Launching Writer's and Reader's Workshop

Last week, writer's and reader's workshop began, which the children were excited about!  Many of them want to learn how to write and read.  Having them participate in writer's and reader's workshop daily will help them reach these goals!

Writer's Workshop

In writer's workshop, the children have been learning all about being a writer.  They have been writing teaching pieces and have been studying books of famous authors.  The children have learned a lot during our 7 lessons so far!  Here is a look into what your child has learned so far:

- How to picture a topic in their heads
- Representing a topic through drawings and words
- Learning what to do when we think we are done
- Labeling our drawings
- Stretching out words to hear the sounds, which are then represented with letters on paper
- Remembering the saying "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" when it comes to writing and drawing the hard parts
- Turning pieces into books

Below are few samples of writing to give you an idea of what the children's writing looks like at this point in the school year!  Remember to praise your child for being a writer because they are!

Reader's Workshop

During reader's workshop, my mini-lessons have been focusing on important procedures and expectations, elbow partners, and looking closely at the parts of a book.

Anchor charts (to the right) are introduced to help the children know the expectations and learn reading strategies.  Once an anchor chart is introduced, the children glue a copy of the chart in their Anchor Chart notebook, which is kept in their own book boxes.  This will allow the children to reference these charts during independent reading time.

Each day, the children have been building their stamina (doing something for a period of time without getting tired or distracted) around independent reading.  They've been "reading" books from tubs for 7-10 minutes.  During this time, they are practicing how to be a book lover and a respectful reader. 

Here are some things that can be practiced at home when you are reading with your child at home:

• Have your child show you how to be a book lover
• Have your child point to the title of the book
• Have your child point to the words and pictures in the book
• Have your child tell you what the author did to make the book
• Have your child tell you what the illustrator did to make the book