Workshop Principles Safety and Order Students need to feel safe from physical harm in order to be receptive to learning. Students need to feel a sense of emotional safety i.e., that they are safe from emotional abuse.

Workshop Principles Opportunity Children need time to read and write in order to become successful readers and writers.

Volume Reading? What does the Research Say? The amount of reading that students do in and out of school was positively related to their reading achievement. (Foertsch, 1992) Volume reading was reliably correlated with reading comprehension performance in both disabled and normally achieving readers. (Chang, 1993). NAEP studies suggest that volume may be critically important in developing thoughtful literacy proficiencies.

Volume Writing? What are some common beliefs? People learn to write by writing; getting better at writing requires doing it – a lot. The more people write, the easier it gets and the more they are motivated to do it. Writers who write a lot learn more abut the process because they have had more experience inside it. Teachers should support students in the development of writing lives, habits, and preferences for life outside school.

Workshop Principles Opportunity Children MUST have access to a large variety of quality reading materials for reading and writing.

Workshop Principles Opportunity Children must be a part of a classroom that promotes social interactions.

Workshop Principles Choice Children need to make choices about what they read and how they respond to their readings through drawing and writing. Children Must have time during the day for self-selected reading and writing.

Self-Selected or Choice Reading? What does the research say? There is no research that directly links choice reading to reading comprehension growth, but research does indicate that choice is related to interest and motivation, both of which are related directly to learning. (Anderson et al. 1987)

Reading Workshop Principles Response Children need feedback for their attempts and encouragement for their accomplishments.

Reading Workshop Principles Response Children need to respond to their own reading by making their thinking visible and by sharing their ideas and concerns about their reading.

Workshop Principles Relevance The experiences we provide in our classrooms must emulate the events of the real world.

Workshop Principles Space Children need a supportive environment in which to develop as readers and writers, and it must be well organized.

Workshop Principles Space There must be space on the floor for the learners to gather in a learning community—close proximity stimulates language and bonding!

“If children are apparently unable to learn, we should assume that we have not as yet found the right way to teach them.” -Marie Clay