Introduction to 6-12 Reading Workshop
Rapid City Area Schools
What is reading workshop?
Workshop is a predictable structure, routine, ritual, and system that allows the unpredictable work
of deep reading, brilliant writing, mind-changing conversations, inspirational epiphanies, and
connections of new to the known—that is, learning—to happen. Workshop is the key to listening
to teach for many reasons, but not for any one reason. It is a complex system of intertwining
events that lead to students doing the work of learning and demonstrating their understanding of
essential content and skills.
In a workshop, as students are busy doing the work of learning, it frees teachers to do their
work as learners. As students read, write, think, and talk, teachers do the work of learning about
their students: what students know, what they can do, and what they need to be successful adults.
Workshop is a structure, a routine, a ritual, and a system that helps teachers answer the
question, “How do I know?” (Bennett, 2007, p. 8).
In reading workshop, students:
 Learn how to work together
 Set goals and evaluate their own accomplishments
 Engage in meaningful communication about what they have read
 Take responsibility for their own learning and support the learning of each other
 Work at their own pace to accomplish a series of tasks
 Make choices and carry out assignments
Why should I use the reading workshop approach in my classroom?
What does it look like when students are doing the work of thinking? The work of learning? The
work of achieving? The work of becoming better human beings? Literally and metaphorically, it
looks like a workshop, a place where works—concrete demonstrations of understanding—are
created. (Bennett, 2007, p. 3)
The advantages of reading workshop are many, some of which are listed below. Also see
Guiding Readers and Writers, pages 43-45.
Reading Workshop:
 Builds an effective reading process
 Increases the amount students read
 Increases ownership of the commitment to reading
 Broadens readers’ literary experiences
 Develops responsibility for reading
 Encourages personal connections
 Teaches collaboration
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What support do I have for reading workshop?
In past years, the Language Arts Curriculum Committee recommended to the school
board that the Rapid City School District continue using the balanced literacy framework
as its instructional model. As a result of the board’s agreement with this
recommendation, teachers are not implementing new curricular materials. In June 2007,
the school board approved the Writing Next and Reading Next reports to the Carnegie
Corporation. The Reading Next report outlines key elements of effective adolescent
literacy programs and further supports the balanced literacy framework as Rapid City
Area Schools’ instructional model.
Language arts and content area teachers are continually moving toward the use of
alternative texts and text sets within their curriculum. In recent years, the secondary
schools have received sums of money devoted to nonfiction, informational text for
student use. District-purchased textbooks are being used as one of many resources in the
classroom rather than as the sole source of information. Teachers can utilize the
resources of their building’s literacy library and the school’s instructional support
teacher.
Two important resources that are critical to the implementation of reading workshop are
Guiding Readers and Writers, Grades 3-6 (2001) and Comprehension and Fluency, K-8
(2006) by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. The high school and middle school teachers
will want to modify some of the first book’s information, depending on students’ needs.
These resources were not purchased by the school district for the teachers because of
their broad availability in the schools already. These books will be referenced
extensively in this implementation guide. If you do not have a copy of either book,
please check with your building’s instructional support teacher.
Schools have a variety of leveled texts for guided reading and literature circles (book
clubs). A large number of these books were selected to support content-area study.
These texts relate to our science, social studies, health, and visual arts curricula. In
addition to these new content-area books, each building uses its own building budget to
supplement with additional texts for students who are at a variety of reading levels and
have different interests.
What are the components of an hour-long reading workshop?
The reading workshop includes a brief mini-lesson, followed by time to read, respond to
text, meet in needs-based groups, discuss literature, or confer with the teacher or other
students. The workshop concludes with a time of sharing as a class or with learning
partners.
Please refer to Chapter 4 in Guiding Readers and Writers for more detailed information
about reading workshop.
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How do I manage reading workshop?
Fountas and Pinnell, in Chapter 6 of Guiding Readers and Writers, state:
Good management is part of effective teaching and a vital part of students’ learning. Just as you
establish a curriculum for literacy, you teach students how to manage their time and behavior in the
classroom. They learn such “skills for living” as planning, managing time, evaluating, and problem
solving. Self-management, so essential for quality life, is not inborn or intuitive. Self-management is
learned and can be taught.
Chapter six details the many facets essential to effective classroom management during
reading workshop and is well worth the time spent reading it. Beginning on page 105,
the authors provide suggestions for the first five weeks of implementing the language and
literacy framework.
What goals should be accomplished in the first month of reading workshop?
1. Help students think of themselves as readers by reading books that they enjoy and
having them participate in all the choices and decisions readers make.
2. Establish the roles and routines of the reading workshop while conducting
individual assessments.
What is a minilesson during reading workshop?
A minilesson sets the purpose, builds the need to know, and shows students how to do the
task for the worktime. A minilesson can include modeling, a think-aloud, a minilecture, a
demonstration, etc. For more information, refer to That Workshop Book by Samantha
Bennett.
Mini
Lesson
Opening
Structure
Debrief
Work time:
Students read,
write, and/or talk
to make meaning.
Students practice.
Teacher
confers to
gauge
understanding
.
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What are the purposes of conferring with students in reading workshop?
Conferences during reading workshop are conducted between a teacher and a student(s).
They are not scripted—and can’t be, because the shape of the conversation arises from
the sharing of the teacher and the student. The student does the majority of the talking.
The purposes of conferences are to:

Engage in meaningful action that supports the reader’s ability to process a text
with understanding and fluency.

Teach the reader, not the text—that is, the teacher’s focus is on helping a student
learn more about being a reader, not simply helping him or her read a book.

Become a set of ears, a guide, and a sounding board.

Help the student solve problems.
In addition to these four purposes identified by Fountas and Pinell, we would add that
teacher-student conferences enhance accountability on the part of the student with respect
to her or his independent reading. Also, as with all good responsive teaching, teachers
develop insight into students’ needs and can provide next-step instruction during future
minilessons. In addition, it is possible to conference with targeted students during or
after guided reading or literature studies. Conferencing is an ongoing purposeful
teaching method. Sitting beside a student during his or her independent reading benefits
both the teacher and student.
Please refer to Chapter 8 in Guiding Readers and Writers for more information about
conferring during reader’s workshop.
What is the difference between guided reading and literature study?
The purpose of guided reading is to:

Meet the varying instructional needs of all students and enable them to greatly
expand their reading powers.

Guide students in reading books specifically selected by the teacher to provide a
moderate amount of challenge.
The teacher supports students in tackling necessary problem solving to overcome the
difficulties they may encounter. Guided reading allows teachers to help students move
forward in their reading development, because instruction is carefully matched to their
point of need.
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The purposes of literature study (also referred to as literature circles or book clubs) are to:
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Increase students’ enjoyment of reading
Make students aware of the value of their personal responses to what they read
Engage students in meaningful literary discussions
Provide rich experiences with a range of genres representing many periods and
cultures
Expand students’ literacy and background knowledge
Build students’ knowledge of authors and illustrators
Deepen students’ understanding of the qualities that make well-crafted literature
Demonstrate new ways of interpreting and analyzing new text
Foster critical thinking
Is writing and responding in writing important?
The teacher’s goal in reading workshop–through independent reading, guided reading,
and literature study–is to foster students’ responses to reading so they are active
constructors of their own meaning and vary their styles and stances according to
purpose. Responding to reading is highly important to extend the readers’ understanding
of text. Students can benefit from responding in a variety of ways. See Tools for
Formative Assessment, found in the assessment portion of this guide.
Some students respond to their reading by writing a letter to the teacher, a classmate, or a
parent once a week or every other week. This typically is known as a response letter.
Another response involves targeting a comprehension strategy for students to try out
while reading and then share orally or in written form. Both of these response forms are
used as formative assessments to better understand students’ thinking while reading.
Remember that short oral responses are a great way to pull the community of readers
together at the close of reading workshop.
How do I assess my students’ progress in reading?
Assessment is ongoing. All forms of assessment, informal and formal, formative and
summative, give teachers specific information about the students’ reading achievement
and progress. Assessment is not only important for a grade (summative); most
importantly, it is used to guide instruction (formative). Please refer to the assessment
portion of this guide.
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