Reading and Writing Workshop

What is Workshop?

At Lapeer Community Schools, we teach reading and writing using a workshop model. Workshop consists of a mini-lesson focusing on a particular skill, independent work where the teacher conferences with students and small groups, and then share time.

Mini-lessons focus on skills that the whole group will be learning about. The skills focus on ways to make students better readers and writers.

Independent time is when students work on the skill that was focused on during the mini-lesson. Students work on reading and writing of their own choosing (usually), and they confer with the teacher to show how they are using the skill and the teacher provides guidance to students to stretch their thinking with their work.

During share time, the class comes back together as a group and a couple students share how they used the skill that was taught during the mini-lesson from that day or previous days.

During workshop time, students are using reading and writing together to improve their skills in both subjects. Mentor texts (books that model skills) are used to show how real authors use these skills to be good writers.