Myers Corners Elementary School

Readers’ Workshop is a research-based approach that addresses the needs of all students in the class. RW begins with a focus lesson where the teacher explicitly models a strategy or skill. After the focus lesson, the students read independently to practice the strategy or skill. During independent reading, students are reading “just-right” books that are matched to their individual abilities and interests. The teacher confers with students during independent reading to be sure they are successful in their practice or to provide 1:1 instruction around any particular needs. Sometimes, the teacher may work with a small group of students who have similar needs during independent reading. Finally, RW ends with a group share to summarize the important understandings of the lesson.

Strategies are “in the head” problem solving processes. Strategies are tools for decoding and understanding what you read. Strategy instruction helps students develop, access, and apply these strategies independently. Some examples of strategies your child will learn about include the following:

• Retelling
• Creating sensory images
• Making connections
• Asking questions
• Inferring
• Determining importance
• Summarizing
• Synthesizing

The district has adopted the RW model for a number of reasons, including the following:

• Assessment drives instruction
• Every student reads a “just-right” book
• Key strategies are explicitly modeled
• Students have choice and ownership in their reading
• Experiences foster a love of reading

Writers’ Workshop is an approach to writing instruction that addresses the needs of all students in the class.  Writers’ Workshop begins with a mini-lesson where the teacher shares the teaching point, allows students time to think, process, and practice before sending students off to write independently. During independent writing, the teacher confers with individual students to assess progress and provide 1:1 instruction to help students grow as writers. Sometimes the teacher may work with a small group of students who share similar writing needs during the independent writing time.  Finally, Writers’ Workshop ends with a group share where students discuss and share their writing.

Instruction during Writers’ Workshop is organized around units of study (e.g., personal narrative, poetry, nonfiction).  During a unit of study, the teacher may ask students to write in a particular genre, or practice writing techniques related to the unit of study, but specific writing topics are selected by the students based on their personal experiences and interests.

The district has adopted the Writers’ Workshop model for a number of reasons, including the following:

•  The Writers’ Workshop supports and complements Readers’ Workshop
•  Writing craft and conventions are explicitly modeled
• Assessment drives instruction
• Students have choice and ownership in their writing
• Experiences foster self-expression and a love of writing