What's Roasting in Reader's Workshop?

Roasting in Reader's Workshop! on PhotoPeach What’s Roasting in Reader's Workshop?
Readers Workshop is a strategy to develop strong reading skills through the use of a mini-lesson, shared reading, read aloud, conferring, paired reading, responding to literature and independent reading. Students are taught at their instructional reading level using leveled reading material. Enjoy the slideshow of our Independent Reading Time.

Here are some questions you can ask your child about their reading; choose a few each night to engage in conversation with your child about their nightly independent reading.
Before reading: Looking at the title, cover and illustrations/pictures, what do you think will happen in this book?
What characters do you think might be in the book? Do you think there will be problem in the story? Why? What do you already know about the topic of this book? Does the topic or story relate to you or your family? How? Do you think it will be like any other book you’ve read? If so, which one, and how do you think it will be similar?
During reading: What has happened so far in the story? Can you tell me using sequence words? (first, then, next, after, finally, etc.) What do you predict will happen next? How do you think the story will end? Why do you think the character did ____________? What would you have done if you were the character? How would you have felt if you were the character? When you read, what pictures did you see in your head? How did you imagine it looked like? What questions do you have? Think about the predictions you made before reading; do you still think the story will go that way? Why or why not? How do you think it will go now?
After reading: Why is the title a good title for the book/story? If you had to give it a different title, what would be another good title for it? Were your predictions correct? If there was a problem, did it get solved? How did the character try to solve the problem? What happened because of the problem? Did any of the characters change through the story? Who changed, and how did they change? Why do you think the author wrote this? What is the most important point that the author is trying to make in his/her writing? What was your favorite part? Why? If you could change one part, what would you change? If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask? Can you retell the story in sequence order (use your fingers and sequence words: first, second, then, next, etc.) Is there a character in the story that reminds you of someone you know? If so, who are they like, and why do you think that? Does this book remind you of another book you know? Does it remind you of something you’ve experienced in real life?
For fun: Have them act out a scene from the book, draw you a picture of their favorite part to decorate the refrigerator, or write a follow-up story. They can pretend they are a book reviewer reviewing the book on TV, or they can write a letter or postcard to the author. There are many creative ways to engage students in reading and have them share their reading with you!
Happy Reading!