Why Workshop and Balanced Literacy?

    We have all heard about the pendulum of literacy instruction that forever seems to swing back and forth between isolated phonics instruction and/or diving right into immersing children in reading and writing experiences. Another way of looking at the possibilities for literacy instruction is a more balanced approach that incorporates benefits from both sides of the Whole Language vs Phonics debate. If we use a balanced literacy approach for our literacy instruction, students can benefit from explicit, direct instruction in Phonics as well as engage in authentic reading and writing experiences. Reading and Writing Workshop are integral to a balanced literacy approach in addition to other foundational practices such as: shared reading, interactive writing, guided reading and Phonics or word work, just to name a few. 

For the purposes of this post, reading and writing workshop are defined as structures that have the following components: daily, succinct mini-lessons for the whole class that address grade-level reading and writing standards, long amounts of time for independent  reading and/or writing on topics of choice with some sort of sharing opportunity at the end of the lesson. While the students are working independently, the teacher supports the students individually or in small groups. 

So, why the workshop approach?

• From an equity perspective, students are all working at their own levels, either in the books they are reading or in their writing.
• Workshop gives students choices. Students are able to choose their own books or their own topics to write about. This really increases engagement.
• All students are exposed to grade level instruction during the mini-lesson while receiving more individualized support during conferring sessions or small groups with the teacher.
• Students are engaged in authentic literacy experiences, either by reading real books or writing books, stories, reports, etc. 
• Implementing both reading and writing workshop helps to maximize the reciprocity between reading and writing. 
• Teachers learn a ton about the reading and writing process while using this teaching method. 
• There is a large community of support of other teachers trying out these methods and they can answer any questions or concerns people might have about this approach. In addition, there are many books and other professional resources available. 

For all of these reasons and more, reading and writing workshop can be extremely powerful in developing students who confidently read and write for real purposes, the ultimate goal of literacy instruction. 

Future posts will dive into other elements of the balanced literacy approach to teaching. For some ideas of what balanced literacy and workshop look like in classrooms, please visit our Pinterest board: Workshop and Balanced Literacy Pinterest Board