Ms. Clare Dreyer
IB PYP Early Years Educator
Literacy
Daily 5 and CAFE stations:
Readers workshop
Making reading a daily habit and creating a love of reading at a young age is important to develop strong readers. To help reach these goals I guide my students on how we can pick just-right books for ourselves. During the week we practice reading these books together in class and send them home the following week for practice at home.
My classroom approach to "Readers workshop" is a combination of a short whole-class session in the form of a mini-lesson or a read-aloud. Followed by stations and small group instructions.
At the start of the year, the expectations for all the different stations are co-constructed and practiced as a whole class. Once we have done that we start creating stamina and independence.
1. Read to Self / listen to reading / read to someone.
2. Word work
3. Words their way
4. Teacher table
5. Work on writing
Writers workshop
The goal for me in writers' workshop is to develop students who think like writers and see themselves as writers and who write. This approach to "Writers workshop" was inspired by Matt Glover's workshops and books.
Writers workshop is divided into a short mini-lesson that focuses on craft or process studies and then lots, and lots of books creating and writing, followed by a time for sharing and feedback at the end. During the writing and book creating period, I conference with individual students and talk to them about their books. Guidance is given with examples from a mentor text stack. This stack includes 3-5 real books, student samples, and my own sample. In conferences with students, we explore ways other writers/authors have done something and then try it out in our own writing. Naming and noticing what they are doing well and having a specific teaching point in mind for the student.
