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The Unexpected Power of Reading Conferences

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The Unexpected Power of Reading Conferences

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A high school English teacher has a single accountability measure for her students' choice reading: talking to them about it.

Teachers face many challenges when it comes to helping students develop a love of reading, some of which I wrote about in " Putting an End to Fake Reading," but one of the most daunting is the accountability piece. How do we know if students are actually reading? How do we assess the learning students are gaining from choice reading? How do we include this in our grade books?

I've tried many accountability measures over the years, including reading logs of various formats, book reports, assorted handouts, and reading quizzes on Accelerated Reader, but Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer and Penny Kittle's Book Love helped me realize why those assessments were so unsatisfying. If I wanted my students to become authentic readers, why was I assigning them activities that real readers-including me-would never voluntarily engage in?

I had to ask myself: What do real readers do? And one important part of my own reading life is talking about what I read with others. So I decided to try an experiment and do away with all accountability measures for choice reading except for one-on-one conferences with me.

The results were profoundly positive.

The Logistics of Conferencing

Although the idea of talking about books with students is appealing-honestly, it's one of the main reasons I became an English teacher-the first thing I had to tackle were the logistics of the conferences.

In my on-level 10th grade English classes, I allot 10 to 15 minutes of our 55-minute periods for choice reading, and my students range widely in reading ability and motivation. I was worried that juggling everything going on in my classroom would be overwhelming, but with some structure and fine-tuning, I was able to have great discussions with two to three students each day, and to talk with each of my students at least once a month.

At the beginning of the period each day, I greet students and quickly take down the page number they're on in their books. This serves several purposes. First, it's a reminder for students to have their books out and open for reading right at the beginning of the period. Also, it gives me a quick way of assessing their progress through their book. If a student has read only a few pages over the course of the week, I know they're probably in need of some help in either getting into their books or choosing a new one, and a conference is a perfect way to work out which it is and find a solution.

I then grab my reading conference binder and sit down in one of two chairs I've arranged in a comfy corner of my room, calling over a student to begin our chat. I've established norms for independent work in my classroom, so with occasional reminders, students know that this is a time to work quietly on their own.

Keeping Track of Conversations

To keep track of conferences, I keep a binder with dividers for each class and a note sheet for each student where I record the details of our conversations for future reference.

I always start out by asking each student to remind me what they're currently reading and what page they're on, and I ask what rating they would give their book and why. This gives us a jumping-off point for what to talk about next. I also have some reading conference questions to refer to if I'm stuck for something to ask, but the more I conference with students, the easier it is to know what to talk about. I only need to remember my purpose for reading conferences: supporting students in thinking about their books and helping them find books they enjoy.

Assessing Choice Reading

Real-life readers don't get scored for reading for pleasure, but I do want to encourage students to find books they enjoy and to give them a way to keep track of their own reading progress, so I created a simple sheet for them to record the books they finish, along with their thoughts about what they read. When students finish a book, they complete this sheet and bring it to our conference, and we use it to talk about the book and what they might like to read next.

I don't have a requirement for how many books students must finish, and these sheets are not scored in any way. I simply save them in the student's class file for reflection at the end of the grading period. The only score my students receive for choice reading is this reading reflection each six weeks, in which they write their thoughts and feelings about the books they've read and what they'd like to read next. I give them completion points, not a grade, for doing the reflection.

The Results of My Choice Reading Experiment

When I began this experiment, I was concerned that, without the accountability of points entered in the grade book, my students would not be motivated to read. My fear, however, was proven beautifully unfounded.

More of my students read far more books than ever before, and with our regular conversations, it's far easier to notice and support students who are struggling with finding a book they enjoy. I'm able to tap into some student interests-sports fiction and poetry collections among them-and, most importantly, I've noticed my connections with students strengthening. And that's probably the most important thing a teacher can do to improve learning in the classroom.

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The Unexpected Power of Reading Conferences

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A high school English teacher has a single accountability measure for her students' choice reading: talking to them about it.

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Differentiate Math Instruction With Math Workshop

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Fortunately, our students are more engaged and successful than with the former instructional model. Unfortunately, teachers often feel swamped by the prep, coordination, and organization required to maintain quality differentiation. The key to keeping overwhelm at bay is the use of consistent routines and frameworks like math workshop, daily 5, reader's workshop, and writer's workshop throughout the day.

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Check out how using the reading comprehension strategies can support readers and thinkers.

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Even though this chapter focuses on middle school, it's still appropriate for high school.

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Check out their website for videos, blogs, and ideas.

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As a part of A Novel Approach, we wanted to include some tools that might help you as you encourage your kids to tackle complex texts more independently, and to offer more choice to your older readers. We designed bookmarks for you and your students that we hope can help capture some of the teaching in the book in a usable, portable form.

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If you don't know Jenn's work, check her out.

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Jen is the NY Times Bestselling author of The Reading Strategies Book and The Writing Strategies Book, both of which have been translated into French, Chinese, and Spanish. Her newest professional books include Teaching Writing in Small Groups (Heinemann, 2021), Connecting with Students Online, Understanding Texts & Readers and A Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences. Complete Comprehension for Fiction and Nonfiction are revised and reimagined whole book assessments and teaching resources based on an award-winning previous publication. She is a sought-after speaker and leader of professional learning.

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Jen is the NY Times Bestselling author of The Reading Strategies Book and The Writing Strategies Book, both of which have been translated into French, Chinese, and Spanish. Her newest professional books include Teaching Writing in Small Groups (Heinemann, 2021), Connecting with Students Online, Understanding Texts & Readers and A Teacher's Guide to Reading Conferences.

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Great blog by practicing teachers for elementary and middle school teachers.

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Some thoughts on remembering September 11th, 2001 as the 20th anniversary approaches.

In this post, I'll share three things I've learned from my own school district, where we have many multiage classrooms.

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Some thoughts on remembering September 11th, 2001 as the 20th anniversary approaches. In this post, I'll share three things I've learned from my own school district, where we have many multiage classrooms.

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Even though I'd prefer teachers NOT go to Pinterest for teaching ideas, this site is good for building background knowledge.

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If you haven't read In the Middle and if you teach middle school, this is a MUST.

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Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more.

"The third edition of In the Middle is my invitation to English teachers, both veterans and novices, to understand writing and reading from the inside and recognize our potential to influence our students' literacy for a lifetime. Like the two that preceded it, this edition represents my current best set of blueprints for how I build and maintain a writing-reading workshop-the expectations, demonstrations, models, choices, resources, rules and rituals, pieces of advice, words of caution, and ways of thinking, planning, looking, and talking that make it possible for every student to read with understanding and pleasure and aspire to and produce effective writing."

-Nancie Atwell

With 80 percent new material, In the Middle, Third Edition brings Nancie Atwell's methods up to date. Nancie guides newcomers to a rich, satisfying practice while sharing her latest innovations and refinements with those who have made In the Middle their teaching touchstone.

Grounded in her classroom practice and in response to questions and requests from twenty years of professional development workshops, Nancie provides:

detailed procedures for organizing the classroom for workshop teaching and a first-week launch sequence

hundreds of minilessons and reproducibles that make workshop teaching inviting and doable

hundreds of new pieces of student writing to use as mentor texts-many are national prize winners

new, detailed genre studies of poetry, memoirs, reviews, essays, reportage, humor and homage, and short fiction

a new look at writing conferences, including red flags to notice and strategies for responding to them

techniques for conferring with individuals about the books they're reading

a revamping of her widely-adopted literary letters as letter-essays that more than satisfy today's standards for critical reading

This is the chronicle of Nancie Atwell's courageous, compelling journey. Just as the second edition documented her evolution from 1987, this book shows how she continues to shape and refine her teaching, based on her perceptions of what students need and her growing knowledge of literature and the craft of writing. As Nancie describes it, "The third edition of In the Middle is everything I've learned over the past three decades that makes writing-reading workshop the only logical way to teach English."

In the Middle: What is the 80% new material? Those who have relied on the second edition of In the Middle, have asked us whether they really need to get the third edition. So we asked one of our crackerjack editors to read the second and third editions and report on the new content so that we could share it with you. Her report: fans of the second edition will be missing out if they don't read the new edition.

Here is our editor's full report:

Nancie remains true to her ideals and the workshop approach. Readers of the second edition of In the Middle will recognize the basic workshop elements and find Nancie Atwell's respect for teaching middle schoolers undimmed. Additional years of experience have yielded her new insights into students' writing and reading and produced improvements in how best to develop middle school learners.

PART I, Workshop Essentials

More how-tos: e.g. dialogue to model check-ins that are brisk and brief, topics to teach in memoir, details on how to fit writing-reading workshop into 85-minute blocks or 50-minute periods, minilessons on teaching free-verse poetry

The Daily Poem and Icebreaking: In the "Getting Started" chapter these are now specifically named and described in depth. In the second edition, these workshop routines received limited description. Now Nancie's Daily Poem routine and early-year Icebreaking is given much more depth.

More about reading workshop: Nancie gives reading workshop more importance in the third edition.

She has shifted her emphasis from how she developed reading workshop to the specifics of running the workshop and its benefits for students

Expectations for reading workshop are detailed, including using critical vocabulary, keeping a "someday" list in writing-reading handbook, and writing a letter essay every three weeks

Red flags of writing: The chapter "Responding to Writers and Writing" has been almost completely revised and now features twelve new "red flags" of writing culled from Nancie's many years of reading student writing. Each red flag is named and suggestions are given for conferring with writers to head them in a better direction

Letter-essays: Nancie has replaced her well-known weekly letters in the "Responding to Readers and Reading" chapter with letter-essays that students write every three weeks. She shows how these letteressays, which are about books a reader has finished, reflect her evolving thinking about providing a bridge to expository writing while also easing the paper load.

Handover: This concept has been has been expanded beyond writing to encompass reading workshop and to prepare students to write their letter-essays.

Off-the-page writing: A new concept introduced in the third edition is a way of inserting time and reflection into writing.

Part II, Genre Studies

New emphasis and minilessons on poetry: Vastly revamped because of its increasing importance to her teaching, the "Poetry" chapter details why it is the first genre Nancie's students write in and why it is the basis for many of the craft writing lessons. Free-verse is the "workhorse form of poetry," and there are eight minilessons that teach free-verse poetry and its conventions

More specificity about memoirs: Expanded with more specific and intentional teaching recommendations, "Memoir" now integrates reading and listening to memoirs as models for writing them. In the second edition, there are only lists of memoir titles. The third edition also provides more specific elements of memoir to teach: leads, sensory details, dialogue, balancing elements, time transition, conclusions, and reading as a critic

Micro fiction: Another major innovation is micro fiction replacing the short story in Nancie's "Short Fiction" chapter. Much of students' short story writing was "unmemorable and formulaic" or "heavyhanded and predictable." Short-short fiction helps concentrate the lessons of fiction and "is the genre to hand over to middle school writers of fiction."

New details on expository writing: "Taking Care of Business" narrows the focus to four of the types of expository writing found in the second edition, but each one is now presented with more specifics, structure, and examples in its own section

"Humor and Homage": A brand new chapter to the book that supports not only writing but also close reading and the writer's craft: "Parody and homage stretch students not just as writers but as readers and critics, too. To lampoon someone else's writing requires close reading, attention to detail and tone, and understanding of theme. It may well be the ultimate form of literary analysis."

New student writing samples: All new samples reflect more recent books and topics

Nancie has essentially given us a new book because her teaching continues to change, and because she seeks innovation each day. If you've read the previous edition, don't miss out on her latest practices.

Part I: Workshop Essentials
1. Learning How to Teach English
My Teaching Story
Finding a Balance
What About Reading?
2. Getting Ready
Making Time
The Room
Folders and Forms
3. Getting Started
The Daily Poem
Icebreaking
The Launch: Writing Workshop
The Launch: Reading Workshop
4. Essential Lessons for Writers
Procedures
Craft
Conventions
Spelling
5. Essential Lessons for Readers
Procedures
Practice
Literature
6. Responding to Writers
Writing Conference Guidelines
Red Flags and Responses
7. Responding to Readers and Reading
Reading Check-Ins
Letter-Essays About Literature
8. Valuing and Evaluating
Self-Assessment
Teacher Assessment
Part II: Genre Studies
A Word About Genres
9. Poetry
Free Verse: Build a Toolbox
Ideas That Matter
Some Forms
10. Memoirs
11. Short Fiction
12. Taking Care of Business
Reviews
Essays
Advocacy Journalism
Profiles
13. Humor and Homage

Appendices
A. Quotations to Inspire Writers, Readers, and Their Teachers
B. Student Writing Record
C. Student Reading Record
D. Individual Proofreading List
E. Editing Checksheet
F. Peer Writing Conference Record
G. Spelling Study Form
H. Thesauri for Writers Who Walk and Look Too Much
I. Editing Symbols
J. Ways Student Writers Can Go Public
K. Nancie's Workshop Cycle
L. Substitute Plans for Writing-Reading Workshop

"This classic has been reworked with over 80% new material, but one thing remains unchanged: Nancie Atwell has created a masterpiece that walks readers through the intricacies of successfully teaching middle schoolers about reading and writing."
-Jenni Miller, middleweb
"Nancie Atwell is a master teacher, reader, writer, and educational innovator. In this comprehensive volume, she draws on a lifetime of classroom experience implementing her signature writing-reading workshops. Fittingly, the volume conveys the broad overview, the fascinating details, and the indispensable middle."

-Howard Gardner, Harvard Graduate School of Education, author of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed

"Nancie has written a professional book that will grip your heart like poetry does, will cause you to turn pages with anticipation as if you're reading a novel, and will offer up endlessly practical advice from the sagest mentor you can dream up. Whether you teach kindergarteners or twelfth graders, open your classroom door to Nancy's ideas and you'll create something magical: a place where you really know your students, where you challenge the status quo, where instruction begins from student strengths and interests, and where students in the classroom do what real readers and writers do in the world. The rewards (for teacher and students alike) are well worth the work."

- Jennifer Serravallo, author of The Literacy Teacher's Playbook

"In the Middle is the greatest book on literacy teaching ever written in this country. It is our epic, our Odyssey. In this third edition Nancie Atwell offers us the culmination of her four decades of working with adolescents-the most richly detailed account of a teaching practice we are ever likely to get. This edition retains the bedrock principles of the earlier editions-the emphasis on student choice, the importance of being an "insider" as a reader and writer, and on the power of voluminous practice. But we can see her evolution as well: the new stress on "handover" where there is explicit teacher modeling. We can see how poetry has moved to the center of her practice, along with innovative ways of approaching fiction writing. As readers, we live on intimate terms with her; we hear the introduction to her lessons, her conversation with students. She takes us through her most minute decision making, showing us what intentional teaching looks like. It's a gift, a grand summing up, to which we can only say, Thank you, Nancie Atwell."

- Thomas Newkirk, author of Minds Made for Stories

"I was just returning to teaching when a colleague brought me In the Middle. It was the beginning of the school year, and I stayed up half the night reading, underlining, making notes. I went out that weekend and bought blank books for all my students, revised my beginning-of-school, first days plan, gathered books, and began. I haven't looked back, except to read more, share more of Nancie's work, read all of her books, and share Lessons That Change Writers often. I'm now a literacy coach, and her books are the first ones I share with new teachers. What gifts she has given to the world of education and to students through their teachers."

-Linda Baie, Denver, CO

"My first year teaching, I was not given much guidance or direction. I taught what was familiar, but I wasn't sure it was the right thing, until I was handed a copy of In the Middle. I read it over winter vacation, and was hooked. I immediately started the writing-reading workshop when school started again in January, and knew I would change the world."

-Julia Dubisz, Manchester, NH

"Congrats to @NancieAtwell on soon-to-be-born #InTheMiddle3! This book saved my teaching, my students(!), & forever shaped me"

- Christopher Lehman (@iChrisLehman)
-Lorraine Edwards-Knourek
"In the late 1980s I had a little teachers' store in Brandon, Manitoba. I opened it when my children were toddlers but always intended to go back to the classroom, which I loved. I had quite a few new professional books and one that I read cover to cover was In the Middle by Nancie Atwell. As I eagerly raced through the pages I realized that for the first time I felt that I really wanted to teach junior high students. Her love of literature and language just did it for me. The way Nancie inspired her students and included their voices and work with her own let me inside her classroom in such a relevant way. It took me another ten years of teaching K-7 but eventually our school district in B.C. opened middle schools and I confidently became a grade eight English language arts teacher. Aside from my first year of teaching grade one and two, the last 12 years of my career teaching under Nancie's tutelage (as well as a few experts I met in person) made those the most fulfilling and challenging of my teaching career. Even though I never met her in person I always heard her voice in those chapters and in her later work, guiding me."
-Sara Kajder (@skajder)
"It is the dog-eared, battle-scarred, pages-barely-still-in book that still teaches me to see my students. #inthemiddle3"
-Paige Raney (@PaigeRaney)
"In the Middle helped me understand the power of reading conferences. Every reader, every day."
-Mary Kate Patterson (@teachmkp)
"Thanks Nancie Atwell for giving teachers a tool for collaboration."
-Joan Cansdale (@joancansdale)
"Nancie Atwell completely changed my English class 17 years ago. So grateful."
-Sheila Barnes (@bookworm1959)
"Ditto on In the Middle being monumental in changing the way I teach!"

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Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more. "The third edition of In the Middle is my invitation to English teachers, both veterans and novices, to understand writing and reading from the inside and recognize our potential to influence our students' literacy for a lifetime.

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Julie Swinehart's awesome blog

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A website and blog written by practicing teachers who are working hard at implementing workshop.

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Along with Julie Swineheart's blog, this is my favorite. Written by high school teachers, it's honest, refreshing, and insightful.

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AMY RASMUSSEN Administrator/Writer

I am an advocate for authentic reading and writing instruction in all English classes- you might even call me an evangelist. I am a believer! We all like choice. We all benefit from communities where we feel validated, encouraged, safe, and compelled to grow. As educators, we want all students to enjoy learning. But sometimes it's a drag-through-the-mud tug of war, right? A pedagogy based on the moves readers and writers do outside of school helps.

Many educators make the move to readers-writers workshop for their students who struggle because they know when children are readers they are usually better thinkers and better writers. But imagine the possibilities if we transform instruction by moving to this more student-centered teaching model for our proficient and advanced students, as well. An authentic literacy classroom engages students as they grow into their identities as readers, writers, and communicators who own their learning -and it works in ALL classrooms for all students, ELL, G/T, gen ed, honors, and AP. I know. I've done it.

This blog is a work of love and hope, especially hope. Young people today deserve to learn in ELA classrooms where they learn the authentic moves of readers and writers, not just people who read and write for school. My hope is that my team and I here at 3TT can help others who are shifting the paradigm, transforming their teaching, and stepping into vulnerable spaces as they share their own reading and writing journeys with their students. How can we help?
Memberships
National Writing Project / North Star of Texas Writing Project/ National Council of Teachers of English, Chair Nominating Committee 2015-2016 / Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts/ North Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, President 2015-2016/ International Reading Association
Publications
Coming soon: Authentic Literacy Instruction: Empowering Secondary Students to Become Lifelong Readers, Writers, and Communicators by William Eastman and Amy Rasmussen. Published by Solution Tree. Available for pre-order April 2021.

Rasmussen, Amy, and William Eastman. " An Intervention Change-Up: Investing in Teacher Expertise to Transform Student Learning." English Journal 107 (2018): 26-32.

Adams, M., Rasmussen, A., & Cato, H. (2011, Summer). An Educational Chop Shop (Nothing Illegal - Just a a Classroom Overhaul): Moving Learning for the Grade to Learning for Life. English in Texas, 41.1, 50-56.

Contact Email amyprasmussen@yahoo.com Twitter @amyrass Goodreads Amy Rasmussen

All posts by Amy ©Amy Rasmussen, 2011 - 2021
Shana Karnes

SHANA KARNES, Blog Co-Administrator/Writer

Teachers are as diverse as our students. Every member of a classroom community-students AND teachers-has different backgrounds, goals, and hopes. I believe the value of the readers and writers workshop lies in the freedom allowed to both teachers and students in what, why, and how we read and write. Students and teachers in classrooms across the country and across the curriculum deserve to have choice in their literacy experiences, emphasizing trust, independence, and autonomy-traits which will produce outstanding citizens, readers, writers, and thinkers.
Memberships
National Council of Teachers of English / West Virginia Council of Teachers of English / National Writing Project at West Virginia University

Contact Email shanakarnes@gmail.com Twitter @litreader Goodreads Shana Karnes

Literacy Coach - Cincinnati, OH

ANGELA FAULHABER, Blog Co-Administrator/Writer

I am a nerd. I love books and words and fancy pens. I love talking and thinking and dreaming about literacy. I have been teaching for 16 years, first as a classroom teacher, then as a National Writing Project Fellow and currently as a Literacy Consultant at the Hamilton County Educational Service Center and as an adjunct instructor for pre-service teachers. I am privileged to work with teachers in every stage of their careers and at multiple grade levels as we explore reading and writing workshop as a way to help students become lifelong readers and writers.

LISA DENNIS, Blog Co-Administrator/Writer

Lisa Dennis
I have always believed that reading and writing exemplify the study of what it means to be human. When students are able to experience humanity in all its forms, perspectives, time periods, conflicts, and beauty, they grow as both scholars and empathetic human beings. My journey with the workshop model is transforming my career, my classroom, and my connection with kids. It's been incredible to see that with the freedom workshop affords, students are not only empowered in their study and use of language, but enthusiastic about it as well.
Memberships
National Council of Teachers of English / Conference on English Leadership / Wisconsin Education Association

We subscribe to the Blogger's Code of Ethics, modeled after the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. The links in our blog posts (contextual links) are not for sale. We occasionally do review books, although the sending of books does not guarantee a positive review nor a review at all on this blog.

We are required, pursuant to those ethical guidelines and the requirements of the Federal Trade Commission, to disclose certain relationships related to this blog.

We are not compensated to provide our opinions on resources, services, websites and various other topics, and if this ever changes we will update this page to reveal as such. We will always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely our own and do not represent the views of our individual schools or school districts.

Any product claim, warranty, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party in question.

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Amy Rasmussen AMY RASMUSSEN Administrator/Writer I am an advocate for authentic reading and writing instruction in all English classes-- you might even call me an evangelist. I am a believer! We all like choice. We all benefit from communities where we feel validated, encouraged, safe, and compelled to grow.

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This blog is written by several high school English teachers in Boulder, Colorado. The main theme of their blog is on reducing the amount of grading we do, but their pedagogy is the workshop model.

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Teachers thinking about teaching, education, technology and anything else that bugs us.

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Cris Tovani opens up her head and her classroom to show her planning over two days in her 9th grade classroom. Students are reading a shared text (whole class novel) yet there's choice galore and even small group strategy lessons.

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So You Don't Think Workshop Works? 5 Reasons You're Wrong

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So You Don't Think Workshop Works? 5 Reasons You're Wrong

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Meet Google Drive - One place for all your files

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Google Drive is a free way to keep your files backed up and easy to reach from any phone, tablet, or computer. Start with 15GB of Google storage - free.

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Cris Tovani teaches an 8th grade American History class. Of course, the workshop model is the structure that frames her instruction.

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Mini-lesson with all the parts named; work time with the teacher conferring.

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Social Studies Lesson in Workshop Format. News headlines

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Video of a science class workshop format

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Video of a science class workshop format

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You'll see in this 8th grade Earth Science class snippets of a workshop lesson: a mini-lesson where the teacher models her thinking, work time where the teacher confers and students collaborate on a task, a "catch" where the teacher adds a new teaching point, and a closing reflection.

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Science Lesson in Workshop Format. Index fossils.

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Cris Tovani: So What Do They Really KNow?

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Cris Tovani: So What Do They Really KNow?

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Here's how one English teacher with 42 minutes class periods thinks about workshop.

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This video takes place in an English class but it applies to a variety of disciplines.

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ELA.RI.9-10.1

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

RI: Reading Standards for Informational Text 6-12

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

1:
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

|

ELA.RI.9-10.2

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

RI: Reading Standards for Informational Text 6-\x80\x9312

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

2:
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course
of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific
details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

|

ELA.W.9-10.2d

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

W: Writing Standards 6-12

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

2d:
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas,
concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective
selection, organization, and analysis of content.

a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to
make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to
aiding comprehension.

b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended
definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples
appropriate to the audience'\x80\x99s knowledge of the topic.

c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text,
create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and
concepts.

d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the
complexity of the topic.

e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to
the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.

f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports
the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or
the significance of the topic).

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

1. How does Mr. McComb use success criteria to help students be more self-directed in their learning while making progress towards the standards?

2. What structures and supports does Mr. McComb have in place to ensure students are engaged and productive during the workshop?

3. How does Mr. McComb formatively assess students during and after the the workshop?

School Details

Patapsco High & Center For Arts
8100 Wise Avenue
Dundalk MD 21222

Data Provided By:

Teachers

English Language Arts / 9 10 11 12 / Teacher

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Making Learning Personalized & Customized

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Sean McComb engages his students in a workshop model in order to provide personalized and customized learning. Students are working on social justice projects that involve research, blog writing, and creative writing on topics of their choices. During class, students work at stations based on where they are in their projects.

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Even though this focuses on the English classroom, the author makes connections to other content areas.

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Life used to be hard. But then I started using the workshop method for teaching!

Just kidding. Some parts of life are still hard. But the workshop format has made my teaching life so much better-because I know it's better for my students. I have my classes fill out anonymous evaluations of me in December and May of every year, and every year I hear back that they loved being able to learn in the workshop setting. And in case you're wondering about the whole learning aspect, my students keep a writing portfolio from the beginning of the year to the end, and the difference from September to June is sometimes shocking. (Also-not that this matters to anyone but the state-but my students blow the standardized test out of the water every year with little or no test prep.)

Intrigued? Read on! (Be aware that while the workshop teaching model I'm talking about in this post is similar to the writer's workshop, I use it for all instruction, not just writing.)

What is the workshop model?

I first learned about workshop teaching from a master teacher I observed during my fourth year and fell in love. Her kids were just like mine-mostly at-risk or from homes at or below the poverty line-and yet I saw none of the struggles that were common to my classroom. All students were on-task, following directions and demonstrating incredible work as well as work ethic. I noticed that the only thing the teacher had to do besides conferencing and checking in with students was remind certain kids to be on-task, but even this was met with immediate compliance that you could tell came out of mutual respect.

"Teach me your ways!" I begged.

And she did. This teacher came and did a session on workshop teaching at our school, and I soaked up everything I could from her. The concept was simple: keep lessons short (less than 10 minutes), have the bulk of students' time be independent work for which you stay connected to their progress, and end by recapping and sharing work. Workshop teaching can be done in the format of a single day (mini-lesson, independent work, check in/progress update), could take the span of a week (one to two days of mini-lessons or instruction and then the rest of the week doing independent work), or could last an entire unit. I've heard that the single-day workshop is usually best for the wee ones, while week/unit planning works better for secondary kids.

Can you give me an idea of what workshop looks like in the classroom?

I use the weeklong workshop format for my seventh graders. After lots of tweaking, this is the schedule that ended up working best for me:

Monday and Tuesday:

Mini-lessons, guided practice, new content/skills.

Wednesday beginning of class:

Give students all assignments for the week.

Wednesday through Friday:

Students complete workshop assignments at their own pace while I conference with individual students, monitor progress and track who has completed what.

Friday:

All workshop assignments due (unless I specified otherwise).

For an example of what that week might look like with a short poetry unit, you can download my roadmap here!

I don't teach seventh-grade English. What do I need to know to make workshop work for my subject area and grade level?

Obviously the content, products and time are going to vary based on your subject area and grade level. But these are some things that should stay the same:

Students should be responsible for creating a plan to get their work done and executing their independent work. This may take some prompting from you at first, but the goal is for them to develop discipline and time-management skills for themselves.

Students have some aspect of choice in as many workshop assignments as possible

Have a daily progress conference with each student during independent work time. Ask things like, How are you doing with this material? What have you completed today? What do you need from me? (With sometimes 35 kids in a class, it's OK if you don't get to every child every day. But make a note so that you ask the kids you didn't get to at the beginning of the next class.)

Here is the awesome part: When you give students choices, let them work at their own pace and meet with them individually on a regular basis, behavior problems are dramatically reduced. This is not a weird coincidence. They feel trusted and empowered, and this results in a positive, strong teacher-student relationship.

Hang on-this all sounds fine and dandy, but what do I do for the kids who finish all their work in five seconds?

Don't worry, this was my first question when I heard about workshop, too 🙂

First, if you plan your lessons in a way that lets your advanced students challenge themselves, you may find that they don't zip through their work like they do when the same assignment is given to the whole class. You may give them the assignment but have higher standards, or give certain students a different assignment entirely. Also, making a point to talk to students about work ethic can make a difference ("So, I see you definitely met the requirements for this essay. But is this your best work? Here are some points I think you could develop further instead of turning in this draft.")

However, no matter how carefully you plan, you will still have kids who finish assignments earlier than others with high-quality work. For these students, I have a huge poster in my room of activities that students can be doing when they finish work-things from online word games (Scrabble, Boggle, etc.) to silent reading. But if my students have finished all their assignments with quality work in which they have challenged themselves, I'm OK with them using independent technology, listening to music or working quietly on work for another class. Why? Because my role is not to make sure kids are completing busy work 100 percent of the time in my class-my role is to make sure I'm teaching kids to love reading and writing and be good at it, with the end goal that they will be successful no matter what they do. Teaching them to plan and set goals for themselves, work hard, push themselves and "play" once that work is done-these are lessons in self-discipline, integrity, self-advocacy and time management that they can take far beyond the walls of my classroom.

I'm ready to try workshop! What do I need?

1. Strong classroom-management skills.

Personally I 'm not sure I could have made workshop work my first year, but if you are new and think you can handle it, go for it!

2. A lot of patience, at least for the first couple of months.

Like anything new, workshop may be hard at first for you and for the kids. They won't be used to being in charge of (and being held accountable for) their learning, and you won 't be used to a completely new style of teaching. It's normal to feel like scrapping it and going back to your old ways, but trust me : It gets easier and it pays off in every area imaginable.

3. Strong organizational skills.

Each week I print out a spreadsheet for each class with students' names and spaces for assignments, and I keep this binder with me as I hold conferences and check trays for work that's been turned in. That way, I can easily scan and see who has turned in everything for that week, who is making appropriate progress, and who hasn't turned in anything but for some reason is gluing magazine clippings to his face. You'll also need clearly marked places in our classroom for students to turn in work and to indicate where materials are located. You can check my post on organizational hacks for more info!

4. Student seating in groups.

I let my students pick their seats and whom they work with, but they kn ow that if they aren't getting their workshop work done, they will be moved.

5. Caffeine.

Or maybe that's just me.

Do you have any other tips on how to make workshop work for me?

Check for work that's been turned in every day, not just on the day everything is due. This will cut back on your angels who have trouble getting work done, and that way you can grade what's there instead of grading a huge chunk of work over the weekend.

Flipped Learning is perfect for workshop. Recording yourself for mini-lessons is awesome not just for students who might be absent on Monday or Tuesday, but also for students who might need a refresher later in the week.

Talk to your administration and appraiser about workshop teaching so they'll know what they'll be seeing in your classroom. Hopefully they will be onboard, but if they're skeptical, emphasize that workshop teaching naturally allows for differentiated instruction, student choice and a classroom that is student-centered.

I'm ready to fall in love with workshop! Where can I go to learn more?

Here are some helpful articles that touch on the workshop approach:

Is the workshop model the only way to teach? Definitely not! Find what works for you and your students. But just know that after going from the traditional lesson format to workshop, I'll never go back.

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Why I Fell in Love With Workshop Teaching ... and How You Can Too!

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Life used to be hard. But then I started using the workshop method for teaching! Just kidding. Some parts of life are still hard. But the workshop format has made my teaching life so much better-because I know it's better for my students.

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The opening chapter of That Workshop Book provides a big picture look at the workshop model.

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An overview of the workshop model

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Education World is committed to bringing educators the practical tools they need to make good decisions, engage in effective leadership and implement strategies that work. The following excerpt from So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning describes the workshop model that the author relies on to foster a cycle of student work, timely feedback, and assessment. When students can show what they understand, you can adjust your teaching to what they need the most.
Just like the athletes on the field who do the majority of the work during practice, students in my classroom do the majority of the work by reading, writing, and thinking during class. By organizing my time using the workshop model every day, all year long, I can ensure that their reading, writing, and thinking are getting better.

In its simplest form, the workshop model has four basic parts: opening, mini-lesson, work time, and debriefing.

The opening is an opportunity to share the day's learning targets and set the stage for the day.

During the mini-lesson the teacher provides direct instruction for the whole class.

During the work time, students get to dig in and practice the learning. This is the most important part of the workshop and therefore must be the longest part of the period. I try to give students the bulk of the class to work, practice, or apply what has been taught during the mini-lesson.

As students work, I confer with individuals or small groups. Often my conferences are pretty short-about two to four minutes long. The purpose of conferring is twofold. I want to assess student learning and help them to build stamina. When I confer, I try to figure out what students know and what they need so they can continue doing the work on their own. My goal when conferring isn't to "fix" students but rather to provide support and scaffolding so students can be the ones who engage in the critical thinking. Just like during the mini-lesson, I must be careful not to take time away from students' doing the work. Conferring helps me help students stay on task so they can build stamina, skill, and endurance.

Catch-and-release occurs during the work time and can be either a planned or an unplanned part of the workshop. When I use the catch-and-release technique, it is because I have noticed a pattern of confusion in several students. Instead of repeating the teaching to each individual student, I temporarily halt the work time to quickly share a strategy or a piece of content that will benefit the class's learning process. Other times when I use catch-and-release, I've anticipated places where students might struggle. In these cases, I model a way to negotiate the difficulty and then I release the kids so they have time to practice what I showed them. In either case, the catches are short, usually lasting only a few minutes.

The debriefing occurs at the end of the workshop and gives students an opportunity to be metacognitive as they synthesize, reflect on, and name what they have learned for the day.

Whether learners are struggling, gifted, or in between, they all deserve a year's worth of growth. When they get two-thirds of each class period to work, the minutes of practice time add up. When there is intentional planning with student work minutes in mind, combined with a teacher by their side conferring and giving targeted feedback, students can't help but expand their knowledge and increase their skills. This means they can tackle any kind of text with confidence and have the wherewithal to know what they need to do to construct meaning. If we do our jobs well, by listening to teach instead of talking to teach, students should be just as exhausted as teachers at the end of the day-and just as brilliant.
Be sure to read two other excerpts from this book: Grading That Reflects Your Values and Annotating as an Assessment Tool.

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Copyright © 2012, 2017 Education World

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Minimize Lecture, Maximize Learning: Workshop Model | Education World

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Education World is committed to bringing educators the practical tools they need to make good decisions, engage in effective leadership and implement strategies that work. The following excerpt from So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning describes the workshop model that the author relies on to foster a cycle of student work, timely feedback, and assessment.

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

1. How would you describe the teacher's role in this classroom?

2. In what ways does this lesson illustrate differentiated instruction?

3. How does the Workshop Model help the teacher address his students' various learning needs?

School Details

Shaw Middle School
4106 North Cook St
Spokane WA 99207

Data Provided By:

Teachers

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What does the workshop model look like in math?

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Science as Thinking: The Workshop Model in Science

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Science as Thinking: The Workshop Model in Science

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Sample lesson plan for workshop in science

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Sample lesson plan for workshop in science