The Reading and Writing Workshop program is the foundation of the Language Arts curriculum. The Shlenker School believes that reading and writing should be taught with direct, explicit instruction from highly trained and experienced educators. Developed out of Teachers College at Columbia University, this research-based instructional model provides students with explicit strategies enabling them to be confident readers and writers.
We recognize that a “one size fits all” model does not match the realities of a student’s needs in today’s classrooms. Therefore, assessment is used to guide the teacher in determining individual book choices and areas of strength and growth in each student’s writing development. The workshop model provides long stretches of time for students to read and write and is conducive to supporting small-group work, conferring, and many opportunities for personalizing instruction. The routines and structures of Reading and Writing Workshop are kept simple and predictable to allow teachers to focus on the complex work of teaching in a responsive manner to accelerate achievement for all learners. Daily instruction includes whole-class, mini-lessons, read-alouds, shared reading/writing experiences, word study, small group reading instruction, and individual instruction.
Students in kindergarten–second grade use The Units of Study in Phonics, which focus on features of phonics and high frequency words. The program contains numerous ways to extend instruction through small groups to reinforce foundational skills. There are also many opportunities for students to transfer phonics learning into their reading and writing work.
Students in third–fifth grade use the Words Their Way curriculum to support developmental spelling, phonics, and vocabulary. Words Their Way is an open-ended individual process. An assessment is given to determine where to begin instruction. Based on assessment results, students are given words to study in order to discover the common attributes. In this manner, students are actively constructing their own knowledge of spelling patterns. Students learn features by completing activities such as word sorting, word hunts, games, drawing, and labeling. Students work individually, with partners, and in small groups to encourage cooperative learning and individual responsibility.
Students in first–fifth grade are taught vocabulary in context with high-quality science, social studies, and literary text using Vocabulary Workshop. This model teaches a variety of strategies for acquiring new vocabulary and help students understand figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
