Okay. Instead of asking, "How do I do it all?" I want to zero in on Nancie Atwell's reading workshop, outlined in her book, In the Middle. My question: Is the reading workshop successful for student literacy and practical for classroom implementation?
According to Atwell, it is successful. Students pursue their own interests, exercise their relationships, and write about what matters to them. Teachers aren't standing in front of a class and begging for an answer, but are talking and writing with students on a personal level (50). Students choose books they want to read: "If we want students to grow to appreciate literature, we need to give them a say in decisions about the literature they will read" (36). Student choice pays off in the number of insightful letters that students write to Atwell in their journals (she includes many examples throughout chapter eight). Success, in terms of developing strong readers, is achieved through the workshop.
Although the idea of students reading, writing, and discussing independently is attractive, I am unconvinced it is practical in a regular classroom with thirty students. Responding thoughtfully to thirty (times however many classes I teach) students through letters takes a large amount of time. However, Atwell says she implemented her reading journals in an elementary school with an average class size of twenty-five (40). I suppose reading students' dialogue journals takes the place of grading mindless worksheets, so writing letters may not take excessive amounts of time.
What about classroom management? While Atwell mentions mini lessons that intersperse the workshop, the bulk of the class seems to consist of reading silently or in small pairs and writing. She acknowledges that "For too many students, sustained silent reading is just a pleasant study hall," so she understands the teacher's role in challenging the students (40). Atwell also ensures that students are moving: "the physical arrangement calls for motion. In turn, the organization of the workshop structures the motion and keeps it purposeful...I have fewer discipline problems" (75). But, what is the physical arrangement of the room? What if my classroom isn't conducive to it? Atwell sets such idealistic goals because they work for her, but how can they work for me? Where I am searching for some concrete answer, experience seems to be the only one.
Although I am unsure of the day-to-day details of a reading workshop, I admire and will implement aspects of Atwell's idea. Student choice and journals (on a smaller scale) are effective ways to ensure students are motivated and actually reading. I will have an incredible library, and I plan to implement time chunks for reading aloud, silent reading, and vocabulary lessons. Although my classroom may not be as "free" as Atwell's, it will strive to be as inspiring.
While I attempted to answer one of my questions (Is the reading workshop successful and practical?), one of my professors would tell me that I can "do it all" with a good dose of self-efficacy. I also need practice, though, which is why I am anxious to begin the practicum experience. And, in reality, I want you to ask me questions because questions do facilitate learning. Just be prepared to receive my questions, too.
I also love the idea of implementing reading and writing workshops in my classroom! I think it would be more appropriate for this to happen at the high school level though. Like you said, I do not know how students would independently discuss literature in small groups at the middle school level.
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