Sounds great... but how do I get them there?

Arguably the toughest and the most important time in a Reader's Workshop year, is September. It's in September that mold your class from a place of indifference towards books and authors to a state of wild enthusiasm, in which each and every child is convinced that 1.) he/she is- and always has been- a reader 2.) that authors are rock stars and 3.) reading can get them things they want and take them to new places.

And it's gotta be done in September because it's with the above kind of readers that you build the rest of your year on. Check out the beginning of Growing Readers by Kathy Collins for a really really detailed, step by step, play by play explanation of how to set up your school year. Here are some blogs on the topic...

First Day of First Grade Schedule
Building a Bridge: Essential September Learnings
Growing Readers' Identities as Readers and Authors
Library GRAND OPENING!
Setting Sail: Moving into October
Dealing with Bumps Part 1
Dealing with Bumps Part II

A Place to Start: Using the concept of STORY to kick off your year

Dialogue as Curriculum

In the Reader's Workshop classroom, much of the knowledge is self-constructed. The teacher's role is to teach explicitly and with passion, and then to pull back-- guide, facilitate, and marvel. All of us know how to do the first part- it's why we become teachers. But the second part- the part where we hand the reigns to the children, requires that we let dialogue between kids take center stage.

In order to do this, we need to think about what kinds of things children need to know to talk well. We can do this by listing the things we notice about adult conversations and teaching those behaviors to children. Behaviors such as leaning in to the speaker, rephrasing, disagreeing respectfully, knowing when someone is finished talking, and many more are paramount in a RW classroom. For more, read...

Yak yak yak- Structures for Talking in Class

Loosely tied to the idea of talk:
Spontaneous Book Clubs
What makes a good reading response?

Teaching Readers to Think

Most recent research points to the same things effective, proficient readers do as they read. That's a relief for us, because it means that even with all the thousands of things we can choose to teach our readers (from story elements to character development to cause and effect), there are certain strategies that if we teach them well, will have the most effect on our children.

Here are some blogs on the comprehension strategies. Keep in mind that they are not "definitions" of the strategies, but reflections and meditations I wrote before, during, and after teaching them.

Making meaningful connections (1st grade)
Envisioning
Questioning (1st grade)
Questioning (2nd grade)
Inferencing (1st grade)
Determining Importance in Fiction (1st grade)
Determining Importance in Nonfiction (2nd grade)
Synthesizing (1st grade)
Synthesizing (2nd grade)