Reader's Workshops and Mini Lessons

It seems to me that reader’s workshop should be a positive atmosphere for learning and should encourage rather than discourage students to continue to become great readers. I envision reader’s workshop to be a comfortable environment in my future classroom. It should be quiet enough to allow the students to focus but not absolutely silent. They should feel comfortable enough to interact with their peers about the text they are reading and questions they have and ask questions when they get stuck. It should give them the opportunity to explore reading on their own terms. In order to improve their skills and utilize all the benefits of a classroom, reader’s workshop should also facilitate discussion. It should get them thinking about the reading and bring up new thoughts that they might not have considered. It can run in many different ways in a class. For example it can include group discussions and mini lessons as well as individual work where the teachers and students get to interact with one another and focus on individual reading goals that should be addressed. Most importantly to me is the enthusiasm of the teacher when constructing reader’s workshop exercises. I believe that it is very important for the teacher to make the kids want to learn more! Make them excited about the book you or they are reading. Enthusiasm will make the knowledge stick. Next I envision a whiteboards and other visual aids that the teacher and students can write on to aid their lesson so that they can have both the auditory and visual needs of their learners met. Underline key phrases and draw pictures, every little bit helps. Even more importantly, repeat to reinforce the material. Finally in my opinion, mini lessons should be like a jumping off point for students. It should get them introduced to a new topic and get them thinking about it. After you teach the mini lesson they should be able to try it out on their own and see how it works. It’s like a springboard for explanation. If the mini lesson goes well, the students should want to see if they can notice or do what the teacher is discussing about in their own reading.