My Vision of Reader's Workshop and the Role of Mini-Lessons

         I envision Reader's Workshop as being a fun, interactive, encouraging, creative, focused, and exploratory period of the day. Reader's Workshop is a chance for students to learn new skills that they can apply to their reading, and also offers time for the student's to practice these skills in fun and creative ways. Student's are introduced to different kinds of literature, and they are able to explore their passions in reading, while at the same time learning skills that will make them better readers.
           Reader's Workshop also provides a time for the teacher to work in small groups to assist children in furthering their understanding of the concept or skill being taught. The teacher can assess the students she works with, while keeping the rest of the class engaged in individual or group activities in a variety of formats that is focused on a specific skill.
          My Reader's Workshop would begin with a Sharing Time where I would gather the children on the carpet. I would then share a book or an aspect of a book or piece of literature with the class that would link to my mini-lesson and the skill I would be teaching for that day.
          Next, I would transition into the mini-lesson. The role of the mini-lesson is to provide a time where I can model and teach to the student's directly, the reading skill I am going to have them learn that day. I would use a short book (the same book I used during sharing time) to help point out the skill I am going to teach them. Then I would use the easel to model the skill and I would even interact with the students by asking them questions, and having them give an example of the skill in the book, or in previous books we have read, to further their understanding of what I am trying to teach them. The mini-lesson skill is based on a skill I have observed that the children need practice with. The skills I choose to focus on are also based on the skills my district are requiring me to teach to the students. Mini-lessons allow the teacher not to revert to worksheets as a way for the students to practice the skill. The mini-lesson also allows the teacher to teach the students directly as a whole class and to avoid putting the students into groups based on "ability" (where the students' may feel uncomfortable or unintelligent). The mini-lesson offers a chance for the students to think back to past reading experiences or previous books read in class, in order to help them to understand a new book, concept, or skill I am teaching them, through the use of story frames, schema stories, or literature webbing.
         Next I would use the state-of-the-class chart and I would go over the student's responsibilities during the workshop. I would remind myself and the class of which students I am going to be meeting with during the workshop and which students I have already met. I would also go through the chart and see which students are progressing in their tasks and which students are not.
         Next I would have the students go into SSR time. This is when students choose their own book they want to read and they read this book for about ten minutes or so.
         After 10 minutes I would start my Literature Response Group. I would take a group of children to the back of the room while the other students continue to read in SSR time. The Literature Response Group would meet with me and the students would read, respond, and discuss to a piece of literature or a book that I have chosen for them. Within this group I would encourage the students to react to the book and to share their opinions, likes, dislikes etc...I would also come up with projects and goals for the group to work on when they are in SSR time.
        The students who are continuing to read in SSR time will have 4 choices of activities they can be engaged in. 1) They must complete their Literature Response Group goal page. 2) They can try to finish their Literature Response Group project or activity (if one is assigned). This could be in the form of a reading log where they keep track of their reading by writing etc... 3) The students may make changes to their reading records. They can write down how long they have read, the title of their reading log entries, they can make changes on the state-of-the-class chart, and they can sign up for a reading conference with the teacher. 4) If the students finish the first three activities, they can then pick another book to read for fun.
         Lastly, to end Reader's Workshop, I will transition the class into sharing time. This is when I would have all the children gather on the carpet, and I would have the children share with the class the books they read or are reading, the activities and projects they completed (or are working on), their reading log entries, their discussions in the Literature Response Group etc...The sharing time will allow me to assess the students' on their work (and progress) during the Reader's Workshop.