Appendix A: Glossary
Focus Lessons are explicit, whole class instruction, where the teacher explains and then demonstrates skills or strategies that then become a part of the student’s reading repertoire. Focus lessons typically take place at the beginning of Readers' Workshop.
Group Share is the last portion of Readers’ Workshop, when the class reconvenes as a community of readers. During group share, students often talk in partnerships or small groups, and the work that has been done by a student or students may be highlighted to serve as a model for the rest of the class. The Group Share is brief, usually 5–10 minutes at most, and it brings closure to Readers' Workshop each day.
Guided Reading Groups are a form of small group instruction in which the teacher guides students through a text for a specific purpose, providing students with the opportunity to develop and practice using reading strategies in a highly supported environment and also giving them a nudge to the next independent reading level. Guided reading is primarily utilized in the K–2 classroom, where students tend to need more support in the print as well as the comprehension work of reading.
Independent Reading is a component of Readers’ Workshop during which students read text (either self-selected or teacher-recommended) at their independent reading level to practice reading strategies, to make meaning, and to develop fluency and automaticity. Students may also respond to the text in meaningful ways through writing, discussing, or sketching. Independent reading typically takes place after the focus lesson and before the group share. While students are reading, the teacher confers with them one-on-one or teaches small-group lessons.
Interactive Read Aloud is a read-aloud by the teacher to the whole class that includes stopping at planned points to encourage thinking and conversation about the text. Quality children’s literature is used. Students learn to think deeply about text, to listen to others, and to grow their own ideas.
Literature Circles (or Book Clubs) are small groups that meet to discuss quality literature and apply comprehension strategies. Students silently read a portion of the text before each literature circle meeting, and come prepared to discuss the text by sharing their thinking with peers. The process is similar to that of an adult reader’s book club; it cultivates a deep appreciation for literature while also enhancing reading and oral language skills.
Readers’ Workshop is a structure for teaching reading that combines explicit, teacher-directed instruction in reading strategies and literary elements with lots of time for children to practice reading independently with books of their own choosing. The structure is designed to facilitate differentiated instruction in reading strategies, provide plenty of time for children to read, expose children to quality literature in a variety of genres, and create a classroom community in which reading becomes a source of excitement and joy.
Reading Conferences are one-on-one conversations between a student and teacher, focused on something the student needs to learn about reading. The teacher uses the conference to assess (research) what the student needs to learn, and then to teach the student one thing that will help him or her become a better reader. Some people think of a reading conference as a “private lesson.”
Reading Strategies are in-the-head, problem-solving processes that readers use to choose appropriate reading material, decode words, maintain fluency, comprehend text, and understand new vocabulary.
Shared Reading is an activity in which enlarged print is utilized to “share” the reading process with a group of students. The teacher uses this time to explicitly model reading strategies and skills that the students need to learn. The responsibility for reading is “shared” between the teacher and the students, although the teacher reads most of the text.
Small Group Instruction typically takes place during the independent reading part of Readers’ Workshop. Instead of conferring with individual students, teachers may teach small groups of students who have similar needs or abilities. Three forms of small-group reading instruction are used frequently in elementary settings: strategy groups, guided reading groups, and literature circles. These different groupings vary slightly in structure to allow us to shape instruction for different needs.
Strategy Groups are a form of small-group instruction in which students are brought together to learn a particular reading strategy.
Units of Study are a way of organizing literacy instruction that allows the class to explore a particular topic in depth over the course of several weeks. The topic of a unit of study may be a comprehension strategy, a genre, an author, or a line of inquiry such as reading like a writer or building a repertoire of strategies to figure out unfamiliar words.
Group Share is the last portion of Readers’ Workshop, when the class reconvenes as a community of readers. During group share, students often talk in partnerships or small groups, and the work that has been done by a student or students may be highlighted to serve as a model for the rest of the class. The Group Share is brief, usually 5–10 minutes at most, and it brings closure to Readers' Workshop each day.
Guided Reading Groups are a form of small group instruction in which the teacher guides students through a text for a specific purpose, providing students with the opportunity to develop and practice using reading strategies in a highly supported environment and also giving them a nudge to the next independent reading level. Guided reading is primarily utilized in the K–2 classroom, where students tend to need more support in the print as well as the comprehension work of reading.
Independent Reading is a component of Readers’ Workshop during which students read text (either self-selected or teacher-recommended) at their independent reading level to practice reading strategies, to make meaning, and to develop fluency and automaticity. Students may also respond to the text in meaningful ways through writing, discussing, or sketching. Independent reading typically takes place after the focus lesson and before the group share. While students are reading, the teacher confers with them one-on-one or teaches small-group lessons.
Interactive Read Aloud is a read-aloud by the teacher to the whole class that includes stopping at planned points to encourage thinking and conversation about the text. Quality children’s literature is used. Students learn to think deeply about text, to listen to others, and to grow their own ideas.
Literature Circles (or Book Clubs) are small groups that meet to discuss quality literature and apply comprehension strategies. Students silently read a portion of the text before each literature circle meeting, and come prepared to discuss the text by sharing their thinking with peers. The process is similar to that of an adult reader’s book club; it cultivates a deep appreciation for literature while also enhancing reading and oral language skills.
Readers’ Workshop is a structure for teaching reading that combines explicit, teacher-directed instruction in reading strategies and literary elements with lots of time for children to practice reading independently with books of their own choosing. The structure is designed to facilitate differentiated instruction in reading strategies, provide plenty of time for children to read, expose children to quality literature in a variety of genres, and create a classroom community in which reading becomes a source of excitement and joy.
Reading Conferences are one-on-one conversations between a student and teacher, focused on something the student needs to learn about reading. The teacher uses the conference to assess (research) what the student needs to learn, and then to teach the student one thing that will help him or her become a better reader. Some people think of a reading conference as a “private lesson.”
Reading Strategies are in-the-head, problem-solving processes that readers use to choose appropriate reading material, decode words, maintain fluency, comprehend text, and understand new vocabulary.
Shared Reading is an activity in which enlarged print is utilized to “share” the reading process with a group of students. The teacher uses this time to explicitly model reading strategies and skills that the students need to learn. The responsibility for reading is “shared” between the teacher and the students, although the teacher reads most of the text.
Small Group Instruction typically takes place during the independent reading part of Readers’ Workshop. Instead of conferring with individual students, teachers may teach small groups of students who have similar needs or abilities. Three forms of small-group reading instruction are used frequently in elementary settings: strategy groups, guided reading groups, and literature circles. These different groupings vary slightly in structure to allow us to shape instruction for different needs.
Strategy Groups are a form of small-group instruction in which students are brought together to learn a particular reading strategy.
Units of Study are a way of organizing literacy instruction that allows the class to explore a particular topic in depth over the course of several weeks. The topic of a unit of study may be a comprehension strategy, a genre, an author, or a line of inquiry such as reading like a writer or building a repertoire of strategies to figure out unfamiliar words.
