About Readers Workshop:
Readers Workshop incorporates teacher directed reading/skill groups along with independent student
reading time and individual student conferences.
To begin the reading time the teacher delivers a mini lesson on the reading strategy that she would like
the students to focus on. The students will be asked to perform a task based on that strategy, that
they will complete while they are independently reading.
The teacher meets with a couple of reading groups each day. During that time the other students have
a variety of books that are "just right" for their reading ability. The students select their book or books
for that reading time and engage in independent, quiet reading. If the students are using their time
wisely the teacher will allow them to find their own comfortable place to read. This might be lying on
the floor with a stuffed animal or small blanket, it might be sitting in a chair in an open area in the
classroom, etc.
After the teacher has met with the reading groups for that day, the teacher will move around the
classroom and conference with the students about the book they have selected to read. That might
include having the student read a short portion to the teacher, the teacher may look at the reading
strategy task that the child was to perform and the teacher will guide the student on some reading
strategies that would be good for that student to focus on.
At the end of Readers Workshop students may be asked to get together with their reading buddy and
talk about the book they read that day. This helps the students to be accountable for their reading as
well as spread enthusiasm for certain books that the buddy might not have read yet.
Readers Workshop is a researched based reading program that has been shown to increase reading
fluency and comprehension as well as fostering a love for reading. I have personally found this
program to be extremely successful in helping my students grow as readers.