The teacher began the workshop with a read aloud— a Magic Treehouse series book. During this time students finished up their snack, jotted down notes/thoughts about the book, and enjoyed having a story read to them. It was comfortable, relaxed; just how reading should be. But the teacher did more than just read the book aloud— like the first grade teacher, she also made this interactive by asking the students questions, having them turn and talk, and also stop and jot in their reading notebooks. Students were sharing ideas and seemed very comfortable doing so. They were agreeing with their partners and saying, “yeah I think that’s going to happen to!” They were finishing up the last two chapters, and at the end of the story many students were saying, “I knew it! I knew that was going to happen.” The teacher then asked the students to stop and jot again to compare the characters and why they think the story ended the way it did. Walking around the room, some students had written a full page in their notebooks about the story— just by stopping and jotting! But it didn’t just stop there. You could see that this book series is one that many of the students were interested in because they were then all so eager to tell her about what happens in other books. This was my first glimpse into how excited these kids really were about reading.
Usually at this point in the reading workshop, the teacher shared with me that they would usually do a mini lesson. Being less than a week away from the end of the school year, this teacher really wanted to work with them on summer reading goals. Instead of doing this whole group, she thought it would be best to do this on a small group level. Because of this, there wasn’t a typical mini-lesson after the read aloud because she chose to do it in small groups during independent reading time.
Students jumped right into reading independently, finding a comfortable place around the room with their books, reading log, and reading journals. Just like they would stop and jot during the read aloud, they also did this independently during independent reading time. Some students asked if they could read to me, so I took this as an opportunity to see how they went through this process independently. Students picked from a selection of books they had chosen themselves that were appropriate for their reading level. Many students would read a page or so (depending on the book) then stop and jot. One students said after reading the first page, “Now I’m going to stop and jot about what I already know from this story.” After the next page, the student stopped and summarized aloud about what had happened in the story. At the bottom of the next page, there was a question about the character which the student pointed out and we discussed together. The student went back through the story, pointing out details that supported their response. Most of this was done without any prompting! It was so cool to see a second grade student monitoring their own comprehension independently. I saw other examples of students reading notebooks where they were writing detailed summaries and even comparing characters with those from another book. I noticed in many entires the teacher had written responses. What a great tool for students to monitor their comprehension and receive feedback, and for the teacher to know what their students are reading and how they are progressing!
Many of the students I sat with read very fluently and with expression. They were excited to tell me all about their books and why they liked them. I noticed many students reading books that were part of a series they enjoy. I also noticed that students were reading more than one type of book and also reading from different texts. For example, one students was reading from a treasures book. I think it’s important that students have that freedom in selecting what they read because then they are choosing to read what they enjoy. That was very apparent in this classroom as well.
Students had some time for buddy reading. When I thought they were already having fun with reading, they started to have even more fun with buddy reading! Students were reading together and acting out parts of the book, making it really come to life for them. How cool! Another way to engage students in reading!
For the writing workshop, students were working on publishing their poems. Again, because it is close to the end of the year and time was limited, rather than having a formal mini-lesson, the teacher chose to review what it was they were working on. Then, she allowed them the option to work in groups to help each other with their poems if they wish. They were allowed to go wherever in the room they felt most comfortable. Just like they had for reading, students spread out across the room, some with friends and some in a nice, quiet place to themselves. Students published their poems on a special yellow writing paper— an idea from Lucy Calkins that shows the students that this is a special piece of writing. Walking around the room I watched as students helped each other and collaborated to enhance their poetry. They were all excited to share it with their teacher and receive feedback on it. They’d rush back to make their changes and return to their teacher to show their improvements. Just like during reading, students were engaged and excited about writing.
I had the opportunity to chat with this teacher to find out a little bit more about the reading and writing workshop model. She explained to me that this was brought to them by their principal who likes to always be on the cutting edge. She said it was the book The Art of Teaching Reading by Lucy Calkins that really changed her perspective. Since starting this program three year ago, this teacher expressed to me how much of a change she has seen. Not only have students reading and writing skills improved, but they really loved reading. She shared one story with me about how two students were going back and forth saying “No, you ask her!” When she responded with “Ask me what,” one student responded by asking her if they could bring their books to lunch with them. When she said of course, the students erupted with excitement. She described it by saying it was as if they were all getting free ice cream. That’s how excited they were to read! Since starting this program three years ago, this teacher has also gone to local trainings and even a training through Teacher’s College in New York where Lucy Calkins developed this model.
I’ve taken away so much from these two experiences. The excitement for reading in this school is so contagious that I’ve caught it, too! I’ve purchased four books from Lucy Calkins on reading and writing and I am so eager to read them this summer. When I was told reading and writing workshop works, I believed it, but didn’t expect to see this much excitement from the kids. It is so inspiring to see and I can’t wait to learn more about it myself and implement it in my own classroom!