Reader's Workshops and Mini-Lessons

             I was reading an article recently about reader’s workshops within the elementary school setting.  The article made some great suggestions as to how a reader’s workshop should be implemented and organized to best facilitate rich literary learning experiences for the students participating in it.  Personally, I envision an effective workshop as one where students are engaged in all aspects of the reading experience.  The students should have opportunities to work with the teacher, to discourse with classmates, to practice new skills and strategies, but most important, the students should be enjoying the entire reading process and reading in a variety of texts.  I especially liked the role of the mini-lessons within the workshop.  These short, 10-15 minute lessons are a great way for educators to break down bigger concepts into smaller parts.  For example, when introducing a concept like summarizing to a class for the first time, it might be a good idea to start with a mini-lesson on identifying important events(as opposed to less relevant events).  On a subsequent day, educators could follow up that mini-lesson with one on sequencing.  A third lesson might deal with transitional words. Finally, with the skills and competencies developed through the mini-lessons, the children would be ready to put it all together and write a clear, sequential summary.  Rather than completing a series of worksheets, reader’s workshops give students opportunities to learn the skills and strategies needed to become successful readers through interactions and related activities.