Reader's Workshop Resolutions

It's that time of the year when we look back at the year just gone and make plans for the year to come. So, I thought I'd put on my Reader's Workshop glasses and have a look back at 2009 and then forward to 2010 . . .

2009 Reader's Workshop Highlights

• Beginning Reader's Workshop. It took me six months to get the information together and to get the nerve up, but I'm so glad I did it
• Working our way through The Arrival (Shaun Tan). It took us six weeks in small groups, but this was the richest reading experience I've had in a long time
• Reading The Hobbit, Clementine, Pearl Verses the World and Operation Yes out loud. We read a few other books this year, but these four really stood out. Most students went on to read these and other related books for themselves.
• Revising my Reader's Workshop. After I read The Reading Zone (Nancie Atwell) I revisited and revised our Reader's Workshop. Suddenly students were reading more, more widely and picking up much harder books.
• Book talking almost everything in the class before the September holidays. How else could I have got a student to read The War of the Worlds and another one to read The Day of Triffids?

2010 Goals for Reader's Workshop

• I'd like to have more organised mini-lessons and I'm currently working on unit plans to allow for that
• Book talks organised around themes
• Keep building that classroom library - I'd love to find some help with this somehow as it keeps digging into the hip pocket
• Revise the assessment routines. It was wonderful having so much information on the students - now I need to organise it better
• (And personally) Keep reading more fabulous Middle Grades and Young Adults books! Keep recommending them!
  

What are your reading goals for next year?