Ms. Jessica Shackil
&
Mrs. Courtney Quackenbush
Reader’s Workshop: An
Overview
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 Reader’s Workshop is a time during reading Language
Arts time when your child is explicitly taught a specific
reading skill or strategy. It is first modeled, then practiced
with the teacher and then then practiced independently
with a book on their own reading level (see handout)
 The purpose of this model is to create mindful,
independent readers
 Data collected by the teacher is then used to drive
Reader’s Workshop instruction for weeks to come
 Non-fiction texts and their features are and will be
emphasized more in class and on assessments
Possible Skills & Strategies for
Grades 1-3
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Fix-up strategy
Cause and Effect
Compare and Contrast
Story Structure- B-M-E
(plot)
Sequence of Events
Authors Point of View
Making Generalizations
Making Inferences
Predicting
Fantasy or Reality
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 Problem Solving
(problem and solution)
 Drawing Conclusions
 Making connections (not
a coincidence)
 Using schema (prior
knowledge)
 Asking Questions
 Monitoring Meaning and
Comprehension
 Visualization and Sensory
Images
Grade 1
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 Letters and sounds/Sight words- knowing them with
automaticity is a key factor in learning to read
 Foster independence and encourage problem solving
while reading
 Remember: letters make sounds, sounds make words,
words make sentences--- crucial for early reading
development
 Reading fluency…reading like you’re talking and being
mindful of time, increases comprehension
 Comprehension: discuss books with your child before,
during and after reading; retelling, making meaningful
connections, reactions, questions, author’s purpose or
theme (see handout)
Grade 2
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 Fixing up strategies are crucial… moving toward utilizing
these strategies on a more independent level (see handouts)
 Foster reading engagement
 Utilizing taught comprehension skills on an independent
level is the focus
 Reading fluency…reading like you’re talking and being
mindful of time, increases comprehension
 Comprehension: in addition to skills taught in first grade,
other higher level strategies are introduced and should be
practiced at home: inferring, drawing conclusions,
understanding author’s purpose, visualizing, written
responses to text, summarizing, identifying character
traits and providing reasons why they act as they do in
stories
Grade 3
 Transitioning from learning to read to reading to learn.
 Independently using fixing up strategies to enhance comprehension and
monitor reading
 Reading engagement and stamina increase comprehension and fluency
 Mindfully reading and thinking, questioning and reacting to what you’re
reading
 Understanding figurative language, and using context clues to determine
unfamiliar vocabulary in texts
 Engaging in deep discussions to increase comprehension (book shares, knee to
knee, fish bowls-critiquing and encouraging good reading habits)
 Skills taught in mini-lessons are modeled and then practiced independently
 Increasing reading fluency such as; adding voice, expression, intonation, and
heeding punctuation
 Comprehension skills introduced in 1st and 2nd grade are enhanced in third
grade and expected to be applied on an independent level
 Writing frequent open responses- citing examples from the text and discussing
them to provide detailed proof of engaged reading
Recognizing Reading Difficulties
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 Decoding Difficulties:
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trouble sounding out words and recognizing them out of context
Confusion between letters and the sounds they represent
Slow oral reading rate (reading word by word)
Reading without expression
Ignoring punctuation while reading
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/experiences/readexp1a.html
 Comprehension Difficulties:
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Confusion about the meaning of words and sentences
Inability to connect ideas in a passage
Omission of, or glossing over details
Difficulty distinguishing significant information from minor details
Lack of reading engagement
 Retention Difficulties:
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Trouble remembering or summarizing what is read
Difficulty connecting what is read to prior knowledge
Difficulty applying content of a text to personal experiences
Way to Support a Weakness in
Decoding
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 Teaching your child the letter sounds: making sure they know their
sounds with automaticity: clip the sounds (“b” is “b” not “buh”).
 Knowing the sounds for specific letter patterns– matching a picture
with a sound, may be helpful for your child to refer to when reading
(“oo” sound- correlate the sound and pattern with a picture of a
“moon”) (c = cat = “c”)
 Have your child look for familiar patterns to help them read
unfamiliar them (if you can read “took” than you can read “look”)
 Find familiar parts of a word within words and chunk them to decode
(refreshment= re/fresh/ment)
 Encourage your child to utilize other strategies along with their
knowledge of decoding.
(see handouts)
Ways to Support a Weakness in
Comprehension & Retention
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 Encourage your child to try and figure out the meanings
of unfamiliar words. Discuss words in the context of the
text.
 Use of graphic organizers (See Graphic Organizer Packet)
 Summarizing and finding important themes and ideas in
a text
 Discussing books with others (like after a movie)
 Ask thought-provoking comprehension questions and
encourage reading response activities (see handout)
 Sticky notes to monitor reading and refresh your memory
Using Sticky Notes to Support
Your Reader at Home
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 Sticky notes are beneficial to both you and your child
in the following ways:
Your Child
You
• Help them review and refresh
themselves on what they read
• Evidence that your child is
reading
• Record questions/reactions
they can discuss with you
• Allows you to gain knowledge
about what your child is truly
understanding about the book
• Constant reminder to monitor
themselves self as a reader
• Springboard for discussion
Please take a sticky note from the center of
your table and a pen.
We would now like for you to read a short
passage titled; Superhero Joey.
After reading the passage, please use the
sticky note to react, question, connect, or
infer based on what you have read.
Superhero Joey
by Katherine Rollins
Joey put on his mask. He flapped his cape in front of the mirror. This is the
best costume, he thought. I’m sure to win the contest. Joey skipped
downstairs.
“Here I come to rescue you!” Joey shouted.
“Nice costume,” said Joey’s dad.
“I’m a superhero,” said Joey.
“Joey,” said Mom, “I need you to watch Mindy at the party.”
Joey looked at his little sister.
“But Mom, superheroes don’t have kid sisters.”
“Well this superhero has a sister,” said Mom.
“What will Mindy’s costume be?” asked Dad.
“I’m not sure,” said Mom.
Joey got an idea. “I know!”
Joey took Mindy upstairs to his room. He dug through his closets. Joey
found his baby blanket. He put it around Mindy’s shoulders. At the party,
Superhero Joey and his sidekick Supergirl Mindy won first prize!
(Story takes from www.superteacherworksheets.com)
Please take a few moments
to share your sticky note
with your group.
Sticky Note Examples Grades 2 and 3
Limited SN response
Appropriate SN response
Exceptional SN response
Wow!! I like dressing up
too!
I went to a costume party
and almost won the
contest and I really
wanted to win.
When I read this part I
pictured Joey posing in
front of the mirror with a
huge smile on his face
holding his cape.
I have a sister too!!
My mom made me do
something with my sister
when I didn’t want to.
Joey must be annoyed he
has to watch his sisters.
This helps me understand
the book better because I
can relate to how Joey is
feeling. I don’t want to
watch my little brother
sometimes too.
I still have my baby
blanket. It’s yellow and
has bears on it.
They must have felt so
proud when they won
the contest!
That was really creative
of Joey to use his blanket
to make a costume. I bet
that made his sister feel
good.
Ways to Respond to Text
Through Sticky Notes
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 Reacting
 Questioning and Predicting
 Making personal connections
 Cause/Effect, Problem/Solution, etc.
 Visualization (making pictures in your mind)
 Inferring and Drawing Conclusions
(see handout)
Food for Thought
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“Everyone is a genius. But if
you judge a fish on its ability
to climb a tree it will live its
whole life believing that it is
stupid.”
- Albert Einstein
Technology Resources
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 http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4.cfm
 http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/
 http://www.readingrockets.org/
 http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/studentinteractives/
 http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interact-read.htm
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/
Q&A
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Thank you so much for taking an active role in your
child’s education. We hope you enjoyed our presentation
and learned new strategies to help your young reader at
home.
We would like to close this presentation with a Question
& Answer session.
Read…Read…Read…And let your imagination be freed!!