Every teacher loves a great back-to-school read aloud. There are so many popular titles to use as springboards for first day experiences, engaging students in making new friends, or getting back into the swing of school routines. But what about a read aloud for introducing reader’s–workshop?
I have found the perfect story that will not only set the tone for your reading instruction but also foster a growth mindset toward reading we’d all like to instill in our students. This book has been powerful in launching my readers’–workshop when used with the following activities.
Wolf!, by Becky Bloom, is a story of a wolf who comes across some barnyard animals who can read. In the story, the wolf is determined to learn to read, but he has a lot of misconceptions about what makes a good reader when trying to impress his friends. This is the perfect storyline to get students focused on what good readers do, and to help dispel any misconceptions they may have about what a good reader is.
Introducing the Story
Before introducing the story, I have my students do a brainstorming activity. On a Post-It, I ask students to write what they think makes a good reader. After a few minutes of think and jot time, I have students share their ideas as I record them on a chart paper. As you can see from the anchor chart, students said many different things about what they do. You can also see some misconceptions students shared, but when recording their responses, I don’t comment on any of them. I simply take note of their ideas and tell students we will revisit this list later.
Next, students go to the carpet for the read aloud. I preplan the occasional turn-and-talk during the story to get the students thinking about what Wolf thinks a good reader is, as well as what the barnyard animals think. Later in the story, I also ask students to evaluate those points of view based on students’ own perspective about what makes a good reader. Wolf’s perception changes in response to the animals’ comments each time he goes back to the farm to read to them, so of course, I also ask students to think about how his point of view changed.
What Good Readers Do
After the read aloud, we revisit the list we created on the chart. I have students consider Wolf’s experience in the story and talk in table groups for a few minutes to discuss whether they agree or disagree with the various ideas on the chart. Then, I ask students to share their thinking in a class discussion and have them explain why they think the idea is important, or why they might disagree with an idea.
Two things happen at this point in the lesson. One, students review good strategies and reiterate why they are important, and two, the misconceptions get dispelled. Dispelling these misconceptions transforms students’ way of thinking about reading and about themselves as readers, just as it did for Wolf in the story. Students need to have the mindset that a good reader is defined by what they do each and every day (strategies & good reading habits), not by their performance with regard to reading level, the thickness of their chapter book, or the speed at which they read. Yes, we want our students to move in the right direction with text complexity and fluency, but for this lesson, I want to foster growth mindset in my students. Notice, I crossed out those misconceptions as we talked about them.
I want to point out that students usually leave one important idea off this list, which needs to be added. This is why I turn to the last part of the story and reread where Wolf gets caught up in the stories with the other animals. I want students to come to the conclusion that good readers also enjoy reading, and rereading this part of the story prompts them to add this. If students have already included this on the list, I would star it to remind students that our attitude toward reading is just as important as the strategies we use.
The next activity lays the foundation for the purpose of our reader’s–workshop: to grow as readers. Students are given an interactive notebook template which becomes one of the very first entries in their reader’s notebook. During this activity, we brainstorm various strategies that have helped them with their accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.
I teach third grade, so my students come to me with a variety of strategies they have learned and continue to use. Together, we create these lists of strategies and write them under the appropriate flaps in their readers’ notebooks. I find it easier to take one component at a time. i.e. We begin with accuracy and then move on to fluency, etc. (Note: the objective isn’t to list ALL the strategies, but to list main ones students use that are helpful to them. At the end of the lesson, I share with students that we will be adding strategies throughout the year as new ones are introduced during reader’s–workshop.)
You can download this complete lesson in its entirety by subscribing to my free resource library.
Setting Reading Goals for Reader’s Workshop
To wrap up this activity, I begin to talk about how every reader has different strengths and weaknesses, and that during reader’s– workshop, we will be exploring our own strengths and weaknesses so that we can set goals to help us grow as readers. I explain that everyone will have different goals based on where they are and what will help them. I also explain these goals change, just as Wolf adjusted his goals throughout his journey in becoming a reader.
Not only has this anchor lesson been powerful in helping my students understand the purpose of reader’s–workshop and to foster students’ growth mindset, but it has also set the stage for next steps: reflecting about themselves as readers and setting goals.
(See my blog post about setting specific reading goals students can understand and manage.)
I hope you will take a moment to read this wonderful story and find a way to incorporate it into launching your reader’s–workshop. If you are interested in more seed lessons for launching reading strategies, click the resource cover below.
Using a narrative poem like Shel Silverstein’s Crocodile’s Toothache is a perfect example. It has a topic with which most students can relate: going to the dentist or having a toothache. It has a speaker that tells the story 3rd person, and it has a lot of dialogue and action between two very animated characters: the evil dentist who has no consideration for the crocodile’s feelings and the crocodile who is in agony and at the mercy of the evil dentist. It’s humorous. It’s of high interest to students. It’s easy to analyze the characters’ traits, feelings, and motives by what they say or do.
When students can naturally connect with a text because they can easily relate to the topic or story situation, or they can make connections with the character’s experience in the story, it makes this expectation much more tangible for them. If we begin with these types of texts, students are better equipped to express their perspectives and why they agree or disagree with the character’s or narrator’s point of view based on their own experiences, beliefs, values, feelings, or attitudes.
