reading Folder, and tell them what it is called. Ask them to notice that a name is on the outside of it so you can tell easily to whom it belongs. Tell students that their names will be on their own folders. Open the folder up and show students the pockets.

■■ Explain that in one side pocket of the folder, students will keep an Assessment Notebook. Ask students to notice that a name is on the Assessment Notebook, too. Explain that you will write in the Assessment Notebook. You will write notes about the things the student is doing in Readers Workshop. Explain that when students meet with you for a conference, you write a note in the Assessment Notebook. This is where they will keep their goals for becoming better readers.

■■ Demonstrate how you might write a reading goal in the Assessment Notebook. it is a good idea to surround the reading goal with a colored border so young students can easily remember their goals.

■■ Close the Assessment Notebook and replace it in the Reading Folder. Ask students to turn to a partner and tell what this is and what it is for, using the sentence frame: “This is my _______. I use it to _______.”

■■ Explain that in the other side pocket of the folder, students keep a Reading Log and a Reader’s Notebook. Have students notice that a name is also on the Reader’s Notebook. Explain that students will do the writing in the Reading Log and the Reader’s Notebook.

■■ Tell students that at the end of each Readers Workshop, they will take a few minutes to record information about the book they read that day. Use a chart-sized model of a book log to model how to enter data in the Reading Log. When they have finished recording the information, they will return the Reading Log to the Reading Folder.

noTe To TeacheR

When should students begin to use the Reading Log? For kindergarten, even though you introduce the Reading Log in this lesson, it is a good idea to wait to begin the log until the end of the first quarter. Even then, ask students to record only one title per day. You may choose to have then record the title of their favorite book or their new book. You will not want students to record every book they read, because they read many titles each day and will spend their time writing the names of books instead of reading. In lieu of individual Reading Logs at this point, keep a class Reading Log.



opening

continued

■■ Remind students that they will use their Reading Log every day. Explain that by keeping a log, they will learn how they are growing as readers and developing the habit of reading. Ask students to turn to a partner and tell what this is and what it is for using the sentence frame: “This is my _______. I use it to _______.”

■■ Show students a Reader’s Notebook and explain that the class, including you, will write in Reader’s Notebooks one or two days each week. Tell students that the Reader’s Notebook will help them think and write about reading. Talk briefly about the kinds of entries students might make in their notebooks, such as making a drawing of their favorite part of a story or writing about our favorite character in a story.

■■ Open the sample Reader’s Notebook and illustrate how it is used based on something read earlier in the week. Close the Reader’s Notebook and replace it in the Reading Folder. Ask students to turn to a partner and tell what this is and what it is for using the sentence frame: “This is my _______. I use it to _______.”

■■ Tell students that when they begin the work period each day, they need to get their Reading Folder and put it at their seat. Because the Reading Folder are used every day, it is important to have a ritual for getting the folders. Explain how you want students to retrieve them and to put them away. Demonstrate this ritual. Ask one or two students to model how it is done.

■■ Ask students to turn to a partner and explain what they will do to get their Reading Folder each day and what they will do to put it away each day. As students go to the work period, they should pick up their Reading Folder.

Readers Workshop42































work period


– Job 1: Read independently. Tell students to read the books at their places or choose books from the baskets on their tables. Remind students to practice the good reading behaviors that they have learned and to read and reread these books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Make a self-portrait, a picture of themselves, in which they are reading a favorite book on the cover of their reading folder.

■■ Use the work period to confer with students about their reading and to collect initial assessment data on early reading behaviors.

closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they learned about the parts of the reading folder and how they will get the folders and put them away each day. Review the parts of the folder. As you do so, have students use the sentence frames: “This is my _______. I use it to _______.

Readers Workshop

Week 2






























2



Week 1 • The Five Essential Practices for Teaching English Language LearnersWeek 2 • The Five Essential Practices for Teaching English Language Learners


essential practice

#1



■■ Students talk about their favorite part of a story with a peer.

■■ Students review the steps for partner reading.

essential practice

#2


■■ Students select a book based on purpose.

■■ Students use criteria for selecting books.

■■ Students learn to become better readers through shared reading, as they learn to read new words together.

■■ Students apply letter-sound relationships to check their reading, making certain that the letters match the word they are saying.

essential practice

#3


■■ Students use the language of the Readers Workshop to explain the partner reading process.

■■ Students build shared vocabulary around selecting books.

■■ Students learn and practice the ritual of partner reading.

■■ Student use specific vocabulary for shared reading.

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students practice reading with a partner by using the steps on a

chart created in a previous lesson.

essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher models choosing a book based on the cover and asks

questions to make predictions about the book.

■■ Teacher models how to partner read, and students practice.

■■ Teacher models the routine for shared reading, its rituals and expectations.

■■ Teacher models reading with fluency and uses a think-aloud process to show how it is done.

■■ Teacher models how students should use picture clues to crosscheck their reading.

introducing the Reader’s notebook 6lesson


■■ Learn the procedures for using their Reader’s Notebook and make an initial notebook entry


■■ Describe a favorite part of a story or a favorite character. Use the sentence frames:

– My favorite part is _______.

– The person I liked was _______.

target words

■■ There are no new target words for this lesson. Continue to use and reinforce the language of the workshop and any vocabulary students may be struggling with.

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate how to use the Reader’s Notebook as a means of capturing the thinking we do about text. In this lesson, we capture one of the easiest types of thinking about text, making a judgment about what we liked in a text. In future lessons you will want to explore other responses that provide evidence that students understand what they are reading. These might include:

– Retelling via a story map

– Telling the events in the correct sequence

– Making a text to self connection

– Making predictions

– Choosing a favorite character and telling why

prep

■■ Determine what type of notebook or sheets of paper students will use.

■■ Prepare a sample Reader’s Notebook.

opening

■■ Explain that you are going to read a story to the class. Remind students to practice the goods behaviors we use when we listen to a read aloud. Read a favorite story aloud to the students.

MaTeRiaLS

■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frames

■❑ Sample Reading Folder which includes a Reader’s Notebook

■❑ Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak) or a book of your choice

noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. The text for this lesson should be one that invites student response. Students might respond to a favorite part or a favorite character.

notebook options. In this lesson, students will learn to make entries in their Reader’s Notebook. In other grades, this notebook is a lined composition book. Because of the developmental needs of young children, you may prefer an unlined composition book. If a book is not available, several pages (approximately 25) of drawing paper stapled together will work well.


Readers Workshop48

Lesson 6 • Introducing the Reader’s Notebook

opening

continued

■■ Explain to students that good readers think about the story after someone has read a book. They think about many things. Sometimes they think about the part of the story they liked the best. Ask students to think about the part of this story they liked best. Ask if anyone would like to tell about his or her favorite part. Ask students to use the sentence frame:

– My favorite part is _____.

■■ Allow one or two children to tell about their favorite part. Then ask students to turn to the person sitting next to them and tell this partner the part they liked the best. Allow just a minute or two and then regain the students’ attention.

■■ Tell students that one way they can show others what they think about the stories they read is to make a drawing. Today, they are going to use their Reader’s Notebook to make a drawing of the part of the story they liked the best.

■■ Remind students that we keep our Reader’s Notebook in our Reading Folder. Show students the sample Reading Folder. Open it and show students the Reader’s Notebook. Remove the Reader’s Notebook from the pocket and open the notebook to the first clean page. Explain to students that we only use one page at a time in the notebook, and it is always the first clean page of the notebook.

■■ Demonstrate how to make a notebook entry. Think aloud as you make the drawing to model for students how you think about what to draw and the details to add. (If you want the students to date their entry, model this as well.)

■■ When you complete your entry, close the notebook and return it to the folder. Remind students that it is important to take care of our reading tools.

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have two jobs today during the work period.

– Job 1: Read independently. Tell students to read the books at their places or choose books from the baskets on their tables. Remind students to practice the good reading behaviors that they have learned and to read and reread these books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.


Lesson 6 • Introducing the Reader’s Notebook

work period

continued

– Job 2: Make an entry in their Reader’s Notebook. Students may choose to draw the part of the story they liked the best or they may choose to draw the person in the story that they liked the best. Ask students to label or write about their drawings. When students have completed their drawings they should turn to a partner and tell them about what they drew and why they like that part or that person.

■■ Use the work period to begin to confer with students about their reading and collect some initial assessment data on early reading behaviors.

closing

■■ Ask some of the students to bring their Reading Folders to the closing. Have them share the entries they made using one of the sentence frames:

– My favorite part is _______.

– The person I liked was _______.

■■ Remind student that the Reader’s Notebook is where they show their ideas about the books that they are reading.



introducing individual Book Bags 7lesson

MaTeRiaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frame and workshop word

■❑ Sample book bag

■❑ Chart:

– Taking Care of Books

■❑ One book bag per student (with students’ names written on the bags in large, easy-to-read print)

■❑ Several books for each student

■❑ Reading Folders


■■ Learn how to be responsible for the books in their individual book bags.


■■ Describe how to take care of the books in their book bags. Use the sentence frame:

– I take care of my books by _______.

target words

■■ book bag

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to move students to another level of reading independence by teaching them the purpose of the book bag, and learn the rituals for getting, using, and storing their book bags. They will continue to develop their book handling skills as they use and care for the books in their bags. This lesson also begins the move toward more focused teaching as you choose books for the book bag that are just right for students rather than making a range of books available to them, as you have done so far.

prep

■■ Select the book bags you will be using. They can be in any form you choose: canvas bags, plastic bags, shoe boxes, magazine holders, etc.

■■ Label each student’s book bag with his or her name.

■■ Select several books for each student, and place the books at each student’s place. Early in the year, the kindergarten book bag will contain two or three picture books that students will read emergently: a simple alphabet book and possibly a wordless picture book, a familiar poem, and a level A text or caption book.

opening

■■ Show students a book that you are currently reading and explain that you like to know where your book is so that when you have time to read you know where to find it. Remind students that we have many tools for Readers Workshop. Tell them that in this lesson they will learn about a tool to help them keep track of the books they are reading.

Readers Workshop52

Lesson 7 • Introducing Individual Book Bags


opening

continued

■■ Remind students that sometimes they will have more than one book they are reading at a time. To help keep the room and their books organized, they need a place to put their books and they need to know how to get their books from this place and how to put them away.

■■ Show the class their book bags and briefly explain the procedure they will use for storing and retrieving them.

■■ Point out that the book bag has their name clearly written on it. (If you use baskets, students’ names can be written on note cards and taped or tied to the container.)

■■ Demonstrate how to take books out of the book bag and how to put the books into the bag. Stress the importance of taking good care so that edges do not get bent and pages do not get torn. Remind students that they learned how to take care of books in an earlier lesson.

■■ Give each student his or her book bag. Ask students to go to their places where they will find some books to put in their book bags. Show them where the bags should be placed during independent reading and the work period. Use the texts in their book bag throughout the work period.

■■ Explain to students where you expect their bags to be stored at the end of the work period each day. (Try to create a space where the name on each container can be easily seen to facilitate smooth retrieval and replacement.) Have students store their bags. Ask students to retrieve and store their book bags again as practice.

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have two jobs during the work period:

– Job 1: Get their book bag and to read independently. Remind students to use the good behaviors they have learned for reading independently. Tell students they will read and reread the books in their book bags until you indicate they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Make a drawing in their Reader’s Notebook of the book in their book bag that they liked reading the most. Encourage students to write the name of the book on the drawing. When they have finished their drawings, ask students to turn to a partner and tell their partner which book they liked and why.


Lesson 7 • Introducing Individual Book Bags

work period

continued

– Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. Make note of the specific behaviors students are practicing as they read independently.

closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they used a tool for keeping track of their books during the Readers Workshop. Tell students about good reading behaviors you observed as they were reading independently. Refer to the “How to Read a Book? chart from Lesson 4.

■■ Ask two or three students to share their drawings of the book from their book bag that they liked the best and tell why.


choosing Places for independent Reading 8

lesson

MaTeRiaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frames

■❑ Sticky-notes

■❑ Student book bags

■❑ Charts:

– Classroom Map

– Independent Reading


■■ Select a place for reading within the classroom as part of developing the habit of reading


■■ Explain where they would like to read and where they would like to sit for independent reading. Use the sentence frames:

– I like to read _______.

– I want to read _______.

target words


purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to help students live the life of a reader. Just as selecting what to read needs to be demonstrated, selecting where to read is an important process for students. Selecting a favorite place to read saves precious reading time while holding the students accountable for being prepared to read.

prep

■■ The room should be arranged into reading and writing areas as suggested for the Readers Workshop. This will facilitate the procedures of this lesson.

■■ Decide where students will be allowed to sit for independent reading. Will they be allowed to sit on the floor or only in chairs? Are any areas of the room off limits for independent reading?

■■ Print each student’s name on a large sticky-note.

■■ Begin a chart T-chart by writing the title “Independent Reading.” Label one side “Looks Like” and the other side “Sounds Like:

Readers Workshop56

opening

■■ Share details about where you like to read then ask students about their preferences. You might say something like:

SaY “ When I read, I have a favorite chair I like to sit in with a really good reading lamp. And I always need a place to stack my books next to me. When you get really comfortable, where do you like to go to read?”

■■ Have students turn to a partner and respond using the sentence frame: “I like to read _______.” (Students with less experience with reading may need suggestions for possible places to read.) Help students extend these into detailed explanations.

■■ Think aloud with students: “There is not a big comfy chair in the classroom, but I can find a comfortable place in the room to read.” Look around the room, searching for a good spot—modeling this process for your students.

■■ Ask each student to join you in looking for a comfortable spot. Ask students to describe where in the classroom they would like to read during independent reading using the sentence frame: “I want to read _______.” One by one, release the students to their chosen spots. When everyone is settled, explain that these places will be their favorite and regular reading places.

■■ Give students a sticky-note with their name printed on it. Students should place the sticky-note in the place selected to mark that spot as theirs.

■■ Ask students to join you at the whole-class meeting area. Remind them to leave their sticky-note in place. On chart paper containing a sketch of the room, create a map, labeling each student’s favorite reading place. Remind students that these are now their places for independent reading, and each day when it is time for independent reading, this is where they will go.

■■ Hold students accountable for going directly to their favorite places when it is time to read independently.

■■ Revisit the issue of having a favorite reading place periodically to see if there are any changes you and students might like to make.

Lesson 8 • Choosing Places for Independent Reading


work period


– Job 1: Read independently. Tell students to get their book bags and then go directly to their own favorite reading spot. Remind students to think about what good readers do as they read. Students will read and reread the books in their book bags until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Draw a picture in their Reader’s Notebook of them reading in their favorite reading spot. Have students label the picture or write about it. After their picture is complete, have students turn to a partner and tell about where they are reading and why they like this spot.

closing

■■ Ask student to think about how they did during independent reading time today. Have students indicate how they think they did by giving a thumbs up or thumbs down. Explain that to help us stay on track we are going to make a chart of what independent reading should look like and sound like.

■■ Place the “Independent Reading” chart where students can see it. Ask students what someone should see if they are doing a good job during independent reading. Students might suggest that independent reading looks like:

independent Reading

Looks Like Sounds Like

• Students sitting in their own places

• Book bags sitting next to the reader

• Students reading one book from their bag

• Students handling their books carefully


Foundations Study: Grade KReaders Workshop58

closing

continued

■■ Ask students to think about what it will sound like during independent reading and have students help you complete the chart. Students might suggest:

independent Reading






• Students reading in a whisper

• Pages turning

• The teacher conferring with students

• A quiet hum

■■ Post the chart. Remind students that will we use this chart to help us keep on track during independent reading.



Selecting Books 9lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Writing paper

■❑ Chart:

– What to Think About When Choosing a Book

■❑ Several books of different sizes, shapes, and colors and with various font sizes (include books for all ages and at least one phone book)

■❑ Baskets of books

LanGUaGe connecTion

cognates. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word to its cognate in Spanish.

purpose(s) propósito(s)

audience audiencia


■■ Learn criteria for selecting books for different purposes


■■ Explain the reasons for making a book choice including who the book is for and why they want to read it. Use the sentence frame:

– I chose this book because _______.

target words

■■ purpose(s)

■■ audience

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to expand students’ concept of reading to include reading purposes. Throughout their education, students will be asked to choose books for one project or another. They need to understand that different books are suited for different purposes. This lesson is designed to introduce students to different criteria for selecting reading materials. They come to understand that purpose, setting, and audience along with topic, interest, and text difficulty are all criteria for book selection.

prep

■■ Place the books you selected for this lesson where students can see them easily, and you have easy access to them during this lesson.

■■ Place baskets or boxes of books on the student worktables

opening

■■ Ask students to join you for the opening lesson in the whole-class meeting area.

■■ Direct students’ attention to the books you have selected and ask, “Which one of those books would you like to read?” Ask students to turn to a partner and say what book they might choose and the reason for choosing it. Ask a few students to share their reasons with the whole class, and record their reasons on the board or on chart paper.

■■ Review the list and think aloud:

SaY “ These are all good reasons. It is hard to decide which book to pick when you have all these great choices.”

Readers Workshop60

Lesson 9 • Selecting Books


opening

continued

■■ Introduce the activity of matching different books to different purposes. Give students a scenario like “If we want to learn about whales” and then show them an informational book about trucks or cars. Have them react to your choice by a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Ask if anyone has any ideas about where to look for the right book.

■■ Hold up a reference book about a topic students enjoy. Ask these two questions, “Is this book a good choice for me? Why?” Let students discuss how they might answer the questions. Help the discussion with thoughtful comments, questions, and thinking aloud. Then ask, “When would we choose to read this book?”

■■ Display a book with just a few, small pictures and ask, “Is this a good book for me to read to the class?” Let them discuss until they realize that this text may not be a good read-aloud book because they would not be able to see the pictures. Ask, “Who might read this book?” You may need to offer some prompts to get students talking and to help them keep the focus.

■■ Hold up a phone book and ask, “Will this be good for read aloud?” (You may want to have several phone books available so students have the opportunity to find that there is very little that looks like a traditional narrative in a phone book). Ask, “When might this book be used?”

■■ Model several books in this way. Always point out that for each book there may be a specific purpose and a way in which it might best be used.

■■ Remind students that if you are going to read the book yourself, you choose a book that is not too easy and not too hard but just right. Explain that you know a book is too easy if you know every single word and understand everything without thinking about what you read; a book is too hard when you cannot read a lot of the words and you do not understand it. A book is just right when you can read almost all of the words and understand what the book is about.

■■ Explain that there are many things to think about when reading a book. Ask students to help you make a chart titled “What to Think About When Choosing a Book” chart. It might look similar to this:



noTe To TeacheR

Using graphics. You may want to add icons or illustrations to this chart and others created throughout this study. (Remember how the “Readers Workshop Routines” chart in Lesson 1 included simple graphics.) This is especially helpful for English language learners.

opening

continued

What to Think about When choosing a Book

Why am i picking this book?

• Is it for fun?

• Is it to get information?

Who is going to read it?

• A child?

• An adult?

Who is the audience?

• Many listeners?

• A few listeners?

• One listener?

if i read it by myself is it . . .

• Too easy

• Too hard

• Just right

■■ Conclude by saying:

SaY “ It is important to select books that will keep us reading. We should try to make good decisions when selecting our books. Think about our chart as you select your next book.”

■■ Explain to students that they will have an opportunity to apply this lesson as they select a book to read during independent reading today.

Readers Workshop62


work period

■■ Explain that students will have two jobs during the work period.

– Job 1: Make selections from the book basket for independent reading and think about their reasons for the book choices. Students will add this book to their book bag. After students make their choices they will read independently. Remind students that they will read and reread these books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Turn to a partner and share the book that they chose for their book bag and explain why they picked the book. Have students begin with the sentence frame: “I chose this book because _______.” Then have them tell what the book was about and what they liked or did not like about the book after reading it.

■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data.

closing

■■ Ask students to bring one of the books they chose to read today to the closing. Remind them that in this lesson they learned that there are many reasons to choose a book.

■■ Have students turn to their partners and explain why they chose the book using the sentence frame: “I chose this book because _______.” Invite a few students to share the reason for choosing their book with the whole group.


Making Predictions 10lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Rosie’s Walk (Hutchins) or a book of your choice


noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. The book you choose for this lesson should have a strong story line with several points of rising action where you could stop and have students make predictions.

LeSSon adaPTaTion


prediction predicción

correct corregir


■■ Make predictions about what will happen next in a story


■■ Use text clues and their background knowledge to make a prediction about a book. Use the language of prediction with the following sentence frames:

– I predict that the story will be about _______ because _______.

– My prediction was (not) correct because _______.

target words

■■ prediction

■■ correct

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to teach an important strategy for comprehending text, using known information to predict the content or action of a text. When students predict and confirm or refute their predictions, they are actively engaged as readers or listeners. This active engagement leads to self-monitoring of reading which in turn leads to self-correction. Readers who are actively engaged, who self-monitor and who self-correct read with understanding. They achieve high levels of comprehension.

prep

■■ Preview the text before reading it with students. Select places to stop during the reading to confirm previous predictions and make new ones.

opening

■■ Explain to students that good readers think about a story before they start reading and as they read the story. This helps them understand the story. Explain that when they think about what they see on the cover of the book or what has happened in the story so far they can predict what is going to happen next. Tell students that predict means to guess what you think will happen. Good readers make predictions about what they are reading, and they check to see whether the predictions they made were correct.

Readers Workshop64

Lesson 10 • Making Predictions

opening

continued

■■ Show students the cover of the book you are about to read. Remind them that they should be thinking about what they already know about what they see. Ask students what they notice. Discuss the cover. After students have made their observations about the cover, ask them to make a prediction about what the story might be about. Ask students to turn to a partner and make a prediction using the sentence frame: “I predict it is about _______.”

■■ Read the first few pages of the text. Stop and ask students if any of their predictions were correct. Whether correct or incorrect, ask students what in the story told them they were right or were not right. This information may be in the text or it may be in the illustration. Students may use the sentence frame: “My prediction was (not) correct because _______.”

■■ Ask students what they predict is going to happen next in the story. Ask them to turn to a partner and make a prediction. Ask a few students to share their predictions.

■■ Continue reading to another appropriate stopping point (usually just at the peak of the rising action). Again, ask students to justify their previous predictions. Be sure to encourage students to return to the text for proof of their predictions. Continue in this manner, predicting and confirming predictions, until you reach the end of the story.

■■ Discuss how thinking about the story by making predictions and then confirming their predictions helped them understand the text. You may need to model a response. You might say:

SaY “ When I made my prediction I was reading carefully to find out if I was right so I knew just what the story was about.”

■■ As students transition to the work period remind them to follow the ritual for getting their reading folder.


Lesson 10 • Making Predictions

work period


– Job 1: Read independently. Students should choose a new book for their book bags, and read this book during independent reading. Explain that as they read today, students should make predictions about what will happen in their new book, and then check to see if their predictions were correct.

– Job 2: Turn to a partner, and share the book that they chose for their book bag and for made predictions about. Ask students to tell their partners what they predicted would happen and explain why they thought that. Have them begin with the sentence frames: “I predicted it was about _______.” and “My prediction was (not) correct because _______. Then have students tell what did happen in their story.

■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. Focus on making predictions as you read with students. Identify two or three students who might model how they made predictions and checked to see whether the predictions were correct.

closing

■■ Remind students that good readers think about the text and make predictions as they read. Then, they check to see if their predictions were correct.

■■ Ask students to tell how they used the strategy and explain how it helped them understand their book.






























Week 3






























3




essential practice

#1



■■ Students describe where in the classroom they like to read independently.

■■ Students read text that contains words that have the same letter patterns, to practice reading with fluency.

■■ Students practice making reading sound like talk.

essential practice

#2


■■ Students draw pictures of their favorite location for independent reading.

■■ Students practice what good independent readers do.

essential practice

#3


■■ Students discuss the purpose of book bags and the protocol for using the book bags.

■■ Students build language related to the protocols of book bags and independent reading.

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students practice how to handle and take care of books, a habit

learned in previous lessons.

■■ Student practice good reading behaviors that they have learned in a previous lesson.

essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher and students co-construct a T-chart with the heading

“Independent Reading” and labels on one side “looks like” and the other side “sounds like.”

■■ Teacher demonstrates how to figure out words using phonogram patterns by color-coding the onset of a word in one color and the phonogram in a second color.

■■ Teacher models how to solve a reading problem by looking at the words and picture around the word the student may not know.

■■ Teacher models reading with fluency to show students how readers should sound. They compare it to reading word-by-word.



how to Read with a Partner 11lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Adhesive

■❑ Digital photos or drawings of students engaged in stages of partner reading

■❑ Chart:

– Partner Reading



■■ Learn how to sit, hold a book, turn the pages, and read books with a partner during the work period


■■ Use the language of the workshop as they explain the steps of the partner reading process. Use the sentence frame:

– For partner reading, you _______.

■■ Describe their success as partners using the sentence frame:

– My partner and I _______.

target words

■■ partner reading

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to establish the rituals for partner reading. It is important for this part of the workshop to be well established because from this point forward students will engage in partner reading almost every day. Clear expectations allow students to focus on reading rather than the mechanics of the partner reading process.

prep

■■ Before this lesson, make drawings or take and print digital photos of two students from the class doing the following:

– Sitting shoulder to shoulder

– Holding a book between them with the book open

– One student reading and the other listening

– Changing books, with the second student reading and the first student listening

– Both talking about the books

■■ Rehearse the process of partner reading with two students who will then demonstrate partner reading to the class.

■■ Determine who you will assign as partners.

■■ Decide on the locations where you would like partners to read.

Readers Workshop72

Lesson 11 • How to Read with a Partner


“

opening

■■ Explain to students that in this lesson, they are going to learn about a way to during the work period: partner reading. You might say:

SaY “ When we read with a partner, we always do our reading in the same way. When it is time for partner reading, we sit shoulder to shoulder beside our partner.”

■■ Demonstrate partner reading with the two students who rehearsed the process. They should come to the front each carrying his or her own book. The students should sit side by side on the floor with legs crossed or in two chairs that are placed side by side. Tell them that this is sitting shoulder to shoulder. On a chart titled “Partner Reading” write “Sit shoulder to shoulder.” Continue your explanation:

SaY “ The next thing we do when we read with a partner is hold one book between us. Now both of us can see the pictures and the words. The other book is set aside so we can read it next.”

■■ Ask students to show the class how to open one book and set the other aside. Write “Hold the book between us” on the chart. And continue:

SaY “ We take turns reading our books to each other. One partner reads and one partner listens.”

■■ Ask one of the partners to read his or her book. (If students have begun reading chapter books, partners might choose to read a chapter rather than an entire book.) Write “I read, my partner listens” on the chart. Move the process along:

SaY “ After one partner reads, we change books and the other partner reads.”

■■ Ask the other partner to read their book. Write,“My partner reads, I listen” on the chart and say:

SaY “Finally, after we read our books, we talk about them.”

■■ Ask the partners to talk about their books. You will need to rehearse this with them. A few good questions such as “Why did you pick the book?” or “Did you have a favorite part in this story?” Write “Talk about books” on the chart.


Lesson 11 • How to Read with a Partner

opening

continued

■■ Thank the students who demonstrated the partner reading. Review the steps for partner reading and attach the drawings or photos (taken previously) to the chart as you do so. Tell students where you will be posting this chart in case they need help during partner reading.

work period

■■ Explain that students will have two jobs during the work period:.

– Job 1: Read independently. Remind students that they will read and reread their books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Have students use the books they read for independent reading (they may have more than one book) to read with their partner. Remind students that they have a chart to help them if they forget the steps of partner reading. Explain that just like in independent reading, if students finish their reading before it is time for the next job they should reread their books. When you indicate that it is time, students should move on to their third job.

■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. Begin the process of changing out some of the books in the students’ book bags. You may want to pre-select a groups of books from which students can make choice. Monitor students closely during partner reading and provide support as needed.

closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they learned about partner reading. Ask students to explain how to do partner reading. Students may use the sentence frame, “For partner reading, you _______.” Discuss how students worked together as partners. Use the sentence frame, “My partner and I _______.” Solve any problems that may have arisen. Solutions to these problems might be added to your chart on partner reading. For example, you might need to add, “Use an indoor voice to talk to my partner.”

noTe To TeacheR

Monograph. For more information about partner reading, please see the America’s Choice Partner Reading monograph, posted on the Community of Learning.



Student Routines for Shared Reading 12lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Chart:

– Shared Reading

■❑ Five Little Monkeys, Illustrated, Big Book (Gardner) or a Big Book of your choice


noTe To TeacheR

Selecting a Big Book. You can choose any book for this lesson, but it should be one that will engage students and capture their interest because you will want students to read it again and again. Because it will be used for two additional lessons, you will also want it to be a book that has strong picture support and several rhyming words.

Monograph. For more information on shared reading, see the America’s Choice Shared Reading monograph, posted on the Community of Learning.


■■ Learn their responsibilities for shared reading


■■ Explain the steps of the shared reading process using the specific vocabulary for shared reading. Use the sentence frame:

– During shared reading, my job is to _______.

target words

■■ shared reading

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand that they have a very active role in each part of the process of shared reading. This lesson establishes the routine for shared reading, its rituals and the expectations for students as participants in the shared reading process. Shared reading is one of the most powerful instructional strategies for teaching emergent readers how to read and for helping them transition to conventional reading.

prep

■■ Title a piece of chart paper “Shared Reading,” and place it in the whole-class meeting area.

Readers Workshop76

Lesson 12 • Student Routines for Shared Reading


noTe To TeacheR

Using illustrations. You may want to add icons or illustrations to the “Shared Reading” chart. For example, “Finding out about the book” (magnifying glass), “Reading the book” (eyes on an open book), “Discussing the book” (students talking), etc.

opening

■■ Explain that one of the ways we learn to read is by reading together. By sharing our reading, we help each other become better readers.

■■ Tell students that shared reading has several steps. As you discuss the steps, write each one on the “Shared Reading” chart. Leave plenty of space between components for students to add information later in the lesson.

Shared Reading

Finding out about the book

Reading the book

Discussing the book

Revisiting the book

■■ Explain the “shared reading” steps to students. You might say:

SaY ” Step 1: Finding out about the book. It’s important to find out about the book. First, we will look at the book and get an idea of what the book might be about. Sometimes I will tell you about the book and sometimes we will look at it together. Your job will be to look at the book carefully and see if you can find clues to what the book is about.”



opening

continued

■■ Continue by saying something like:

SaY “ Step 2: Reading the book. If the book is a new one, I will read the book to you. I will point to the words so you can see them. Your job will be to follow the words with your eyes and try to read the words with me. Then we will read the book together.”

■■ ”Continue by saying something like:

SaY “ Step 3: discussing the book. We will talk about the book. Sometimes we will talk about the story and sometimes we will talk about what we did so we could read the story. We might talk about how we figured out hard words, what we did so we could understand the story better, or how we can make our reading sound better. Your job will be to share your ideas about the story and to listen carefully as others share their ideas. Sometimes your job will be to listen to me or to other students tell how they figure out how to read.

■■ Wrap up this discussion by saying something like:

SaY “ Step 4: Revisiting the book. After we talk about the book, sometimes we will read the book again, and other times we might write about the book. Your job will be to think carefully about the book so you will be able to read or write about the book with others.”

■■ Read the book as a shared reading. Follow the steps you have written on the chart. As a follow-up activity for this lesson, read the book again.

work period


– Job 1: Read independently. Remind students that they will read and reread their books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Remind students that they have a chart to help them if they forget the steps of partner reading.

■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. Change out some of the books in the students’ book bags.

Readers Workshop78


closing

■■ Return to the “Shared Reading” chart. Read the first step of the process and ask students to turn to a partner and explain what their job was for this step using the sentence frame: “My job is to _______.”

■■ Write one of their responses on the chart. Continue with the other steps. Then post the chart so students have access to it in future workshops.


Listening for Rhyming Words 13lesson

MaTeRiaLS


■❑ Five Little Monkeys (Gardner, illustrator) or a book of your choice (selected for Lesson 12)

noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. The Big Book you choose for this lesson should be the same book you read the previous day. It should contain several rhyming words.


■■ Listen for and identify rhyming words


■■ Listen for and identify rhyming words. Use the sentence frame:

– The rhyming words are _______ and _______.

target words

■■ rhyme

■■ rhyming words

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to address one of the early developmental components of phonemic awareness, the recognition and identification of rhyme. As students revisit the text in shared reading, they move beyond considering the text as an example of story to begin to explore the linguistic structure of the text. This is a critical understanding in moving from emergent to conventional reading.

prep

■■ Identify the rhyming words in the text.

■■ Prepare a sample drawing of two rhyming words to model how students will make their Reader’s Notebook entry.

opening

■■ Show students the Big Book from the previous day and ask if anyone can retell the story so the group will remember what it was about. Ask if others would like to add anything to the retelling. This will activate students’ memory of the text and support the development of retelling.

■■ Read the book aloud, inviting students to join you in the reading.

■■ After the reading, tell students that you noticed something special about some of the words in the book. You noticed that some words are rhyming words. Rhyming words are words that sound alike at the end. Ask the students to listen carefully while you say two words. Say two words that are a rhyming pair.

Readers Workshop80

opening

continued

■■ Ask where the words sound alike. Help students understand that they sound alike at the end of the word. Repeat the part that is alike in both words. You may want to segment the word into onset and rime so students can hear the rhyme more clearly.

■■ Ask students to listen to several more rhyming pairs, listening for the part that rhymes in each.

■■ Tell students that they are going on a rhyme hunt. As they reread the text, they will listen for rhyming words. Choose the first word of the first rhyming pair in the text and tell students that they are hunting for a word that rhymes with that first word. Ask the children to signal when they hear the word that rhymes.

■■ Before you begin to read tell the students one word of the rhyming pair you are looking for. Read the book. (You may need to read with some exaggeration for the children to hear the rhyme.) When students have identified the rhyme, ask everyone to repeat the rhyming pair. Prompt the students for the next rhyme. Continue until you have identified all of the rhyming pairs and completed rereading the text.

■■ Repeat each of the rhyming pairs from the text as a review. Remind students that good readers listen for the rhyming words in the books they are reading.

work period


– Job 1: Read independently. Remind students that they will read and reread these books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.


– Job 3: Write in their Reader’s Notebook. Explain that students will need to think about the rhyming words they read in the Big Book. In their Readers Notebook, they will draw pictures to represent two of the words that rhyme. Show students a model of how you might draw representations for two rhyming words. Ask students to label their drawings.

■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and changing out books in the students’ book bags. Monitor students as they make their Reader’s Notebook entry to ensure that they understand the concept of rhyme.

Lesson 13 • Listening for Rhyming Words


work period

continued

■■ Provide support to students who are struggling with rhyme. You may want to use a checklist to assess this concept for each student in the class as they work. This is an essential concept in reading development and one that you will continue to assess over time.

closing

■■ Ask students to bring their Reader’s Notebook to the closing meeting. Remind students that in this lesson they learned about rhyming words. Ask students how they know if words are rhyming words. Have each student share their rhyming pictures using the sentence frame: “The rhyming words are _______ and _______.”




Word Boundaries 14lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Sticky-notes

■❑ Five Little Monkeys (Gardner, illustrator) or a book of your choice (selected for Lesson 12)

■❑ A favorite rhyming poem, such as “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe,” printed on chart paper

noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. The Big Book you choose for this lesson should be the same book you read the previous day. Words in the text should be written in large clear print and it should have clear spacing between the words.

Poem selection. You may choose any poem for this lesson but it should have several pairs of rhyming words. A familiar nursery rhyme such as “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” will work well.

one, Two, Buckle My Shoe One, two, buckle my shoe Three, four, knock at the door Five, six, pick up sticks Seven, eight, lay them straight Nine, ten, a big fat hen


■■ Continue to develop the concept of word by identifying word boundaries in text


■■ Identify a word. Use the sentence frame:

– I knew it was a word because _______.

target words

■■ word

■■ white space

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to model one of the critical understandings in reading, the concept of word. Young children approach text from an oral perspective, where language is processed as a stream. Helping students understand where language is segmented into words is a complex process. The process must be modeled for many students, especially those that have had fewer interactions with text in the preschool years.

prep

■■ Copy the poem you have chosen for the lesson onto chart paper. Leave clear spaces between the words.

opening

■■ Briefly review the text from the Big Book from the previous lesson to activate students’ background knowledge and memory of the text. You might ask students questions about the story or have students do a structured retelling of the story. Ask students to identify any rhyming words that they remember from the story.

■■ Read the book, inviting the students to join you in the reading.

■■ After reading the text, tell students that this morning someone asked why there were so many white places in the book and that is a very good question, so you thought we should talk about it together. (Alternatively, you might pose this as a question to the students, “I wonder why there are all of these white places on the page? Does anyone have any ideas?”)

Readers Workshop84

Lesson 14 • Word Boundaries


opening

continued

■■ Share with students that the author of the book wants to help you read the book and so each time the author writes a word, he leaves a white space before he begins another word. This helps us read the words.

■■ Look at a page of text together. Show the students where the first word begins and where it ends. Cover the word with a sticky-note, and notice the white space in front of the word and behind the word. Move to the next word and repeat the process. Demonstrate how to use your hands to make a fence for a word on the page (put the side of each hand in the white space on each side of the word). Ask one of the children to put their hands around a word to fence it in. Read the word:

SaY “ _______ has fenced the word _______. He put his hands in the white spaces. They tell us where the word begins and ends.”

■■ Ask several more children to fence words.

■■ Reread the book with the students, inviting them to join you in the reading. Tell them that you will point to each word and that you know when a new word begins because of the white space. Read with fluency and phrasing pointing to each word.

■■ Tell students that good readers read each word. Tell them that today during independent reading they should look in the books they are reading to see if the author used white space to show them where the words begin and end.

work period


– Job 1: Read independently. Remind students that as they read they will be noticing the white spaces the author has used to show where words begin and end. They will continue to read and reread their books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.


■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. Change out books in the students’ book bags.


Lesson 14 • Word Boundaries

closing

■■ Remind students that in the lesson today we learned about how the author shows us where a word begins and ends with white space. Show students the poem. Ask a few students to come to the chart and show the group a word. When they do so, ask them how they knew that was a word. Have them respond with the sentence frame: “I knew it was a word because _______.”

■■ Read the poem to students. Ask if anyone heard any rhyming words in the poem. Have students identify the rhyming pairs using the sentence frame: “The rhyming words are _______ and _______.”

noTe To TeacheR

extension. Reproduce the poem on card stock and place a copy in students’ book bags. Have students reread the poem during independent reading.



activating Background Knowledge 15lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Chart:

– What I Know About . .

■❑ Wemberly Worried (Henkes) or a book of your choice


noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. The book you choose should allow students to apply what they know about a topic and invite them to learn more on the subject. It can be fiction or nonfiction, but a narrative format works best.


■■ Use background knowledge to understand the text.


■■ Explain how they used their background knowledge to understand text. Use the sentence frame:

– I knew about _______ and that helped me _______.

target words

■■ background knowledge

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to teach another strategy for comprehending text, activating background knowledge. When students think about what they know about a topic or story before reading, they:

– Establish a set of conceptual, linguistic, and genre expectations for the text.

– Establish a schema for the reading

– Eliminate extraneous information from their thinking.

■■ This focuses the reader and allows the reader to integrate new information into their existing schema for the topic or genre. This improves comprehension of the text.

prep

■■ Preview the text. Look for places in the text to stop and discuss background information.

opening

■■ Explain that one of the things good readers do is to think about what they know about the topic of a book before they read. It helps them understand the text. They think about what they know about the story before reading and during reading. Explain that in this lesson, they are going to think about the book they are going to read before reading and during reading.

Readers Workshop88

Lesson 15 • Activating Background Knowledge


opening

continued

■■ Show students the book Wemberly Worried or another appropriate text. Read the title. Ask a question that requires students to think about what they know. For this book, ask students what they know about the word greenhouse. Write their responses on a chart titled “What I Know About,” and the title of text.

■■ Look at the cover. Explain that this is Wemberly. Ask students what things they know just be looking at the cover. Students might notice the bunny that Wemberly is holding and that Wemberly looks like she is sad. Write their responses on a chart titled “What I Know About . . . (insert the title of the text). Review the chart by saying, “Now we know . . . about what we will find in the story. Let’s continue to think about what we know as we read.”

■■ Begin reading the text. Stop at a page and think aloud about why you stopped at this point. You might say something like:

SaY “ It says her mother and father and her grandmother think she worries too much so I know they care about her. Thinking about what I know is helping me understand how the characters are feeling.”

■■ Add “Everyone cares for Wemberly” to the chart.

■■ As you continue reading, be sure to think aloud about both content and process. For example, you might say:

SaY “ I know that there is an exclamation mark here. I want to reread this part with expression so I show how Wemberly feeling was feeling.”

■■ Continue reading, stopping at appropriate places to add to the chart. Encourage students to add to the chart, as well.

■■ After the reading, review the chart. Ask students how thinking about what they already knew helped them understand this story.

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have three jobs during the work period:

– Job 1: Read independently. Encourage students to use their background knowledge during independent reading. Remind students that good readers think about what they know before they read and as they read.


Lesson 15 • Activating Background Knowledge

work period

continued

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Remind partners to help each other to think about what they know about the story when they are reading.

– Job 3: Make an entry in their Reader’s Notebooks. Ask students to draw a picture of something they worry about just like Wemberly worried. Remind students to date the entry. (If you have chosen an alternative text, adjust the Reader’s Notebook assignment accordingly.)

■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. Focus on having students activate background knowledge to help them understand the text to share during the closing. Select a few students that used their background knowledge to help them understand the text they were reading to share during the opening.

closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they learned that it is important to think about what you already know about a book’s topic before they read and during the reading.

■■ Ask students to tell about places in their reading where they thought about what they knew about the text and explain how it helped them understand their book. Students may use the sentence frame: “I knew about _______ and that helped me _______.”






























Week 4






























4




essential practice

#1



■■ Students turn to partner and make predictions about what a story may be about.

■■ Students verbalize their thinking about what a good reader does when they read.

essential practice

#2


■■ Students make and check their predictions about what they are reading based on the cover of the book or other illustrations in the story.

■■ Students practice how to find known words in a text to figure out unknown words.

essential practice

#3


■■ Students increase their vocabulary by building a chart titled “Using Known Words to Read New Words.”

■■ Teacher and students co-construct a chart that lists “What Good Readers Do” to build common reading terminology (language) and behaviors.

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students explain how they use their background knowledge to

understand text, after it has been modeled for them.

■■ Students use a familiar text to practice reading with expression.

■■ Students use a familiar text to identify unknown words within known words.

■■ Students use a familiar text to practice rereading to maintain meaning.

Foundations Study: Grade KReaders Workshop94


essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher demonstrates a think aloud to show how to think about

what they already know about a topic.

■■ Teacher models making predictions using a read-aloud protocol.

■■ Teacher demonstrates how good readers solve reading problems by looking for words they know in new or unknown words.

■■ Teacher demonstrates losing track of reading a story and how to reread to maintain meaning of the text.


Practicing habits of Good Listeners 16lesson


■■ Practice being an active listener


■■ Apply the rules of interaction to listen and comprehend a retelling by their reading partner.

■■ Explain the characteristics of effective listening using the sentence frame:

– A good listener _______.

target words

■■ listening

■■ listener

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to make students aware of the skills used by good listeners. Effective listening is important to the process of learning to read and to developing the habits needed for meaningful discussion. Many students need support in learning to listen. Students must develop listening skills in order to learn from being read to, to listen for enjoyment and to be accountable in discussions.

prep

■■ Coach two students who will tell you a story in the opening lesson. Students need to understand that one time you will act as if you are not paying attention and the next you will pay attention so that the three of you can teach the class about good listening.

■■ Begin a chart titled “Good Listeners” and place it in the whole-class meeting area.

opening

■■ Explain that in this lesson, students will make a list of habits that shows what they do when they are being good listeners. Make sure students understand that this lesson will help them know how to listen for a purpose.

■■ One effective way to help students generate this list is to ask a student to tell you about something important that has happened to them recently. As the student is speaking to you, model ineffective listening behavior. Stop after a moment and ask the class if you were being a good listener and have them explain why not. (You should prepare the student before this demonstration so he or she will be aware of the purpose of your “ineffective listening behavior.”)

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Chart:

– Good Listeners


Readers Workshop96

Lesson 16 • Practicing Habits of Good Listeners


opening

continued

■■ Ask another student to share and this time use active listening behaviors. Make eye contact, nod, and ask questions if clarification is needed. When the speaker is finished, you may choose to repeat a point or two to make sure you understood what they said. After this, ask students if you were being a good listener and have them explain why.

■■ Ask the two speakers to explain how it felt to be listened to or not listened to.

■■ Generate a list on the “Good Listeners” chart paper of the behaviors of good listeners. This list should mirror the behaviors you demonstrated. Explain that these are the things they will do every day when they are talking with others in the classroom because following these behaviors develops a habit of good listening.

■■ Post the chart in a place where students can add to it throughout the year. Close the lesson by reviewing the list and explaining to students that when they are in a group or reading with their partner they should be active, good listeners.

work period


– Job 1: Read independently. Remind students to continue to read and reread their books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Ask students to work on practicing being good active listeners as they discuss their books with their partners today.

■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. Closely monitor students during partner reading. Make note of specific students and their listening behaviors to share with the class during the closing. Change out books in the students’ book bags.

closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they learned about the things they do when are being good listeners. Review the “Good Listeners” chart, and share moments during the work period when you observed good listening behavior. Ask students to tell how they know they are good listeners using the sentence frame: “I am a good listener because _______.


one-to-one Matching 17lesson

MaTeRiaLS

■❑ Pointer

■❑ Sentence strip for the sentence frame, workshop words, and repeated lines (See preparation)

■❑ Marker

■❑ Move Over! (Cowley) or a Big Book of your choice

noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. Many Big Books will work for this series of lessons and instructional objectives. The lessons will focus on one-to-one matching, matching letters to sounds, and using meaning clues.


■■ Match one word spoken to one word written


■■ Identify the number of words in a line of text using the sentence frame:

– There are _______ words.

target words

■■ One-to-one match

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the concept of one-to-one match in reading; the concept that for every one word that is printed there is one work that is spoken. This is an important understanding for emergent readers and is foundational to other reading behaviors. Emergent readers use one-to-one match as a strategy for self-monitoring as they transition from emergent to conventional reading. Once students begin to apply one-to-one match consistently, they are able to move their focus to attention to the letter-sound relationships in the words.

prep

■■ Preview the text and choose a few repeated lines to write on sentence strips. Write the words with clearly visible spaces between them. The lines you choose should be no more than four or five words.

opening

■■ Explain to students that today we have a new Big Book that we will be reading together. Show the cover of the book and ask students what they think the book might be about. Allow several students to make predictions. Read the title of the book and ask students how many words are in the title. Emphasize the number by saying:

SaY “ Yes, there are _______ words in the title. Let’s count them.” (Count the words.) “Now, let’s read them again as I point to the words.”

■■ Complete a picture walk during which you conversationally introduce the main ideas in the text as well as any complex vocabulary or syntactic structures that may be difficult for students.

Readers Workshop98

Lesson 17 • One-to-One Matching


opening

continued

■■ Tell students that when we read we say one word for every word that is written on the page. Remind students that we know where words begin and where they end because there is white space around the words. Tell them you will read the book to them and point to each word as you say it. Ask the students to watch to see if you say one word each time you point to a word.

■■ Read the book aloud, pointing to the words as you do so. As you read, be especially careful to match the word you say to the word you are pointing to.

■■ Briefly, discuss the book with the students.

■■ Show the students the sentence strip with a repeated line that you have prepared and read it to them. Ask how many words are in the sentence. Ask students to respond using the sentence frame: “There are _______ words.” Count the words together. Then, ask the children to read the words with you and clap each time a word is spoken. Ask if the reading and clapping matched. Remind students that we say one word for each word that is written.

■■ Read the sentence again, pointing to each word as it is read. Ask one of the students to come to the front and point to the words as you read. Follow the student’s lead to ensure that pointing and reading match. Ask the class if the words and pointing matched.

■■ Repeat this process with another sentence. Remind the students that the words they say must match the words on the page one for one. Good readers match the words they say and the words in the book.

■■ Ask the students to help you reread the entire text. Read the text with fluency and phrasing pointing to the words as you read. Suggest to students that when they are reading today they try to match the words on the page with the words that they say. Ask students to point to the words as they read. (Kindergarten students will continue to read emergently, but you are continuing to build their concept of reading and reading behaviors with this lesson.)


Lesson 17 • One-to-One Matching

noTe To TeacheR

extension. Introduce other familiar nursery rhymes. Print them on charts and hang the charts where students can reach and read them. Provide students with pointers and have them practice reading with one-to-one match.

work period


– Job 1: Read independently. Remind students to point to the words as they are reading. Tell students they will continue to read and reread their books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Ask student to point to the words as they read with their partners. Ask partners to help each other remember to say one word for each word on the page. Tell students to continue to practice being good active listeners as they discuss their books with their partners.


■■ You may wish to have students read the poem from Lesson 14 as part of the conference. Ask students to point to the words as they read to determine if they are able to match reading to print one-to-one. Select two or three students who will read the poem in the closing.

closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they learned that they match one word on the page with one word they read. Display the poem from lesson 14. Explain that this is a poem we know well so it is a good one to practice matching the words on the poem with the words we read.

■■ Read the poem together pointing to each word as it is read. Ask two or three students to read the poem pointing to each word.



Recognizing Letters and Sounds 18lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Sticky-notes

■❑ Chart:

– Words with the Letter ____

■❑ A letter finder (A letter finder is made from a plastic flyswatter with a space cut out of the middle large enough to reveal a single letter when held up to the Big Book.)

■❑ Move Over! (Cowley) or a Big Book of your choice (selected in Lesson 17)


■■ Locate a specific letter and begin to attach the sound it represents to the letter


■■ Identify a word that contains the target letter and use the vocabulary of the lesson to name the letter. Use the sentence frame:

– This word has the letter ____.

target words

■■ letter

■■ sound

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the application of letter-sound relationships to reading. This is an important understanding as students continue to transition from emergent to conventional reading. This lesson will be repeated many times with many texts over the year. The lesson focus should always be on a letter-sound relationship students need to learn and on letter-sound relationships that are related to learning in other parts of the instructional day.

prep

■■ Preview the text and determine which letter to focus on during instruction. The focus should be on a letter that students are learning as part of the instruction in the skill block. Choose a page or two where the target letter appears several times to return to after the reading.

■■ Prepare a chart titled “Words with the Letter ____.”

opening

■■ Review the book from the previous lesson by asking students to tell what is happening in the text as you go page by page looking at the pictures.

■■ Read the book aloud, pointing to the words as you do so and inviting students to join you in the reading. Read with expression and enthusiasm.

Readers Workshop102

Lesson 18 • Recognizing Letters and Sounds


opening

continued

■■ Tell the students that as you were reading you noticed several words that had one of the letters they have been working on in Skills block and that letter is ____. Ask the students what sound this letter represents. Show the students the letter finder and tell students that they are going to find the letter ____ in our book. Demonstrate how to run the letter finder over a word to find the letter.

■■ Turn to the page you identified earlier where the target letter/sound appears several times. Tell students the letter ____ is on this page and ask if anyone sees it. Ask one of the students to come to the front and point to a word that contains the letter you are looking for. Say, “Yes, the word _______ does contain the letter ____.” After the student has located the word, hand the student the letter finder and ask the students to find the letter. Ask the other students if this is the correct letter. Repeat the word the letter is found in and listen for the sound. Ask the students again:

SaY “ What is the name of the letter? What sound does it represent?”

■■ Repeat this process several more times until the students have located all the letters you selected and listened for the sound the letter represents. Reread the entire page with the students. Remind the students that words are made of letters, letters represent sounds, and when we learn those letters and sounds it will help us to read.

■■ Ask the students to help you reread the entire text. Read the text with fluency and phrasing. Invite students to look for this letter when they are reading today.

work period


– Job 1: Read independently. As students read they should look for words that contain the letter they focused on in the lesson. Remind students point to the words as they are reading. Tell students they will continue to read and reread their books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Locate one word that contains the target letter and write that word on the sticky-note. Have students place the sticky-note on their table or desk until the closing.



work period

continued

– Job 3: Read with a partner. Remind partners to help each other do all of the things we are learning that good readers do like pointing to words and saying one word for each word on the page. Tell students to continue to practice being good active listeners as they discuss their books with their partners.


closing

■■ Ask students to bring the sticky-note with their word written on it to the closing. Remind students that in this lesson we found words in our story that had the letter ____ in them. Ask student what sound the letter ____ represents. Show students the chart titled “Words with the Letter ____.” Ask students to share their word by using the sentence frame: “This word has the letter ____.” As students give you their words, say the word and ask students to listen for the sound the letter represents. Attach the sticky-notes to the chart.


Using Meaning clues 19lesson

MaTeRiaLS


■❑ Move Over! (Cowley) or a Big Book of your choice (selected in Lesson 17)

■❑ Two trade books per student or baskets of books


noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. This lesson uses the Big Book selected for Lesson 17. It should contain opportunities for students to determine a word by cross-checking for meaning using picture support.


■■ Learn to listen to their reading and self-correct errors when the text does not make sense


■■ Describe how to use pictures to read the correct word. Use the sentence frame:

– I saw a _______ in the picture, so I read the word _______.

target words

■■ picture walk

■■ strategy

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to introduce an early reading strategy. Using pictures as a clue to the meaning is a strategy students apply as they read emergently and as they transition into conventional reading. As students begin to apply letter-sound relationships to their reading, they will use picture clues to cross-check their reading, ensuring that the letters match the word they are saying based on the picture. This strategy encourages self-monitoring and self-correcting and improves reading accuracy.

prep

■■ Preview the text for examples of places where the vocabulary in the text is represented in the illustration. Notice instances where students might misread based on the illustration. These words have similar meaning but very different letter patterns, for example, pony for horse or daddy for man. Because many readers at this age are still in the emergent stage of reading this error pattern is common.

opening

■■ Briefly review the text to activate the students’ background knowledge and memory of the text.

■■ Tell students that one thing that can help us when we are reading is to look at the pictures. Sometimes there are clues in the pictures about the words on the page. Open the book and begin a picture walk. When there is a word represented in the illustration that students would need to read ask, “Do you think the word _______ might be in our story?” Repeat this prompt several times during the picture walk.

Readers Workshop106

opening

continued

■■ Read the book aloud, inviting students to join you in the reading. As the students are reading, listen carefully for places where they make errors. Note any errors where words might have been read correctly by asking if the word made sense or by looking at the picture.

■■ After the reading, go back to the place in the text where one of these errors occurred. (You may substitute one of the examples you found as you previewed the text, if needed.) Tell students:

SaY “ I heard someone say _______, and that is a good guess, but when we read we must say just the right word. The story’s illustrator tried to help us read the right word here by putting a representation of this word in the illustration. Let’s read this page together and see if we can figure the word out.”

■■ Work through the example, prompting the students toward the correct word. Then say:

SaY “ Good readers remember to ask, ‘Did I look at the pictures?’ when they read. Good readers notice whether the words they are reading match what is happening in the picture. Using the picture to help is a reading strategy. We will learn many reading strategies.”

■■ Work through other examples where students might self-correct based on meaning. Read the sentence with the misread. Ask students to look at the picture and determine the correct word. Have students turn to a partner and use the sentence frame: “I saw a _______ in the picture so I read the word _______.” Remind students that they have just used a reading strategy called looking at the pictures.

Lesson 19 • Using Meaning Clues


work period


– Job 1: Read independently. Ask students to listen carefully as they read independently to be sure the words they are reading makes sense and that they are looking at the pictures. Tell students that good readers notice whether the words and pictures match. Remind them that they will read and reread these books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Tell partners to watch for places where they can help their partner remember to check if the word they read makes sense by looking at the picture. When you indicate that it is time, students should move on to their third job.

– Job 3: Make an entry in their Reader’s Notebook. Have students make a drawing of a picture that helped them figure out a word in one of their books. After students make their drawings, have them share it with a partner, and tell what word the picture helped them figure out. Students will use the sentence frame: “I saw a _______ in the picture so I read the word _______.”

– Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. As you read with students, reinforce the strategy of looking at the picture to determine the correct word. Select a few students who use this strategy successfully to share what they did during the closing.

closing

■■ Remind students that they learned that it is important for the reader to look at the picture when they are reading because the pictures will help them read words. Ask a few students to share the picture they made in their Reader’s Notebook, and tell what word it helped them read. Students can use the sentence frame: “I saw a _______ in the picture so I read the word _______.”


Readers Workshop108

closing

continued

■■ Ask students to think about what it will sound like during independent reading and have students help you complete the chart. Students might suggest:

independent Reading






• Students reading in a whisper

• Pages turning

• The teacher conferring with students

• A quiet hum

■■ Post the chart. Remind students that will we use this chart to help us keep on track during independent reading.



Good Questions 2 0lesson

MaTeRiaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the question words

■❑ Chart:

– Good Questions for Talking About Books

■❑ Duck on a Bike (Shannon) or a book of your choice


noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. Almost any narrative text will work for this lesson. It should have a rich story line that invites conversation.


■■ Ask questions during partner reading and book discussions


■■ Use the language of questioning during partner reading, including: words: Who? What? Why? When?

target words


purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate for students how good questions lead to good discussions. This lesson will teach students how to ask and respond to questions. It will make explicit a list of good questions readers can ask others and themselves. The lesson lays the foundation for the use of questioning as a strategy for comprehension.

prep

■■ Preview the text to ensure you can read it with fluency and phrasing.

■■ Prepare a chart titled “Good Questions for Talking About Books.”

opening

■■ Introduce a new story to the students, and read the text aloud. Following the reading, discuss the story. Begin the discussion with a general question such as “What did you think of the story?” Sustain the discussion by asking other questions such as:

– What did this story make you think of?

– Who did you like best in the story?

– What was your favorite part of the story?

– Why do you think the author wrote this story?

– What did you wonder as you listened to this story?

■■ Following the discussion, tell the students what a good discussion they had today. Point out that you have noticed that they do not always have good discussions when they are talking to their partners in partner reading and perhaps it would help if we thought about some good questions to ask our partners.

Readers Workshop110

Lesson 20 • Good Questions

opening

continued

■■ Show students the chart titled “Good Questions for Talking About Books.” Ask them if they can think of a good question for talking about books.

■■ Record these questions on the chart. The students should repeat many of the same questions you just asked. However, if the concept of a question is very difficult for students, you may have to scaffold this discussion by suggesting some good questions. If this happens, limit the list to only about three questions. Revisit the lesson again later and add new questions to the list.

■■ Read the list with the students when it is complete. Tell the students that these are good questions and that you will be listening for them when they read with their partners today. Post the list where the students can easily see it as they are reading with their partners.

Good Questions for Talking about Books

• What did you think of the story?

• What did this story make you think of?

• Who did you like best in the story?

• What was your favorite part of the story?

• Why do you think the author wrote this story?

• What did you wonder as you listened to this story?

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have two jobs today during the work period:

– Job 1: Read independently. Remind students that they will need to practice all of the things that good readers do as they read.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Remind partners that they have a good list of questions to help them as they are talking about their books.

■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. Listen as students are partner reading to monitor for their use of good questions. Prompt students to use the questions they have developed as the talk about their books.


Lesson 20 • Good Questions

closing

■■ Remind students that we learned that good questions help us have good reading discussions. Ask students to share the questions they used as they were reading with their partners today. If students have additional good questions, add them to the chart.






























Week 5






























5




essential practice

#1



■■ Students talk about what they learned and add it to the “Strategies Good Readers Use to Solve Word Problems” chart.

■■ Students talk about what they think a book is about and support their thinking.

essential practice

#2


■■ Students make connections to self to improve comprehension.

■■ Students self-correct and solve word problems by using known word chunks to read new or unknown words.

■■ Students practice what to do with their voice when they see a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence.

■■ Students practice a strategy for talking about books.

essential practice

#3


■■ Teacher and students co-construct a chart titled “Words I Can Read by Analogy.”

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students add to the “Strategies Good Readers Use to Solve

Word Problems” chart.

■■ Students review the text from the previous day and apply new reading strategies.

essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher models how to make a text-to-self connection to better

understand a story.

■■ Teacher models how to solve a word problem using analogy and provides students with guided practice.

■■ Teacher models how to read using a punctuation clue.

■■ Teacher models how to think about a book and say why, using passages from a book to support an interpretation.



What Good Readers do 21lesson

MaTeRiaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frame

■❑ Chart:

– What Good Readers Do



■■ Identify the strategies and habits of a good reader


■■ Describe the strategies and habits of a good reader. Use the sentence frame:

– I am a good reader because _______.

target words


purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to continue the process of thinking about reading behaviors. For students to improve as readers, they must develop a metacognitive stance toward reading. They must verbalize their thinking about what a good reader does and understand that there are things a reader can do to solve reading problems to become a better reader. This lesson catalogs the behaviors of good readers. It provides students with an idea of what a good reader does while reading. It is important that students understand that it is what they do that allows them to become a good reader rather than a matter of being smart.

prep

■■ No special preparation is required for this lesson; just be sure to review the materials list carefully. You may need to select a text, create or locate charts, or make student copies. You may need to select a text, create or locate charts, or make student copies.

opening

■■ Prompt students as needed to help them create the list. The list will reflect students’ ideas about what it means to be a good reader.

■■ Post the “What Good Readers Do” chart where students can see it; refer to it as you make comments to students about their reading. For example, you might say something like:

SaY “ I see that Jennifer is practicing being a good reader today. She is looking at the pictures as she reads.”

Readers Workshop118

Lesson 21 • What Good Readers Do


opening

continued

■■ Leave the chart up and revisit it on a regular basis, encouraging students to add to the list, especially after reader’s chair celebrations during the closing. After students have gathered in the whole-class meeting area, ask them what it takes to be good at something. After they have had a chance to offer a few suggestions, ask them what they think it takes to be a good reader.

■■ List their suggestions on the chart paper under “What Good Readers Do.” Their suggestions might include:

What Good Readers do

• Read a lot

• Read every day

• Talk about what they have read

• Match the letters and sounds

• Learn the words

• Look at the pictures

• Think about the story

• Match words I say and words in the book

work period

■■ Explain that students will have two jobs (add a third job, as appropriate) during the work period.

– Job 1: Independent reading. Remind students that they will need to practice all of the things that good readers do as they read.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Remind partners to help each other use the strategies they have been learning that good readers use.


closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they made a list of the things good readers do. Ask students to think of what they did today that shows they are good readers.

■■ Go around the group and ask each student to tell how they practiced being a good reader using the sentence frame: “I am a good reader because _______.”


Recognizing Letters and Sounds 22lesson

MaTeRiaLS

■❑ Sentence strip for the workshop word

■❑ Highlighter tape

■❑ Mrs. Wishy-Washy, Big Book (Cowley) or a Big Book of your choice

noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. Many Big Books are appropriate for this lesson and instructional objectives. You will want to choose a book that will engage students’ interest because you will read it again and again. Ideally, the letters students are learning in the Skills Block will be repeated several times in the text. Because you will use the book in the two following lessons, the book should also contain a variety of punctuation marks that will give students opportunities to learn to read with expression.


■■ Continue to develop phonemic awareness as they identify a specific sound in the context of reading text


■■ Recognize a common sound of English and identify the letter that represents the sound

target words

■■ sound

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to continue to explore letter-sound relationships and how they are applied to reading text. Phonemic awareness, recognition and manipulation of the individual sounds in words, is a significant predictor of reading success. Lessons that support the development of phonemic awareness and the development of phonics knowledge move students toward accurate, fluent reading. This lesson, taught with other texts and other sounds as the lesson focus, will need to be repeated often throughout the year.

prep

■■ Preview the text and determine which sound will be the focus of instruction. Locate one or two pages where there are several words that begin with the target sound.

■■ Develop 8–12 pairs of words, one with the target sound and one without the target sound, to share during the lesson closing.

opening

■■ Explain to students that today we have a new Big Book that we will be reading together. Show the students the cover of the book, and ask what they think the book might be about. Allow several students to make predictions.

■■ Complete a picture walk during which you conversationally introduce the main ideas in the text as well as any complex vocabulary or syntactic structures that may be difficult for the students.

■■ Read the book to the students, pointing to the words as you do so. Read with expression and enthusiasm. Briefly discuss the events of the story. Give students the opportunity to confirm their predictions about the text.

Readers Workshop120



noTe To TeacheR

extension. Put sets of picture cards one-half of which contain the target sound in a group. Place the picture cards with a pocket chart and have students sort the pictures into groups that have the sound and groups that do not.

opening

continued

■■ Tell the students that today we are going to be using our ears to listen for a sound that represents one of the letters of the alphabet and the sound they will be listening for is ____. Explain that you are going to read to them and each time they hear the target sound they will make a thumbs up sign. Demonstrate how to make a thumbs-up sign. Then, try a practice sentence.

■■ Begin to read the previously selected pages. Observe the students as you read. Give the students positive feedback on their correct responses. If students are having difficulty getting started, read a bit slower and enunciate clearly or exaggerate the sound slightly.

■■ After the reading, go back to the first page you identified earlier. Place highlighter tape on each of the words containing the target sound. Ask the students what they notice about the words. (They begin with the same letter.) Identify the letter. Reread these words from the page and remind students that when we hear the ____ sound, it is represented by the letter ____.

■■ Remind students that good readers listen for sounds and think about the letters that represent them. Invite students to listen for this sound when they are reading today.

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have two jobs (add a third job, as appropriate) today during the work period.

– Job 1: Independent reading. Remind students that they will need to practice all of the things that good readers do as they read including listening for sounds and thinking about the letters that represent the sounds.



closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they listened for the ____ sound. Ask students to identify the letter that represented the sound. As a closing activity, read pairs of words aloud, one of which contains the target sound and one of which does not. Have students listen to the two words and determine which word contains the target sound, then say the word aloud and repeat the sound. For example, if the target sound were /t/, you might read the words pig and tiger to the students. The students would respond by saying tiger /t/. Provide students with feedback on their responses.


Listening for Rhyming Words 2 3lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Chart

– Rhyming Words

■❑ Mrs. Wishy-Washy, Big Book (Cowley) or a Big Book of your choice (selected for Lesson 22)

■❑ A favorite read-aloud text—a text you read to the students previously or a new text


■■ Continue to develop the concept of rhyme by listening for and identifying rhyming words


■■ Produce a rhyming word. Use the sentence frame:

– _______ rhymes with _______ and _______.”

target words


purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to expand students’ concept of rhyme to include both the sound and the visual cue found in most rhyming words. Students are also asked to produce rhymes, which may lead to the production of nonsense words. You may point out to students that this is not a real word but you can ask what the word might look like if it were a real word. The significant learning here is that rhyming words sound alike and often have letters that look alike.

prep

■■ Identify the rhyming words in the text. Choose a rime that can be combined with many onsets to create several rhyming words. Rimes such as -it, -at, -an, -en, -ake, and -ill will work well.

opening

■■ Show the students the Big Book from the previous lesson and prompt them to think about the story by asking what happened first? Next? Last? After you have constructed a group retelling of the story, invite the students to read the story with you.

■■ Read the book with the students.

■■ After the reading, remind students that in our last Big Book we found some rhyming words. Ask if anyone noticed any rhyming words in this book. If students are able to produce a rhyming pair, have everyone in the group repeat it. Ask students where the words sound alike (at the end) and identify the part that is the same in both words.

Readers Workshop122



opening

continued

■■ Using the pair of rhyming words from the text that you selected previously, write the words on a chart one word written below the other so students can see the visual pattern. Ask the students to read the words with you and listen for the rhyme. Then ask the students to look at the words and notice that the words end with the same letters. Write those letters (the rime) on the top of your chart in big letters with brightly colored marker.

■■ Repeat the two rhyming words and ask students if they can think of another word that rhymes with these words. Ask students to share their rhyming word using the sentence frame: “_______ rhymes with _______ and _______.” If students have difficulty coming up with a rhyming word offer them prompts. Ask, “Does _______ rhyme with _______?” If prompted, be sure to offer some words that rhyme and some that do not. As students identify rhyming words, add them to the chart.

■■ Remind students that there are many rhyming words in their story. Reread the text and ask the children to signal when they hear two words that rhyme. Give positive feedback when students identify rhyming words.

■■ Remind students that good readers listen for the rhyming words in the books they are reading.

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have two jobs (add a third job, as appropriate) today during the work period.

– Job 1: Read independently. Remind students that they will need to practice all of the things that good readers do as they read including listening for words that rhyme.



closing

■■ Remind students that today in the lesson they learned that many words rhyme and that the words that rhyme may have the same letter at the end of the word. Ask students to identify some on the words that rhyme form the story or from their list. Explain that to close the workshop for this lesson they are going to do what all readers like to do—listen to a story. Read aloud a book of your choice.


Making Reading Sound Like Talk 24lesson

MaTeRiaLS

■❑ Sentence strips for the workshop word

■❑ Mrs. Wishy-Washy, Big Book (Cowley) or a Big Book of your choice (selected for Lesson 22)


noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. This lesson uses the Big Book from the two previous lessons. It should contain a variety of sentence types including statements, questions, and exclamations.

LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect fluency to its cognate in Spanish, fluidez.


■■ Listen to their own reading in order to read with fluency and make their reading sound like talk


■■ Read and reread text with fluency and phrasing

target words

■■ fluency

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to make students aware of the sound of reading. Developing readers often lose fluency because they are decoding many new words and the text structure is becoming more complex. Maintaining fluency is important because it influences comprehension. Lessons that focus students’ attention on fluency teach students how readers should sound. These lessons are important in preventing developing readers from being satisfied with accurate decoding as the goal of their reading.

prep

■■ Preview the text to locate one or two pages on which to practice fluency. If possible, select pages based on the reading students did the previous day. Select places where the reading slowed or became word by word, these will make good passages for practice.

opening

■■ Ask students to gather in the whole-class meeting area. Briefly review the text from the previous day to activate students’ background knowledge and memory of the text. You might ask students questions about the story or have students do a structured retelling of the story.

■■ Before reading the book, ask students what it should sound like when we read. (It should sound like talk.)

■■ Model reading one of the passages you selected earlier in a word-by-word manner and ask students what they think. Then, model reading with fluency and phrasing and ask what students think.

■■ Discuss the differences in the two readings. Ask students which will be easier to understand and which would they rather listen to.

Readers Workshop124

Lesson 24 • Making Reading Sound Like Talk


opening

continued

■■ Choose another passage and ask students to read it with you word by word, then with fluency and phrasing. Ask students to talk about the difference. Which sounds better? Tell students that good readers read with fluency. Fluency means that the reading sounds like talk.

■■ Ask students how they will know whether they are reading with fluency. (They listen to themselves read to see if it sounds like talk.) Ask students how they would fix up their reading if it does not sound like talk. (Reread the passage and make it sound like talk.)

■■ Ask students to reread the book with you and listen to be sure they are reading so it sounds like talk. When you complete the reading, ask students how they sounded. It is important to raise students’ awareness of their own reading. Remind students that good readers read with fluency. They read so it sounds like talk.

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have two jobs (add a third job, if appropriate) during the work period.

– Job 1: Read independently. Explain that as they read today, they should listen to be sure they are reading with fluency; reading so it sounds like talk.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Remind partners to help each other use the strategies they have been learning that good readers use and to read with fluency. .

■■ Use the work period to continue conferring with students and collecting assessment data. Focus on fluency as you listen to students read. Identify two or three students who might model fluency during the closing.

closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they learned that it is important to read with fluency. When we are fluent readers our reading is not too fast and not to slow, we read groups of words together, and it sounds like talk. Ask a few students to share by reading aloud with fluency. Ask the other students to give feedback to the readers. You might model the types of responses you want students to give by asking questions such as:

– Was the reading too fast or too slow?

– Was the reading word-by word or groups of words together?

– Did the reader use their voice to stop at periods?

– Did the reading sound interesting to the listener?


Making connections 2 5lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Sticky-notes

■❑ Chart:

– What Good Writers Do

■❑ Peter’s Chair (Keats) or a text of your choice


noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. The book for this lesson should have a strong story line with experiences that are somewhat close to those of students in order to allow them to make connections to the text. Many texts will work well.

Providing examples. Students will need good examples of the kinds of connections readers make and examples of how this helps them understand what they are reading. Connections that take the reader away from the text obscure comprehension. It is important to ask, “How did this help me understand the text?”


■■ Learn to understand the text by connecting the action or information in the text to their own life experiences


■■ Describe their own connection to the text. Student will use the sentence frame:

– This reminds me of when I _______.

target words

■■ text-to-self connection

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to teach students another strategy for comprehending text, making connections. When students make connections, they are able to understand the events of the text, as well as the characters and their motivations. It is particularly important to model this process for students.

prep

■■ Preview the text to ensure that you can read it with fluency and phrasing.

■■ Note several places in the text where you can make text-to-self connections.

opening

■■ Explain that one of the strategies good readers use to understand the story they are reading is to think about how what happens in the story is like something that happened to them. When we think about what has happened to us, we know a little bit about what the characters did and how the characters felt and that helps us understand what the author was writing about in the story. Good readers use their own experiences to understand what they are reading.

■■ Show students the cover of the book you have chosen to read. Introduce the book and think aloud about any text-to-self connection you are making based on the title and the cover.

■■ Read the first few pages of the text. When you come to a place where you can make a text-to-self connection, stop and think aloud about the connection and how this is helping you understand the story.

Readers Workshop126

Lesson 25 • Making Connections


opening

continued

■■ Continue reading, stopping at a few other places to model how to make connections.

■■ After the third or fourth modeling, invite students to listen for places where something in the text reminds them of something that has happened to them. Tell them that you will finish reading the story and then they will share the connections they have made. Finish reading the text.

■■ Invite students to share their connections by asking if there was anything in the story that reminded them of something that had happened to them. Be sure to ask students how that helped them understand the story.

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have four jobs during the work period.

– Job 1: Independent reading. Give each student a sticky-note. Tell students that as they are reading today you would like them to use the strategy of making a connection to text. Ask students to place the sticky-note on a place in one of their books where they make a connection.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Remind partners to help each other use the strategies they have been learning that good readers use including making connections to text and thinking about how that helps them understand the story.

– Job 3: Make an entry in their Reader’s Notebook. Ask students to make a drawing of the part of the story where they made a connection, and write to tell about their connection. Remind students that they need to write the date on the page.

– Job 4: Share their picture with a partner and tell about their connection and how it helped them understand the text. Students can begin their sharing using the sentence frame: “My connection is _______. It helped me understand because _______.”



Lesson 25 • Making Connections

closing

■■ Remind students that good readers are always thinking about what they are reading. Sometimes they think about how the text is like their own life, they make text-to-self connections.

■■ Invite two or three students to share their connections to text. Students may use the sentence frame: “This reminds me of when I _______.”

■■ Point to the “What Good Readers Do” chart. Ask students what we learned today that we should add to the chart. Make another entry to the chart.






























Week 6






























6




essential practice

#1



■■ Students respond to questions asking who, what, why, when, where, and how.

■■ Students read independently and with a partner.

essential practice

#2


■■ Students use “Stop and Review” as a strategy to refocus their attention on what they read.

■■ Students identify the characters in their books and discuss the characters’ actions with a partner.

essential practice

#3


■■ Students use the language of questioning before and during reading using question words: who, what, why, when, where, how.

■■ Students practice good questions they can ask during partner reading and book discussions.

■■ Students learn a special set of words (time cue words) to help them retell the sequence of events in a story.

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students practice habits of good readers, referencing the chart

created in previous lessons.

■■ Students learn about characters through familiar books.

essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher models the “Stop and Review” strategy to monitor

comprehension.

■■ Teacher demonstrates a think aloud to explain to students the “stop and review” strategy.

■■ Teacher prepares a chart titled “Good Questions for Talking About Books” to provide students with questions that will help them sustain discussions about books.

■■ Teacher uses a graphic organizer to show students “sequence of events” in a story.



Talking about Texts and Saying Why 2 6lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? (Yolen) or a text of your choice


noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. The book for this lesson should have a strong story line and some conflict so that students have something significant to talk about.


■■ Take part in a whole-class book discussion and use the text to support their thinking


■■ Explain what they think about a text and tell why. Use the sentence frame:

– I think _______ because _______.

target words

■■ book discussion

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is for students to continue to practice the types of text-based thinking they need to do as they read. Talking about books and saying why holds students accountable to the text. This type of thinking is a skill that will be applied to all genres as students develop as readers. It is also a skill required of readers on standardized tests.

prep

■■ Preview the text so you can read it with fluency and phrasing.

■■ Plan how you will model talking about the text and using ideas from the book to support your ideas.

opening

■■ Tell students that in this lesson you will read a story and after they have listened to it, they will have a book discussion. That means they will talk about the book. Explain that while you are reading to them, you want them to think carefully about the story.

■■ Read the story to students. Then, explain that when they talk about a book, it is important to tell others what they think and why. To explain their thinking, they might go back to the book to find words that will help the listener understand their thinking. One of the things good readers do when they are talking about books is to tell why they think their idea is a good one.

■■ Ask students what they would like to say about the story. When students give their responses, follow up by asking why.

Readers Workshop134

Lesson 26 • Talking About Texts and Saying Why


opening

continued

■■ Ask if there is a part of the book that might help us understand their thinking. What did the author write that made them say that? (You may need to suggest passages to students.) Support students by having them talk about the book using the sentence frame, “I think _______ because _______.”

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have two jobs (add a third job, as appropriate) during the work period.

– Job 1: Independent reading. Remind students that they will need to practice all of the things that good readers do as they read.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Review the strategy of telling why when you talk about books. Ask students to practice this strategy as they talk about books with their partner. Remind students that when they tell “why,” they are using a strategy good readers use when they talk about books.


■■ As you confer with students about their reading select two or three students to share what they have been reading, say something they think about that book, and use the text to explain their ideas.

closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they learned to talk about their books and tell why. Talking about the books that we read helps us understand what we are reading and saying why helps others understand why we think as we do. Have two or three students tell about one of the books they have been reading and support what they say with the text.

■■ Return to the “Strategies Good Readers Use to Understand What They Read” chart. Add “Talk about books and say why” to the chart.


Recognizing Letters and Sounds 2 7lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Highlighter tape

■❑ Chart:

– Words with the Letter ____

■❑ Three Little Ducks (Melser) or a Big Book of your choice

noTe To TeacheR

Book selection. Many Big Books will be appropriate for this series of lessons. The text should contain opportunities for students to identify letters and corresponding sounds, read a variety of punctuation marks, and reread to maintain meaning.


■■ Locate a specific letter and begin to attach the sound it represents to the letter


■■ Identify a word that contains the target letter and use the vocabulary of the lesson to name the letter. Use the sentence frame: “This word has the letter ____.”

target words


purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to continue to support students as they learn to apply what they know about letters and sounds to reading. This lesson mirrors one done in an earlier lesson and provides another model for helping students identify letters and sounds in the context of their reading.

prep

■■ Preview the text and determine which letter to focus on during instruction. Choose a page or two where the letter appears several times to return to after the reading.

■■ Pre-cut several pieces of highlighter tape (enough for the examples you want students to locate) large enough to cover the target letter, but not so large that it covers other letters.

opening

■■ Explain to students that today we have a new Big Book that we will be reading together. Show students the cover of the book and ask what they think the book might be about. Allow several students to make predictions. This builds background knowledge and activates schema.

■■ Complete a picture walk during which you conversationally introduce the main ideas in the text as well as any complex vocabulary or syntactic structures that may be difficult for the students.

■■ Read the book aloud, pointing to the words as you do so. Read with expression and enthusiasm.

■■ Briefly discuss the book with the students. It is especially important to give students the opportunity to determine if their predictions were correct.

Readers Workshop136



opening

continued

■■ Tell the students that as you were reading you noticed several words that had one of the letters they have been working on in skill block and that letter is ____. Write the letter on the board or on chart paper. Ask students what sound this letter represents. Identify students whose names begin with this target letter/sound. Repeat the students’ names and listen for the sound.

■■ Turn to the page you identified earlier where the target letter appears several times. Tell students the letter ____ is on this page and ask if anyone sees it. Ask one of the students to come to the front and place a piece of highlighter tape on the letter. Say the word the letter is found in aloud and have students listen for the sound.

■■ Repeat this process several more times until students have located the letters and listened to the sounds you chose. Reread the entire page with students. Remind them that words are made of letters, letters represent sounds, and when we learn those letters and sounds it will help us to read.

■■ Ask students to help you reread the entire text. Read the text with fluency and phrasing.

work period


– Job 1: Read independently. As they read they should look for words that contain the letter they focused on in the lesson. Remind students point to the words as they are reading. Tell students they will continue to read and reread their books until you indicate that they can move on to their second job.

– Job 2: Locate a word with the target letter. Give each student a sticky-note. Explain that their second job is to locate one word that contains the target letter and write that word on the sticky note. Have students place the sticky note on their table or desk until the closing.

– Job 3: Read with a partner. Remind partners to help each other do all of the things we are learning that good readers do like pointing to words and saying one word for each word on the page. Tell students to continue to practice being good active listeners as they discuss their books with their partners.




closing

■■ Ask students to bring the sticky-note with their word written on it to the closing. Remind students that in this lesson we found words in our story that had the letter ____ in them. Ask student what sound the letter ____ represents.

■■ Show students the chart titled “Words with the Letter ____.” Ask students to share their word by using the sentence frame: “This word has the letter ____.” As students give you their words say the word and ask students to listen for the sound the letter represents. Attach the sticky-notes to the chart.



Fluency: Reading the Punctuation 2 8lesson

MaTeRiaLS

■❑ Charts paper and markers


■❑ Charts:

– Reading the Clues

– Alphabet Activity

– What Good Readers Do

■❑ Three Little Ducks (Melser) or a Big Book of your choice (selected in Lesson 27)


LanGUaGe connecTion


punctuation puntuación

exclamation marca de mark exclamación


■■ Explain the purpose of punctuation marks and use them to read with fluency and phrasing


■■ Use the cues of punctuation to read fluently

■■ Identify the purpose of common punctuation marks such as periods, question marks, and quotation marks

■■ Explain how common punctuation marks help them read using the sentence frames:

– This is a _______. It tells me to _______.

target words

■■ punctuation

■■ period

■■ question mark

■■ exclamation mark

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the meaning of punctuation marks and what they signal the reader to do. In this lesson, you will demonstrate how to use punctuation to read with fluency. As students begin to read conventionally, their attention is often on the words in the text rather than on the punctuation marks. This may result in word-by-word reading that is slow and labored or runaway reading that is fast but lacks phrasing. Either of these extremes will result in a lack of comprehension of the text.

prep

■■ Preview the text for this lesson to locate one or two pages on which to practice fluency. The passages should contain not only declarative sentences that end with a period, but also questions, and exclamations.

■■ Prepare a chart titled “Reading the Clues.”

Readers Workshop140

Lesson 28 • Fluency: Reading the Punctuation


prep

continued

■■ Prepare a chart of the alphabet that looks like this:

A B C D E F G!

H I?

J K L.

M N?

O P Q.

R S T!

U V W X.

Y Z!

opening

■■ Turn the pages of the Big Book one by one to review the text from the previous lesson to activate students’ background knowledge and memory of the text.

■■ Tell students that when we are reading, the author gives us clues about how to read the text. These clues are called punctuation marks. Ask students to look closely at one of the pages you have chosen. See if they can locate the clues the author is giving us for how to read this page.

■■ Locate one of the punctuation marks and discuss what it is the author is telling us to do. (For a period we stop our voice, for a question mark we raise our voice, and for an exclamation point we add excitement for a comma we pause for a short breath.)

■■ Model how to read using this punctuation clue. Ask students to practice reading the same sentence or phrase after you. Locate another punctuation mark and follow the same procedure. Have students look at the period, question mark, exclamation mark, and comma in this lesson.

■■ Remind students to use what they have just learned as we read our Big Book. Tell students that good readers use the clues the author gives us to read with fluency and phrasing.

■■ Ask students to read the book with you and listen to be sure they are reading the punctuation. On completion of the reading, give students feedback.

noTe To TeacheR

other types of punctuation. There are several other types of punctuation marks that can be discussed: commas, ellipses, dashes, semi-colons, etc. These should also be discussed in future lessons. Punctuation also signals text meaning, and helping students with this understanding can be another series of lessons.


Lesson 28 • Fluency: Reading the Punctuation

opening

continued

■■ Show students the chart titled “Reading the Clues.” Review the punctuation marks you worked on during the lesson. Ask students to help you determine what to write on the chart. Write the name of the clue, the symbol, and the action the reader takes. For this lesson, the chart might look like the following:

Reading the clues

Period . Stop my voice.

Question Mark ? Make my voice go up.

Exclamation mark ! Read with excitement

■■ Post the chart where students will be able to reference it. Add to it as students notice additional punctuation.

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have two jobs (add a third job, as appropriate) during the work period.

– Job 1: Independent reading. Remind students that they will need to practice all of the things good readers do as they read including using the clues in the punctuation.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Remind partners to help each other use the strategies they have been learning that good readers use including using the clues in the punctuation.


closing

■■ Remind students that they have learned that the author helps them with their reading by giving them clues to how to read the words called punctuation marks. Explain that to close the workshop today they are all going to read together. They are going to read the alphabet in a special way. Show students the poster of the alphabet. Point out that each line ends with a punctuation mark that tells them what to do with their voice as they read. Read the alphabet chart.

■■ Return to the “What Good Readers Do” chart. Ask students what they learned today that we should add to the chart. Add “Read the punctuation” to the chart.

noTe To TeacheR

Repeating the alphabet activity. Students like this activity and may want to read the alphabet again. Do so! You may also change the pattern of letters and punctuation and read the alphabet again and again to help students attend to punctuation.



Rereading to Maintain Meaning 29lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Three Little Ducks (Melser) or a Big Book of your choice (selected in Lesson 27)



■■ Monitor their reading and use rereading as a strategy for maintaining meaning


■■ Use language to explain how they monitored their reading for meaning.

■■ Reread when meaning has broken down. Use the sentence frame:

– I knew I was thinking about the story because _______.

target words

■■ rereading

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand that even good readers sometimes lose track of their reading and must fix the problem. The lesson is foundational for the self-monitoring of comprehension expected of students as conventional readers.

prep

■■ Preview the text to locate a passage where your thinking might wander away from the text during the reading, and you could lose track of what the reading was about. Plan how you will think aloud to demonstrate losing track of the story, and then rereading to maintain the meaning of the text.

opening

■■ Tell students that sometimes when you are reading, you get to the bottom of the page and realize you do not remember what the page was about. Explain that sometimes that happens to everyone. You might say something like:

SaY “ Sometimes when we are reading a word or phrase in a book, it makes us remember something that has happened to us. We begin to think about that memory even though we keep reading the words on the page. But if we don’t remember what has happened in the story, we haven’t really read it. We have just said the words. It is important to think about what we are reading, and if we cannot remember what we read, it is important to fix it. Good readers stop and fix their reading by rereading the passage.

Readers Workshop144

Lesson 29 • Rereading to Maintain Meaning


opening

continued

■■ Demonstrate the procedure by thinking aloud about the passage you have selected and rereading to regain meaning. For example, if the story you were reading had a kitten enter the plot, you might turn to the page where the kitten is introduced and say:

SaY “ When I got to the bottom of this page, I asked myself what this page was about. That is a good idea, to stop occasionally and check to see if you remember what you read. So I did, but this time I didn’t remember. Then, I realized that when the book said something about the little kitten meowing softly, see right here on the page, that I had started thinking about my kitten, Peppermint, and how softly she always meows and I kept thinking about how she meows to get into the dresser because she likes to snuggle into the clothes and she meows softly when she wants to snuggle on your lap, and pretty soon I was at the bottom of the page because even though my brain was thinking about my kitten, I just kept on saying the words in the book but I couldn’t remember what the story had been about.

“ But good readers don’t just say the words, they also think about the story. So, there was only one thing I could do. I had to go right back to where I stopped thinking about the story and read the words again. So I did that. I went right back to this spot and reread the page and I listened to myself reading. This time when I asked myself what the page was about, I knew the answer so I could go on with my reading. It’s important to think about what we read, and if our mind starts thinking about other things, we need to go back and reread.”

■■ Briefly review what the text was about to activate students’ background knowledge and memory of the text.

■■ Read the book, inviting students to join you in the reading. Once or twice during the reading, pause and ask students if they are thinking about the story as they are saying the words.


Lesson 29 • Rereading to Maintain Meaning

opening

continued

■■ After the reading, ask students if they were thinking about the story as they were saying the words. Have a few of students tell you how they knew they had been thinking about the story as they were reading. Students might use the sentence frame: “I knew I was thinking about the story because _______.” Remind students that a good reader rereads when they stop thinking about the story and begins to think about something else.

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have three jobs during the work period.

– Job 1: Independent reading. Ask students to monitor their reading to be sure they are saying the words and thinking about the story.

– Job 2: Read with a partner. Remind partners to help each other use the strategies they have been learning that good readers use including thinking about the story and rereading if they can’t remember what the story is about.

– Job 3: Make an entry in their Reader’s Notebooks. Ask students to make a drawing of the part of the book they liked the best from the story they read together, and then write to tell why that was their favorite part. Remind students that they need to write the date on the page.


closing

■■ Remind students that good readers are always thinking about the story. Good readers know what is happening in the story, can tell others what is happening, and remember what the story was about.

■■ Explain that even good readers sometimes cannot remember what they were reading, when that happens they need to reread the part of the book they cannot remember.

■■ Ask whether anyone reread his or her text to maintain meaning. Allow one or two students to share what happened and how it helped them read. Ask a student or two how they knew they had been good readers that day.



Practicing Good Reading habits 30lesson

MaTeRiaLS



■❑ Chart:

– Practicing Good Reading Habits in Independent Reading Time (Rubric)


LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect rubric to its cognate in Spanish, rúbrica.


■■ Describe good reading behaviors for independent reading


■■ Describe good reading behaviors for independent reading using the sentence frame:

– I was a good reader today because _______.

target words

■■ rubric

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to help students become accountable for their behaviors during independent reading. Students build a rubric that becomes a tool for monitoring and assessing their reading habits. Self-monitoring is a critical component in developing independence as a learner and in the running of a well-managed Readers Workshop.

prep

■■ As students are reading silently, quietly remark to individual students on their positive behaviors. For example, as you notice a student keeping his or her voice very low, ask if that student will share this reading behavior as an example with the whole class later. Continue this over a period of time before teaching this lesson.

opening

■■ Tell students that you have been noticing their behavior during independent reading. Invite students to share a few success stories or concerns.

■■ As students finish sharing, tell them that the behaviors they shared could be made into a rubric for independent reading. Explain that a rubric is a chart that helps us decide how we are doing with our work.

■■ Begin a chart titled “Practicing Good Reading Habits during Independent Reading.” Tell students that we want to know if we are doing a good job so we will have two columns on our rubric.

Readers Workshop148

Lesson 30 • Practicing Good Reading Habits


opening

continued

■■ Draw a happy face at the top of one half of the paper and a sad face on the other half to indicate positive and negative behaviors. Tell students a happy face tells us we are doing a good job and a sad face tells us it is not as good.

Practicing Good Reading habits in independent Reading

■■ Start by highlighting one of the good behaviors. For example, “I noticed was how Marissa was using a quiet voice for her reading. I think we could put that on the good behavior side of the rubric.” Write “Use a quiet voice” on the rubric. Ask what we would write if it was not as good behavior. (Use a loud voice)

■■ Ask students for input on additional behaviors for independent reading. Their responses might include:

– Use a quiet voice

– Get your book bag before independent reading starts

– Go to your favorite place to read

– Stay in your reading place

– Read without talking to others

– When you finish what you are reading, get the next book in your bag

■■ Have students help you list negative behaviors under the sad face. Their responses might include:

– Use a loud voice

– Forget to get your book bag before independent reading


Lesson 30 • Practicing Good Reading Habits

opening

continued

– Sit anywhere, even in someone else’s spot

– Wander around the room

– Talk to or distract others

– Stop reading

■■ Explain that repeated behaviors are habits. Tell students that you expect them to practice good reading habits during independent reading and that they will look at this rubric to help them remember how to act. (You might use icons on the chart to support some readers.)

work period

■■ Explain to students that they will have three jobs (add a fourth job, as appropriate) during the work period.

– Job 1: Independent reading. Ask students to monitor their reading today to be sure they are doing all of the things we know good readers do. Remind students to think about the rubric they have just created to help them remember what to do during independent reading.

– Job 2: Tell their partner how they did with good reading behaviors during independent reading. Students should use the sentence frame: “I was a good reader today because _______.”



closing

■■ Remind students that in this lesson they learned about good reading behaviors for independent reading.

■■ Have a few students share their success in practicing good reading behaviors during independent reading using the sentence frame: “I was a good reader today because _______.”

Documents

Readers Workshop