The Literacy Workshop

"This book offers a unique interpretation of traditional workshop instruction by showing teachers how to integrate their separate reading and writing workshops into one 'literacy workshop' (periodically and as dictated by student needs) that takes advantage of the inherent reciprocity between reading and writing. Through narrative discussion, student samples, photographs, instructional resources, online content, suggested lessons and various mentor texts, the book explains the structure of the literacy workshop, tells readers how to get started with it, and shows them how to decide when it's best to merge the two workshops into one. The book is divided into two parts. Part I (Chapters 1-4) lays the foundation and gives the nuts and bolts of literacy workshop. Part II (Chapters 5-9) includes engagement/strategy/topic focused demonstration lessons - which includes a primary and an intermediate level example lesson for each Big Idea"--

The Literacy Workshop: Where Reading and Writing Converge is a first-of-its-kind resource that offers a practical process for creating an integrated literacy workshop using demonstration lessons that align with current curriculum standards. In this forward-thinking book, authors Maria Walther and Karen Biggs-Tucker share what they've learned over countless reading and writing workshops and combine into one literacy workshop. The authors demonstrate how you can save valuable classroom time while still empowering students to uncover exciting connections in their learning – leading to stronger, more motivational readers and writers. By weaving the common threads of literacy learning together, you can increase the time your students spend engaged in authentic reading and writing. Inside you'll find the following: A clear, succinct explanation of the literacy workshop structure, how to get started, and how to determine the best time to begin the merge; 50+ demonstration lesson plans, appropriate for both primary and intermediate grade levels, that use strategies incorporating elements from recommended fiction and nonfiction anchor texts; Substantial, printable resources and online tools to help make this instructional shift as smooth as possible. From the big picture to small, helpful details, The Literacy Workshop will be your guide as you blur the lines between your reading and writing workshops - creating space for students to apply their learning and practice the habits, behaviors, and actions of literate and engaged citizens.

As reading teachers, how do we deal with the massive shifts that digital literacy is creating? We can't abandon what we know works to keep up with the latest online-literacy fads. Yet, we need to prepare readers for a world of digital content. Reading Workshop 2.0 gives us teaching that puts reading for meaning first while also balancing the need for kids to become sophisticated users of books as well as online reading resources. "This book," writes Frank Serafini, "is designed to help teachers organize their reading workshops in order to take advantage of the latest technologies." With his guidance, you'll bring more digital reading into your teaching without sacrificing sound instructional principles or practices. Reading print shares four essential processes with digital reading: accessing and navigating; archiving and sharing; commenting and discussing; and interpreting and analyzing. Frank introduces important, well-established digitally based resources that further these processes, while his lesson ideas transfer learning from classroom to real-world digital reading. "If it doesn't help children develop as readers," writes Frank Serafini, "it doesn't matter how shiny the new object is." With Reading Workshop 2.0, you'll help students with print while also helping them use online resources and technologies as they are intended-to make sense of texts more deeply, effectively, and efficiently.

"Guide to teaching writing at emergent, early and fluent levels. It includes practical information that will support primary and middle school teachers to plan and deliver an effective writing programme"--Back cover.

What do you do with students who cannot or will not read and write? This portrait of Kyle Gonzalez's classroom offers teachers theory-based strategies for helping students become motivated and successful readers and writers. You will see how one middle school teacher sets up her literacy classroom, offers intervention and support for struggling students, and assesses their progress. Rich in description of Kyle's successes, the book also looks honestly at why some practices were ineffective in her setting. With Janet's and Kyle's practical and detailed suggestions for creating a literate environment, you'll learn how to:establish a literacy workshop;choose and use effective resources;implement effective, informative record-keeping;help students establish goals and assess progress;use read-alouds as well as shared, guided, and independent reading and writing;instill reading and writing practices that help students read content-specific texts. There's Room for Me Here includes record-keeping forms, extensive bibliographies of literature and professional materials, resource information, and samples of strategy lessons all embedded in this engaging story of a teacher's first three years building a literacy workshop in her classroom. Kyle's students are middle school learners who struggle with literacy. The strategies, content-area connections, and management ideas, however, are applicable and appropriate for use by any 3-12 teacher.

Shows a new generation of teachers how the systems, structures, routines, and rituals that support successful workshops combine with thinking, planning, and conferring to drive students' growth, inform assessment and instruction, and increase teachers' professional satisfaction. And it shows those already using the workshop how to increase its instructional power by seeing its big ideas and its component parts in fresh, dynamic ways.

"Engages students in inquiry that leads to the discovery and understanding of a general principle they can apply to their own independent reading" --

"Love brings us in close, leads us to study the details of a thing, and asks us to return again and again. These are the motivations and ideas that built this book." -Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts You and your students will fall for close reading. In Falling in Love with Close Reading, Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts show us that it can be rigorous, meaningful, and joyous. You'll empower students to not only analyze texts but to admire the craft of a beloved book, study favorite songs and videogames, and challenge peers in evidence-based discussions. Chris and Kate start with a powerful three-step close-reading ritual that students can apply to any text. Then they lay out practical, engaging lessons that not only guide students to independence in reading texts closely but also help them transfer this critical, analytical skill to media and even the lives they lead. Responsive to students' needs and field-tested in classrooms, these lessons include: strategies for close reading narratives, informational texts, and arguments suggestions for differentiation sample charts and student work from real classrooms connections to the Common Core State Standards a focus on viewing media and life in this same careful way. "We see the ritual of close reading not just as a method of doing the academic work of looking closely at text-evidence, word choice, and structure," write Chris and Kate, "but as an opportunity to bring those practices together to empower our students to see the subtle messages in texts and in their lives." Read Falling in Love with Close Reading and discover that the benefits and joy of close reading don't have to stop at the edge of the page. Read a sample from the book to learn more about Chris and Kate's close-reading ritual for students and for an annotated text that shows how it works.