Seeing the Sky:  Visions for the Struggling Reader and Writer in the Process Classroom

For many teachers the idea of a reading and writing workshop is a challenge.  They do not see their students as being able to participate fully in such a community.  In classrooms where teachers try to make literacy authentic, to respect children' intentions, and to create joyful learning environments, we are sometimes dismayed to know that we are still not reaching our struggling readers and writers in the way that they need to be taught. 

This work is based on the premise that, if our goal is for students to read and write for their entire lives, inside and outside the classroom, then part of our focus as teachers has to be on rigorous teaching within the independent reading workshop (defined as the time in the day when students choose their own reading for their own purposes) and writing workshop.  Once we give kids the chance to choose what they will read and write and how they will respond, we can, through our conferring, small group, and whole-class work, teach actively and assertively onto and into what they have chosen. 

The purpose of this workshop is to help teachers gather strategies to assist these students.  We will look at many ways in which learners struggle, and then we will think together about strategies for observing and identifying the nature of their struggle.  We will also consider whole-school and classroom structures and contexts which might best serve these struggling students.