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Assessment in My Reading Workshop
- Subject:Reading, Language Arts, Classroom Management, Teacher Tips and Strategies
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Many teachers are excited to implement a Reading Workshop in their classroom. And why not? It is a framework for teaching reading that allows students to read self-selected texts at their own level, and it provides us teachers with many opportunities to differentiate our teaching to meet the wide variety of readers we often find in our classrooms. However, when we give up the traditional methods of teaching reading, there can initially be a concern when it comes to assessment. The basal texts and other prepackaged reading programs come complete with end-of-the-story comprehension questions for each selection, fill-in-the blank vocabulary worksheets to match the "one size fits all" stories, and specific questions to ask students as they are reading the stories. We know that these methods of assessment are not accurate indicators of true reading performance, nor do they help teachers guide their instruction to meet the specific needs of individual readers in their classroom. So you are probably asking, how can I implement a Reading Workshop and also assess my readers in an effective, efficient, and, most importantly, informative way?
Read on to find out how I use both formal and informal means of assessment to regularly evaluate my readers and inform my own teaching.
Purpose of Assessment
The most important thing to remember about assessment is that it should be used to build knowledge about our students. Too often standardized tests and other assessments teachers give to students measure what they can't do. One goal of assessment in Reading Workshop is to determine where our students are struggling. However, the most important goal of assessment in Reading Workshop is to determine what our students can do. We truly learn about our students so that we can match their learning experiences with what they read in order to be most successful. Old assessments (and those included in a basal reading text) assess students at the end of a unit. In Reading Workshop, assessment is ongoing throughout each unit so that we can alter and tailor our teaching to meet the needs of our students immediately.
My Mentor Text
Gathering Information About My Readers in the First Six Weeks
Before I can really begin tailoring my teaching to meet of the needs of my individual readers, I must spend quality time at the beginning of the year getting to know my readers. Below are the ways I do this.
Reading Interviews
Download Fall Reading Interview
I also like to hear from the parents. Some students may not always be completely honest about their reading habits or abilities, so it is important to also hear from each student's parents to gain additional information about the child's attitude toward reading and the amount of reading the student does at home. Sending home this parent interview also sends a strong message to parents that reading is something I value in my classroom and take very seriously. The final question on the survey asks parents what expectations they have for their child as a reader in my classroom. This sets the stage for the teamwork that will become so important as we work together to improve their child's skills in reading.
Download Parent Reading Interview
Meet the Reader Conferences
—Does the student choose books from a specific author or series?
—Is the student choosing a variety of genres?
—What level of books does the student think are "just right" for her?
—How comfortable is the student when discussing what he has read?
—Is the student recording books correctly on her reading log?
—What reading strategies does the student demonstrate successfully (or need more work on)?
Formal Reading Assessments
For teachers who are looking for specific assessments to use with their students, Scholastic offers some quick assessments that can be administered to gain valuable information about your readers. Click on each book cover for more information about the texts below.
Assessment During Individualized Daily Reading (IDR)
Individualized Daily Reading (IDR) is the most critical component of Reading Workshop. It is during this 35–40 minutes that students are reading self-selected texts for a sustained period of time. In the forward of Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak's book, Nancy Atwell (another Reading Workshop guru) addresses the fact that implementing a Reading Workshop can be a daunting task to most teachers. She says that many teachers ask her, "You mean, you just have them read?" Her answer is yes, but this common question certainly brings to light the need for student accountability in Reading Workshop. Below are the ways that I use assessment to hold my students accountable for their own reading performance during IDR time.
Reading Logs
However, I also look carefully at each child's reading log. I ask myself the following questions to gain insight on my readers.
—How many books are they finishing each week?
—Are they reading a variety of genres? What specific genres are they reading?
—Are they abandoning books too often?
—Are they reading at their "just right" level, or are they reading books that are too easy or too challenging?
—Are they reading chapter books or picture books more often?
—Do they seem to be recording every book they read?
Sibberson and Szymusiak's book, Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop, provides great reading log questionnaires that encourage students to revisit and really reflect on their reading so that they can set goals for themselves as readers.
Reading Response
—Do their reading responses show strong comprehension of their self-selected texts?
—Are students actually responding to their reading? (Sometimes I will find students who are not responding at all!)
—How thoughtful are their responses?
—How comfortable are they writing about what they read?
—Are their written responses reflective of the skills and/or strategies I have taught in my mini-lessons?
Conferring
Download Conferring Labels (They should be printed on 2 in. x 4 in. labels.)
My conferences tend to fall into the following three categories:
1. The Compliment Conference: In this type of conference I ask questions of the reader, name a strategy the child is using, and say “Good job!” I like to do lots of these at the beginning of the year to help my students feel comfortable and develop a positive attitude about conferring.
2. The Coaching Conference: In this type of conference, I already know what my teaching point will be and want to see how the student is doing with a specific skill or strategy. I get ideas for these conferences from working with students in guided reading groups and studying their Reader's Notebooks. These conferences are somewhat planned ahead of time since I already have in mind what I want to work on with the reader.
3. The Teach, Research, & Decide Conference: This type of conference is often the most difficult because I go into it with no specific teaching point in mind. Instead I am looking for something to teach the reader. It actually takes the form of a “mini” mini-lesson. First I research the reader. I may look at Post-its, ask the reader to retell, listen to the reader read aloud, or ask an open ended question like “How’s it going?" Then I support the reader by explicitly naming what the child is already doing well and give a clear compliment. Next comes the hard part. I must decide what to teach. I determine a teaching point and decide how I will teach it (demonstration, guided practice, explicitly telling him, inquiry). I try to connect the teaching point to what the child has been doing or refer to a strategy I have taught in a previous mini-lesson. After renaming the strategy I have taught, I encourage the student to try using it today and in the future.
Sibberson and Szymusiak's book, Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop, provides additional information on conferring. They explore different types of conferences including comprehension, text features, fluency, vocabulary, theme, characters, and nonfiction in order to give teachers an idea of the range of topics and strategies that can be addressed in an individual reading conference.
Status of the Class
—Document each child's reading.
—Hold students accountable for being tuned in to where they are in their reading.
—Allow other students to hear what their peers are reading. (It often creates interest in certain books or series.)
—Monitor how quickly students are finishing their books.
—Notice the variety of genres (or lack of variety) each student is reading.
—Determine if students are reading "just right" books.
—Connect students who have similar tastes in books.
You can find Status of the Class recording forms in Sibberson and Szymusiak's book, Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop.
Read-Aloud Notebooks
This is another fabulous idea I read about in Sibberson and Szymusiak's book. I have not yet tried it in my classroom, but it is a wonderful tool that I plan to implement in the second half of the school year. During read-aloud time, students stop at key points in the story to jot down their thinking in their read-aloud notebooks. They have found that the notebooks are "a safe place for students to use writing as a means to think more deeply about the text." They do not give much direction in terms of what the students are supposed to write because they want their students to naturally respond to the text in their own ways. They then use the notebooks as yet another way to learn more about their readers. They look for variety in responses, abstract thinking, application of skills taught in previous mini-lessons, etc.
Their book, Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop, also provides great book lists for read-alouds including favorite read-aloud books for the beginning of the year and many other read-aloud book lists for specific teaching points and concepts.
Small Group Instruction
For each group that I meet with, I keep assessment labels with each student's name and the title of the book we will be reading on a clipboard. I keep the clipboard with me the entire time I am teaching the lesson. As I teach the lesson, I listen to students whisper read individually to me during the lesson, and I also listen to them discuss the text. I quickly jot down anything that I notice on each student's label. I will not necessarily fill out an entire label for each child each time we meet for a guided reading lesson. However, it was important to me that my labels provide a place to record fluency, comprehension, and general comments when I observe anything that falls into one of those categories. At times I find it hard to write and teach the lesson, so I often take a few minutes after I meet with each group to jot down my observations.
Again, these notes are used to guide my future teaching. Many of my future mini-lessons, strategy lessons, and individual conferences will focus on the things I notice during guided reading.
Download Guided Reading Labels (They should be printed on 3 1/3 in. x 4 in. labels.)
Kid Watching
During kid watching, the teacher grabs some sticky notes and writes down anything she notices as the kids are reading. I have begun to do this for part of IDR time at least once a week and have found it to be very beneficial. I have noticed things very similar to what Sibberson and Szymusiak found when doing it in their own reading workshops.
—Students who are flipping through books instead of really reading ("fake reading").
—Students who are getting up too often or moving around the room.
—Students who are constantly switching books without finishing them.
—Students who regularly feel the need to share their thoughts with other readers.
—Students who are simply not engaged in their books or who are distracting others around them.
Using what I learn from kid watching, I suddenly have new topics for individual conferences or perhaps even mini-lessons if I notice something that needs to be addressed with the entire class.
Putting It All Together
Once I really started using assessments on a regular basis and keeping careful records of student progress, it became overwhelming to figure out how to best organize and sort the information so that I could truly use it to guide my future teaching, complete report cards, share it with parents at conferences, etc.
Sibberson and Szymusiak created an awesome assessment profile web that compiles the assessment information that is gathered about a student over a period of time. Since their web did not work perfectly with the assessments I use in my own classroom, I created my own web that is very similar to the one in their book.
Download Assessment Web Template
Organizing the Information: My Assessment Binder
As I began doing more assessments in my classroom, I also realized I needed a very organized, easily accessible place to store all of the information I was collecting about each student. That is when I began developing a Reading Records Binder.
At the beginning of the binder, I keep forms where I record students' independent and instructional reading levels throughout the year. Since students move through levels throughout the school year, it is important for me to track their progress. This allows me to move students in and out of guided reading groups and also direct them to "just right" texts in the classroom library.
Download Guided Reading Levels—Instructional Level
Download Just Right Levels—Independent Level
Each student has his or her own section in the binder. Karen Bush, my good friend and teaching colleague, introduced me to the colorful tabbed folders you see in my assessment binder (in the picture below). I used to use regular tabs and then include page protectors to hold any important information and examples of student work behind the student's tab. Now that I have these tabbed pockets, I can insert things like the students' reading interviews, assessment webs, Fountas and Pinnell assessment forms, and other informative examples of their reading work right into the pockets for easy access when doing report cards or meeting with parents during conferences.
Behind each student's tabbed folder are three things. First, I keep their "Reading Status" form. I can flip to each student's section of the binder to quickly access this form when calling off 5–6 students' names at the beginning of IDR time each day.
Next I keep a copy of Fountas and Pinnell's "Guide for Observing and Noting Reading Behaviors" checklist. I highlight skills and/or concepts with which the student is struggling and put a date next to it. This is helpful when meeting with students for individual conferences and when planning strategy group lessons.
Finally, I keep a plain piece of cardstock behind the tabbed folder. It is on this cardstock that I transfer both my conferring labels and guided reading labels that I create when meeting with students individually or in small groups. I like having all of the labels for each student in one place so that I can easily track progress and recognize consistent reading patterns over time.
Karen also suggested to me that I keep extra pockets in the back of the binder to store reading forms that I use on a regular basis, such as "Possible Strategy Group Lessons," "Reader's Notebook Rubric," extra conferring labels, guided reading labels, etc. I like having all of my reading materials and forms in one place so I can easily access them when necessary.
Share Your Ideas!
As you can see, I am constantly trying to improve what I do in my classroom. I would love to hear from other teachers about what you do in your own classrooms to assess your students in reading workshop. Please share!
Hi I'm new around here.I've been putting togther notes to hold an in-service for a nearby primary school and came across this wonderful page. I know the teachers are really going to benefit from your experiences.
Thanks,
Val
Any suggestions on how to implement these conferences into a class size of 35? I have tried it in the past and it becomes extremely time consuming!
Hi Beth,
I am very thankful that you are so willing to share your advise and hard work. I have introduced your site to many teachers in my building.
I read this site with intrigue. I will buy the book you listed here [Day-to-Day] and maybe it will answer my question, but just in case, here is my wondering...
Our district uses state standards as our report cards and we have to align our grade book with the same standards. We have to have at least 10 pieces of evidence per standard. What I find challenging is aligning what I do in RW with these state standards for my grade book. Have you encountered this dilemma?
Obviously, what we do in RW meets the state standards, I just feel overwhelmed with my all these pieces I use for authentic assessment and then scurrying around to plug in grade book evidence. I feel like I am in a constant state of assessment organization and it takes up my time for actual planning/prepping/creating lessons.
Thanks for any time you give to this answer. Perhaps, you have already tackled this topic and have a site to send me to visit. If not, perhaps you can add this to your blogging idea list?
Appreciative in Washington State
Beth, I love your site and was wondering if you have any resources on Conference note taking. I would love to hear your thoughts!
Beth, I seem to have lost your link to your PDF File for your theme book labels (i.e., Acceptance). Can you point me in the right direction?
Thank you!
Kathy
3rd grade
Hello Beth,
I've admired your website for over four years now. My district has adopted a new reader, now I'm able to set up a reading workshop. Please when you get the chance explain more of your word study. I'm wondering if you have all your stations made up for each week or what, also the worksheets the student are using to record their results. I would like to implement this in my classroom as well.
Hello Beth, I really enjoy the activities that you do with your class each year. I have adopted the reading workshop in my third grade class, unfortunately I have been moved to Kindergarten for the 2010-2011 school year. I was wondering if you can provide me with the information in order for me to continue doing reader's workshop but at the kindergarten level. It would be greatly appreciated. I haven't found anyone else who is as detailed as you are. Thanks alot!
Cyndi,
While it may seem daunting to you to switch from kindergarten to third grade after teaching so many years in kindergarten, I think you will really enjoy the older kids. I absolutely love third grade because the kids are still young enough to be super enthusiastic about everything you teach, but they are also very capable of some higher level thinking which can lend itself to exciting projects and other activities in your classroom.
You asked about the comprehension posters you saw in a photo of my classroom. Unfortunately, I created those many years ago on an old laptop and can't seem to find them anywhere! I even searched the external hard drive where I thought I had backed up everything from that computer! However, here is a link to some posters I found on the Reading Lady website. I used her site for many of my comprehension strategy resources. http://www.readinglady.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=13
-Beth
Misyeri,
You asked about my last unit of study in reading workshop: Making Palns for Summer Reading. I will be doing a post in May that focuses on this exact topic. Stay tuned!!
-Beth
Hi Beth,
After 18 years in Kindergarten I have decided to make a major jump and try out third grade next year. I am excited and terrified at the same time. I have spent the last few weeks reading, downloading and printing everything I can from your class website and from your scholastic posts. You are truly inspirational!!
I was looking for posters of the Comprehension strategies from Strategies That Work. I love using these and have introduced at least four each year in kinder. I believe I saw some posters for these in one of your pictures, do you have them available for download?
Thanks for doing what you do, I get more and more excited about next year as I read your site. :)
Cyndi
Dear Beth,
You have been an inspiration to me since my 1st year as a teacher. I teach bilingual 2nd grade in Carrollton-Farmers Branch TX. I am interested in the last reader's workshop unit of study: Making plans for summer reading. I have noticed that my bilingual kids leave 2nd grade reading at a certain level but by the beginning of 3rd grade they have dropped at least 2 levels in both languagues English and Spanish. I know most of them don't read during summer for several reasons. Please let me know how you prepare your kids for summer reading.
Congratulations on your new baby boy!
Jimmy,
Your question can be best answered by reading my post on the Reader's Notebook. (This is what I call the reading binders.) In that post, I explain each section in detail and list the things students keep in each section.
Let me know if you still have questions after reading the "Reader's Notebook" post. Here is a link to the post: http://blogs.scholastic.com/top_teaching/2009/11/readers-notebook.html
-Beth
Hey Beth,
You're resources are amazing and we in the teacher community are forever grateful!
In your student's reading binders, what are the names of the specific sections? For example, do you have a section for reading logs, responses, assessments, etc.
Thanks so much again! Have a great day.
How do you turn this information into a letter grade? I have no problem gathering this type of information, it is deciding how it transfers to a letter grade for the report card that is the difficult part.
Beth,
Thanks for sharing so much with teachers...printables, templates, pictures, videos, tips, tricks, labels, everything. I've read your post about classroom bulletin boards...can you share a bit about your technical logistics behind making some of your bulletin board banners, favorite fonts, the program you make the banner titles in and how you get the rainbow effect inside the letters and the shadow and bubble effect on text? Thanks!
Beth,
I absolutely LOVE your website. I am in my third year of teaching and have been following you since my early years in college! Next year my goal is to implement reading workshop, but have been a little overwhelmed. My school uses basals and I DO NOT LIKE IT one bit! However, many teachers feel it is easier and will not change.....so I am on my own to an extent. My question is, without any formal assesments in the beginning of the year (my school doesn't have one), how do I launch the workshop? What form of assessment do you recommend me to look into?
Also, I have come upon a "program" (for lack of better words) called "THE DAILY 5" and "CAFE". I have read both books, which support your reading workshop. They give teachers a lot of guidance on how to have workshop in all grades. I recommend your readers to check it out! Have you heard of these professional books?
I have been following your work for several years now. I greatly appreciate all that you do and share with the rest of us!!
My question is about the structure of the 40 minutes of IDR. My current class needs A LOT OF STRUCTURE, and I have not felt successul so far this year when it comes time for IDR and just "letting them go." I am discovering blank reading logs, blank sticky note tracker sheets and more. I know I need to do a better job of conferring and holding them accountable, but I also need time to meet with guided reading and strategy groups. Do you schedule stations or reading centers in that time? Do you have any kind of posted "to do" list for that time? Can you point me to a helpful resource for this problem?
Thanks in advance for your time.
~ Jennifer
Amy,
Thanks for your comments! I am always glad when my ideas or resources can inspire other teachers to get excited about reading!!
-Beth
Beth,
Thank you! I am just beginning my Guided Reading journey. Your site has provided me with great examples, ideas, and insights. You are a master teacher/organizer. I am grateful for your willingness to share what has worked for you. Thanks!
Sandy,
Unfortunately the first grade teachers at my building do not have websites that highlight their reading workshops. However, Kathy Collins has written a great book about reading workshop for the primary grades. It is called "Growing Readers." It provides background on the workshop and lays out a year's worth of units of study. Here is a link to more information about her book: http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=373&r=&REFERER=
You can even preview parts of the book online.
I hope you find it to be helpful!
-Beth
Hi Beth, It is exciting to see the possibilities .. but my question is how do I find information about the Reading Workshop for first graders?..does the first grade teacher at your school have a website?thanks for sharing
Danielle,
You asked about the specific IDR tasks I assign each day.
Most often, the IDR task is directly related to the mini-lesson I am teaching. For example, If I am teaching a lesson about context clues, I will ask students to briefly write about a word that they were able to solve that day using a context-clue strategy I taught in the mini-lesson. They would do such a task on the "3-to-a-page" IDR task response sheet that I reference in my "Reader's Notebook" post. (Here is a link to that post: http://blogs.scholastic.com/top_teaching/2009/11/readers-notebook.html ) This is the most common type of task I assign because I want my students reading most of the time. I do not want them having to spend more time responding to their reading than actually being engaged in their texts.
On another day an IDR task might just be to use sticky notes to mark places in their text where they notice something. For example, when teaching students to pay attention to a character's dialogue when inferring character traits, I just ask them to write the character trait they are inferring on a sticky note and place it next to the corresponding dialogue in their text. This holds them accountable for applying the skill I taught in the mini-lesson, but it does not detract from their independent reading.
In my Reader's Notebook post, I also show how I ask my students to "talk back to their books" on sticky notes. I do not assign this task on an extremely regular basis. However, if there is not a specific task for the day, I may ask my readers to "talk back to your book at least 3 times today." If I have a concern about a specific student's comprehension, I may ask that student to talk back to his book on sticky notes more often just so that I can "see" his thinking even when I am not reading with him directly.
Another reading response task that is when students actually pick from one of the reading response prompts from the "Reading Response Topics" handout. (See Reader's Notebook" post again.) These are longer pieces of writing that require students to put forth a great deal of thought and effort. I only ask my students to do this once or twice a month. They are usually given a week's notice so that they can even take it home if they prefer. The responses are usually at least a page long and are written to me as a letter. I try to respond to each student's response with a letter back to the student.
I hope this helps you to understand more thoroughly how I assign IDR tasks each day.
-Beth
Happy New Year, Beth!
I was hoping you could talk more about the IDR tasks that you speak of sometimes. Can you give examples of what you have the kids do? Are these an extension of your minilessons or something else that students are asked to work on while they read?
Thanks!
Danielle
Hi Pam,
You mentioned that you work with struggling high school students. While my experience does not go beyond that of a fifth grade level, I believe that the book I mention in my post, "Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop: Making Informed Instructional Decisions in Grades 3–6" by Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak could lend itself to students in middle school as well if the teacher is running a reading workshop in her classroom. Since your struggling high school students may still be at a middle school reading level, I still think the ideas in this book are very worthwhile.
While I am certainly not the right person to give advice about teaching high school students, I would like to think that the assessment tips and tools I mention in this post would be useful for any teacher running a reading workshop.
-Beth
Sharon,
Our district uses Fountas and Pinnell's Benchmark Assessment System when assessing our students' reading. Here is a link to more information about the their assessment system: http://www.fountasandpinnellbenchmarkassessment.com/default.asp
Using their system, fluency is assessed on a 4 point scale, and comprehension is scored on a 10 point scale. That is why you see those numbers on the sample assessment web in my post.
Thanks for reading my blog!
-Beth
Brittany,
You asked if I could share the mini-lessons that I teach prior to Independent Reading Time each day. While I would love to share them with you, I have agreed to write the units of study that I use in my classroom for my own school district and am unfortunately not able to post them on this blog.
However, a great resource for reading workshop units of study to help you get started is the Denver Public Schools reading curriculum website. Here is the address: http://curriculum.dpsk12.org/index.htm#lit_pg
Thanks for posting your comments!
-Beth
Stephanie k,
You asked about Fountas and Pinnell's "Guide For Observing and Noting Reading Behaviors" checklist that I referenced in the post. It is not from their book, Guiding Readers and Writers. It actually comes from their Assessment Guide, a book that is only included in the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. Here is a link to more information about the entire system: http://www.fountasandpinnellbenchmarkassessment.com/default.asp
It's a great checklist!
-Beth
Dear Beth,
I just had a question regarding your guided reading labels. Fluency and comprehension are scored 1-4 ... is this a personal scale that you use or is this based on a reading program? I am hoping to use these in my classroom this semester. Thank you for all of the inspirational ideas!
I teach reading classes to struggling high school students. Will the books you recommend work with High School students? What are the best assessment tools for high school kids?
Hi Beth! What great ideas you have and thanks for sharing. Quick question-is there any place that I can get your mini lessons that you do before they have the silent reading time? I just wondered where you got the ideas for those. Thanks again!!
I first want to say that I love your website and are such an inspiration!!
I have Fountas and Pinnell Guiding Readers and Writers but cannot find the Guide for Observing and Noting Reading Behaviors. This is exactly what I was looking for. Did this come from another book of theirs?
Hi Lisa!
You talked about how challenging it is to have students at so many different reading levels. I also have a very wide range of reading levels in my classroom. I use the Fountas and Pinnell guided reading levels and have students reading independently at levels ranging from I-V. Meeting their needs in the midst of a reading workshop (like you are already doing) is really the best approach to take. The great thing about reading workshop is that it allows you to differentiate your teaching to meet the needs of your very diverse learners through whole-class mini-lessons, guided reading and strategy groups, and individual reading conferences.
Even with the huge range of reading levels in my classroom, I still teach one whole-class mini-lesson everyday. In these mini-lessons, I focus on skills that all third graders should be using when they read. The differentiation occurs during individualized daily reading time
(IDR) when I hold guided reading groups, confer with individual readers, and teach strategy lessons to meet the very specific needs of my readers.
Remember that your higher readers need to be seen less than your struggling readers. Many teachers try to make sure they meet with each reader an equal number of times, but your low readers should be seen more often. Your higher readers will still grow if they take part in an effective mini-lesson each day and then get IDR time to practice the strategies you are teaching when they are reading their self-selected texts.
I wasn't sure what you meant when you asked what specific reading strategies I use to differentiate my teaching. I use the conferring notes and my own observation notes that I take when meeting with students in small groups to plan my future instruction with those students. I find that strategy lessons are great because you can pull readers from all different reading levels to focus on reading skills with which they all may be struggling. During these strategy lessons, students often use self-selected texts from their book boxes (since those books are at their independent level) to practice the skill or strategy I am teaching/reinforcing in my lesson.
I certainly do not have a perfect answer to your question, but I hope I've given you some help!
-Beth
Happy Sunday morning Beth!!!
Thank you so much for everything you do and share with everyone :) I'm trying to truly differentiate for all my 2nd grade students this year. My problem is that I have a large cluster of academically gifted students (some that have DRAs of 80) and I have some students that are far below grade level (with DRAs of 2). I was wondering what reading strategies you consider are the best to use to differentiate instruction for all learners in the Reading Workshop?
Thank you so much for your guidance,
Lisa :)
Susan,
You asked about Fountas and Pinnell's "Guide For Observing and Noting Reading Behaviors" checklist that I referenced in the post. It comes from their Assessment Guide, a book that is included in the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. Here is a link to more information about the entire system: http://www.fountasandpinnellbenchmarkassessment.com/default.asp
It's a great checklist!
-Beth
Beth,
I'm interested in knowing which of Fountas and Pinnell's books has the Guide for Observing and Noting Reading Behaviors checklist. If you could share I'd be grateful. Thanks!
Susan
Amanda,
I am so excited to hear about your successful reading workshop! There is nothing better than students truly engaged in their texts.
You asked how I fit in guided reading and individual conferences. There is no exact recipe for how often I meet with guided reading groups or how often I am meeting with students individually. My responsibilities during IDR time are a mixed bag of guided reading, strategy lessons, and conferring.
However, here is what a typical week might look like. (Remember, IDR time lasts for about 40 minutes each day. It is during that time that I meet with guided reading groups, strategy groups, or confer with students individually.)
Monday:
-2 guided reading groups (12-15 minutes each)
-Confer with 2-3 students
Tuesday:
-2 guided reading groups (12-15 minutes each)
-1 strategy lesson (10 minutes)
Wednesday:
2 guided reading groups (12 minutes each)
-Confer with 2-3 students
Thursday
-2 guided reading groups (12-15 minutes each)
-1 strategy lesson (10 minutes)
Friday
-1 guided reading group (12-15 minutes)
-Confer with 5-6 students
I hope this response helps answer your question!
The key is keeping my guided reading lessons to 12-15 minutes. This is always a challenge. However, I have really focused on making sure I am not trying to teach too many things in one lesson. It takes too much time, and it ends up being less effective for my readers as well. Focusing on fewer skills and using shorter texts in guided reading has helped quite a bit.
Good luck with continued success in your reading workshop!
-Beth
Elizabeth,
We try to overlap what we are teaching in reading and writing workshops as often as possible, but it doesn't always work perfectly. For example, our students are studying poetry in reading and writing workshop during the same time of year, but it is not that way with fiction. We feel that studying the fiction genre is an important way to start the year for third graders in reading workshop since we expect them to really dig deeper into the elements of stories throughout the year. For that reason, it is our second unit after launching reading workshop. However, we do not feel like third graders are ready to write fiction that early in the year. They are still focusing on personal narrative writing. We do build upon the in-depth study of characters, plot, and setting we do in reading workshop at the beginning of the year, however, when we teach fiction writing within our writing workshop in the spring. A great resource for reading workshop units of study to help you get started is the Denver Public Schools reading curriculum website. Here is the address: http://curriculum.dpsk12.org/index.htm#lit_pg
You also asked specifically about my mini-lessons during which I teach students to infer character traits based on their actions in a fiction story. You wondered what the students who are reading a nonfiction book at the time are supposed to do. During any unit of study, my students must always have some books in their book box of the specific genre we are studying. This ensures that they are always able to do the daily IDR tasks. If a student happens to be reading a nonfiction book on the day of the lesson you referred to, he or she would be expected to read a picture book (Patricia Polacco always works well for character analysis) in order to complete the task. However, I find that most students tend to read books of the genre we are studying because they become so interested in what they are learning. When I teach the fiction unit, many students are reading fiction chapter books. This works well because they are often able to use the same book for many different IDR tasks.
I wish you continued success with your reading workshop!
-Beth
Hi Beth,
First, I'd like to thank you! I've revamped my independed reading time after reading some tips on your website. It is now the kids' and my favorite part of the day! I've always dreamed of having all of the kids engrossed in books during independent reading, and now, thanks to your tips, it's happening in my room!!
What is the schedule for your reader's workshop after your mini lesson? How do you fit in guided reading groups and individual reading conferences?
Thanks in advance!
Beth~
Two questions:
1. I couldn't get to download your lesson plan template or example - could you help with this?
2. In an earlier post you gave an example of a reading mini-lesson where the students as an IDR task were to write about their characters action and write and inference about it. My question is - What about the kid/kids that happen to be reading a non-fiction book at that time? Do you have them pick up a fiction book to do the task? Or do you requires students to reading fiction or mystery books while you are doing that unit?
Thnaks~
Beth
Beth~
Your units of study in 3rd grade for Reading Workshop look VERY similiar to Lucy Calkins writing program. I teach 4th grade and are getting trained in it this year and implenting it as we learn. My question is: Is there a book out there that you generated your units of study or is it just what you and your staff came up with? Also, do you incorporate your reading units of study along side with your Lucy writing units? It kind of looks like it. I'm beginning Reading Workshop this year (you have been a HUGE help) and I just don't know where to start with the reading units. Thanks~BEth
Beth,
I found you this year and am so happy for this find. As stated often, you are a true inspiration. Thank you for your time on behalf of those you mentor and the students we teach and their parents.
I constantly wonder how you have time and money for all you do.
Danielle,
You asked about holding students accountable for finishing books. You wondered if I have them do a task or a write a response at the end of each book they complete. This is a great question that I will attempt to answer for you below.
Students are constantly reading books throughout the year in my classroom. They are all finishing books at different times and starting new books on a regular basis. When they finish a book, there is no specific task that they are required to do other than to record the book in their reading log. Years ago, I used to have them complete a story map or write a summary every time they finished a book. However, I quickly realized that required a great deal of work on the part of the students and the teacher. It ended up taking time away from my students actually being engaged in books. The most important thing that I can do for my students is to help them develop a true love of reading. If they know that every time they finish a book a response task is expected of them, reading becomes work rather than a pleasurable activity.
However, your question about holding students accountable is a great one! The key to this dilemma is to check in with your readers on a regular basis. I spend IDR time conferring with readers and meeting with them in small groups. When conferring, I am able to talk in great depth about the books they are reading. It is during this time that I can determine if they are truly reading the books and can demonstrate authentic comprehension. Students are also regularly completing IDR tasks that require them to respond to their reading or use the book they are reading to practice a skill taught in the mini-lesson. I always read over their IDR response sheets, so it becomes very evident when a student is not truly reading his or her book.
Another way to keep tabs on my students is by collecting their Readers' Notebooks and really looking closely at their reading logs. If I see that a low reader is finishing 3 chapter books a week, I will make a point to conference with that student immediately and set up a plan for that student to complete an "end-of-the-book" activity for each book he reads until I am confident that he is truly completing (and comprehending) books during IDR time.
I hope these ideas help answer your question!
-Beth
Rebecca,
I'm glad my resources have been so helpful to you and your colleagues! Good luck implementing Reading Workshop in your classroom!
-Beth
Stephanie (comment #18),
Vocabulary instruction is so important yet so difficult to weave purposefully into both reading and writing workshops. I certainly teach lessons about using context clues and other strategies to solve new vocabulary words in reading workshop. In writing workshop, I spend a great deal of time teaching many lessons about word choice. However, the bulk of my true vocabulary instruction is taught within my word study program. Vocabulary instruction is certainly an area that I feel like I have not yet mastered. However, I have recently read a book by Max Brand called "Word Savvy." In this book he does a great job explaining how to truly weave vocabulary instruction into your word study program and into your teaching in all subject areas. Below is a link to his book. You can even download the first chapter to read online. I am currently trying to implement many of his great ideas in my classroom, and I would highly recommend this book!
Link: http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idProduct=366
-Beth
Stephanie (comment #15),
I'm not sure if you are asking specifically about a reading workshop lesson plan template or a weekly lesson plan template that I use for all subject areas.
If you are looking for a reading workshop lesson plan template, you can find it in my reading workshop post. Here is a link to that post: http://blogs.scholastic.com/teaching_matters/2009/10/reading-workshop.html
If you are looking for the lesson plan template I use for my weekly planning in all subject areas, you can download a copy of that document from the Teacher Resources section of my classroom website. Here is a link to my website: http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/
I hope this helps!
-Beth
AZING ideas! I have become a better teacher because of you. :)
Danielle
THANK YOU!!! What wonderful videos and information. We are just beginning Reader's Workshop and your website is very helpful. Your classroom library is SUPER.
From, Rebecca :-)
Beth- WOW!! I can not tell you how much inspiration you have given me through your website. I am just starting to get my head around making my word study program really purposeful, and appreciate your guidance. Florida Center for Reading Research has a ton of center based resources on their website and they are free. With that said, I am wondering about vocabulary instruction? Do your students have vocabulary lists, or do you incorporate it directly into reading/writing workshop? I have been trying a word catcher for them to use during IDR time. I would love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks again for all you do!
Stephanie
Elizabeth,
My teaching partner and I have worked really hard over the past year to write our own word study program. However, we are still tweaking it even though it is the second year we have implemented it in our classroom. Since it is still somewhat of a work in progress, I am choosing not to post the work on our website.
Also, a huge part of our program is the games and activities we create for each unit. There are so many components to them that it would be very time consuming to upload all of the different parts and add directions for each activity. I apologize, but I hope you understand.
I would highly recommend "Words Their Way" and Fountas and Pinnell's "Word Study Lessons" if you are interested in creating your own word study program in your classroom.
-Beth
Hi Beth! Thanks for all you do! I am amazed by all your work and great ideas. With that said, I am very interested in your word study section for my own readers at school. However, I don't see any printables in that area. Would this be something you'd be willing to share? Thanks!