Five Curricular Components
Five separate, yet
interrelated, curricular components form the core of my reading workshop, and
offer a comprehensive, balanced approach to reading instruction. These
Curricular Components are:
1.
Invitations: Bringing Children and
Literature Together – By
reading aloud to children and providing access to a wide variety of quality
works of literature, non-fiction, poetry and other materials, we invite
children into the world of reading. As classroom teachers, it is our job to
extend multiple invitations for children to sample, explore and become involved
with different reading materials. We need to create an environment that
provides the opportunity for literature and children to come together, and
successfully invite them to join our literate community.
2.
Explorations: Coming to Know Literature – Children need support in moving past the
“I liked the book” phase, in order to make more sophisticated connections to
texts. We need to provide experiences that help children explore the various
elements and structures of literature. By focusing on particular books,
authors, themes and content topics, we help children make deeper, more
meaningful connections to literature. As designers and facilitators of the
reading workshop, we are trying to provide experiences that help children see
new patterns and relationships in the literature that we are exploring.
3.
Investigations: Digging Deeper into
Literature – We want
children to literally “dig deeper” into the literature they read. The primary
means for doing this in my reading workshop is through literature study groups.
By helping children develop a “passionate attention” for the literature they
read, and by providing the opportunity for them to share their reactions to
their readings with other students in collaborative study groups, we help
children dig beneath the surface layers of literature to uncover the more
complex patterns and meanings possible in quality works of literature.
4.
Instruction: Facilitating Children’s
Development as Readers – In the reading workshop, teachers work
hard to help children learn how to read. We don’t simply abandon them to wander
aimlessly among our classroom libraries! By using various grouping strategies,
sharing a wealth of reading materials, and teaching a range of reading
strategies, I carefully guide the development of my students as successful
readers. In my reading workshop, teaching is direct, explicit and focuses on
the development of reading strategies in the context of authentic reading
events.
5.
Evaluation: Coming to Know Children as
Readers – The decisions
about what to teach and when to teach it are based primarily on the close
observation and continuous classroom-based evaluation of children. Utilizing a
variety of assessment procedures or “windows” we begin to develop a better
understanding of the children in our classrooms. This understanding can then be
used to make decisions about the resources, experiences and learning
environments that we provide for our students. I will share several of the
assessment “windows” that I have found to be helpful in coming to know the
readers in my classrooms.
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