Guide to the Reading Workshop: Primary - Chapter 8 Management Systems

A Guide to the Reading Workshop: Primary Grades by Lucy Calkins
                             *This review includes content from the chapter and content from the discussion

Led by kindergarten teacher Sarah Hawas - to see Sarah's video

BIG ideas in Chapter 8

Management Systems?

 

"Why do so many people assume that classroom management is a concern for novice and struggling teachers but not for master teachers?"

The importance of structures and systems

• Reading and Writing mirror each other.  If the structures are predictable, the children can concentrate on the content.

Learning classroom management systems and strategies

• "The best way I know to learn classroom management strategies is to visit well established reading and writing workshops to study the infrastructure that underlies this kind of teaching."

 Managing the mini-lesson: The beginning of each day's reading instruction

• Convening the class for the mini-lesson
• Build a "set up" before asking the children to join you
• Develop your own signal to get the students' attention and use it consistently
• Demonstrate -act out- procedure of pushing in chair, make a beeline to their spot. sit, handle materials the way you expect, and begin reading the anchor charts while waiting.
• Do not repeat yourself.  Expect first time listeners.
• Establishing long-term partnerships and reading clubs

• 

  We drew so many different pictures
   and took photographs to identify
  independent and partner reading -
  who knew we could just draw circles?

  Pair students at similar reading levels
• Back-to-back for Private reading and knee-to-knee-shoulder-to-shoulder with book in between for partner reading
• K &1 start with private reading and switch to partner reading at the halfway point
• Clubs are usually two ability grouped partners
• Club conversations take part during share
• Management during mini-lessons
• Mini-lessons are more teacher talk
• What to do when your partner is absent - join another group
• Teach turn and talk explicitly 

Managing reading time

• Sending students off to work: transitions from mini-lesson to work time
• Teach dismissal explicitly
• 

  

  Confer app
  

  Transitions are smoother if children always know where they will sit during reading time
• Nature of children's work during the Reading Workshop
• Never done reading
• "Ask 3 before me"

Managing conferring and small group work: Making one-to-one conferences and small group instruction possible

• See about 3 children a day for individual conferences
• Consider table conferences
• Need a system for who to meet with
• Develop a system for recording conferences
• Digit apps were suggested for note taking, Confer and Brightloop

Brightloop app

Managing the share

• Never skip the share - the brain remembers the last thing

Managing the classroom library

• Make it easy to find just right books with letter and genre labels
• Manage how students change out books
• Gather enough books

Next assignment: 1-14-16 at 8:20 - Chapter 9:Small-Group Work: Developing a Richer Repertoire of Methods, Tammi Sani's room