sarah doerr district literacy coach school district of menomonee falls extending student thinking...

SARAH DOERRDISTRICT LITERACY COACH

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF MENOMONEE FALLS

Extending Student Thinking Through Readers’ (and Writers’) Workshop

Opening Activity

How familiar are you with the Workshop Model? I have never heard of that! I have heard of it but never used it! I have heard of it and have just started using it in my

classroom! I am using that model in my classroom

And could present for me!!

Opening Activity Continued

Who are you? Administrator Classroom Teacher Support Staff Member Parent

WORKSHOPMINI-LESSON

5 – 15 minutes

INDEPENDENTWORK

SMALL GROUPWORK

CONFERENCES

WHOLE GROUPREFLECTION/SHARE

5 – 15 minutes

Independent Work Time 30 – 50 minutes

Common Classroom Teacher Concerns

What do I do with my G/T students?What materials should I use with my G/T

students?How do I know my students are growing?How do I know what I should teach?

Mini Lesson

Architecture of a Mini LessonConnectionTeachActive EngagementLink

Small Groups to Extend

Purpose- Learn a particular strategy (practice new strategies, review previously learned strategies, or preteach upcoming strategies)

Texts- Independent or instructional level (seen or unseen)

Instruction- Explicit instruction around a particular concept

Time- 10-15 minutes

SMALL GROUP

Video

Literature Discussion Groups/Book Clubs

Purpose- Deepen and enrich comprehension through conversation and writing

Texts- Unleveled Trade BooksInstruction- Facilitating conversation

through participation, questioning and coaching

Time- Varied depending on classroom structure and dynamics

Why Literature Circles ?The Rationale Behind Them

Promote a love of literature and positive attitudes toward reading.

Reflect constructivist, child-centered model of literacy Encourage extensive and intensive reading Invite natural discussions that lead to student inquiry Support diverse responses to text Provide choice and encourage responsibility Expose children to literature from multiple perspectives Nurture reflection and self-evaluation

Source: Literature Circles and Response, Hill, Johnson, Noe

Book Clubs: Things to Remember

Book ChoiceGroups meet regularly within the classroomStudents use note taking device to help guide

conversation: post its, jots in response log, annotations

Discussion topics are student drivenGroup meetings should be open, natural

conversations about booksTeacher is a facilitator; not a leaderAssessment

Coaching Into Book Clubs

Act It Out- Have 2 students play one character (internal

thoughts vs. external actions/words)Reread the first page(s) and look for tidbits missedCompare and contrast text with a similar text or

different text (Historical fiction with non-fiction)Keep book club grounded in the textAsking questions to grow investigative power

Questions with multiple answers Questions grounded in the text

BOOK CLUBS

Video

What is a conference?

A short (3-5 minute) interaction between teacher and student during the work time of Readers Workshop.

Structure of a Conference

Research- observe and converse with the reader

Decide what to compliment the reader on and what to teach the reader

Compliment the reader to reinforce what is going well

Teach the reader Link the teaching point so that the learning

transfers to all books.

Conferring with High Readers

Access the Continuum bookUse their response logsFocus on talking and writing about their

thinkingFocus on evaluating and critiquing a textStretch their exposure to a wide variety of

genre, topic, and authorLook at the expectations for the grade level

above or beyond

Importance of Note Taking

Piece of data collection Provides evidence for grades and conferencesFormative AssessmentRecord of the student’s growth

Why Thoughtful Logs?

Students jot down thoughts before, during, and after reading

Responding to reading through writingPreparing for discussionAssessmentConferencingDeeper Comprehension

A Share Might Look Like…

Students bringing a post it to the rug and share what makes it so great

Reviewing the learning for the dayA fish bowl to assess and analyze one anotherA read aloud or shared reading work to teach another

conceptRestating teaching pointPreviewing a future teaching pointSelf-assessingAddressing a need that arises from independent

readingSharing student work/thinking

Goal Setting

I know what I need to learn Clear learning objectives and targets

I have input on my learning goal Student centered goal setting

I know how I am doing on my goal Charting progress

I know what helps me learn Student/Teacher Feedback

Video

THE POWER OF WORKSHOP: TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Questions

Sarah DoerrSchool District of Menomonee Falls

doersar@sdmfschools.org