Schoolwide Blog

Starting the year off with establishing routines and procedures for reading and writing workshop will get you and your students off to a successful year.  It took me years and lots of research to find the most efficient way to get organized with setting routines.  I like to start both workshops on the first day of school with a mini lesson on routines.  For example, on the first day of school the mini lesson for reading workshop may have to do with how to choose a book and enjoy reading it.  I start off by showing my students a variety of genres I enjoy.  I’ll bring in magazines, newspapers, novels, professional journals, etc. for my students to see the kind of reading I do.  One of my goals is for them to notice my enthusiasm for reading and that we can make choices of what to read. Your classroom library would be set up ahead of time by putting books into bins.  More...