Reader’s Workshop
Reader’s Workshop is an overall approach to reading that focuses on an increased volume of reading, students increasing reading stamina, and students choosing books to read. Classrooms have an extensive classroom library, including classics, fiction, non-fiction, and magazines. Students are taught how to “shop” for books that are at their reading level. Students then read independently for increased periods of time. In fall of kindergarten, that may be 5 minutes. By 4th and 5th grade, students should be able to read for over 30 minutes. While reading, students are making notes on post-its, writing in journals, and sharing what they read with peers. Teachers meet with students in small groups or individually to check for understanding and move students to more sophisticated comprehension skills.
If you walk into a classroom during Reader’s Workshop, you will not see the teacher standing in front of the room teaching a whole class novel. Students will be engaged in reading books they enjoy.
Several teachers at Campbell use the SEM-R model with gifted and/or accelerated students, which you can read more about at this link: http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/SEMR/
