Scheduling a language arts block

Voluminous practice is the only route to reading proficiency. Voluminous practice builds stamina, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. It sharpens tastes and preferences. It gives children knowledge of genres, authors, and literary features, and it encourages the development of critical and analytical skills. Every national and international assessment shows that the best student readers are the habitual, independent readers. -Nancie Atwell's Elements for a Successful Reading Workshop

If you know me well, you know that a few summers ago I read Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller. You also might know how much of an impact this one single text has made on me as a teacher. Donalyn Miller saved my life, and in turn will help me save the lives of countless readers. RITW helped me think outside of the box. It made me start at the beginning. I knew I wanted my kids to LOVE reading. I knew I wanted to help nurture and grow readers, but that I also wanted them to be readers after they left me. Donalyn includes a section about scheduling that I highly recommend. It helped me take a look at what I was doing and sweep away all the "other things" that steal precious time. Our time is precious and we want kids to look forward to all aspects of our class. It brings me great joy when my kids say "What... It's time to go? No!!" 

When approaching the work of scheduling a language arts block, as teachers we must take an honest look at the way we currently schedule. Does your school give you enough time to teach all that you are required to teach? Has your administration, in partnership with teachers, decided to take a look at the blocks and make sure that they best serve children? Do children have time to actually read and write during the school day? If these conversations are not happening in your building, but you are looking at a 50 minute block to teach both reading and writing, I first and foremost, encourage you to reach out to your administration and get the conversation started. Also, ask yourself if there are things in your schedule that don't need to be there. Seat work, worksheets, morning work, mini-lessons that aren't so mini... look at each item and if it is not authentic or in the best interest of your kids, then it needs to go.

Before We Get Started: For this post, I am going to assume that you teach both reading and writing. You are probably also responsible for spelling, word study or word work as well, we use more of a word study approach in my classroom. I also use Lucy Calkins Reading Workshop and Writing Workshop Units of Study. The units allot for independent practice time in both reading and writing and that is a component that is very important to me. We already know that grammar should not be taught in isolation (it took me too long to figure that one out), so that is integrated into Writing Workshop, mostly in small group work and conferencing or embedded in the work we do together as part of Guided Practice. 

MY NON-NEGOTIABLES 

• Read Aloud
• Reading Workshop 
• Writing Workshop
• Word Study

READ ALOUD 
Researchers and practitioners stand in solidarity: the practice of reading aloud throughout the grades is not only viable but also best practice. Read-aloud is an essential practice in teaching literacy in grades K-12. Steven L. Layne, In Defense of Read-Aloud: Sustaining Best Practice

I know you all will say that you spend time engaged with read aloud every single day. It's one of those key elements that doesn't get chopped. Even when there's a pop up fire drill, a two-hour delay or a dreaded state testing date. We know that reading aloud to children has many benefits including exposure to higher level texts, ones we cannot yet read independently, modeling of a fluent reader, exposure to new genres or series and a chance to compare characters to ourselves. Teachers of ALL grade levels should be using read aloud in their classrooms, this is not a practice that should be secluded to only early elementary teachers.

Read the first book in a series to get kids hooked. We did this with Margaret Peterson Haddix's Among the Hidden, book one in her Shadow Children series. The kids were begging for book two. This read-aloud was recommended to me by the fifth grade math teacher in my building. 

Choose a book that sets the tone for the school year, like Phil Bildner's A Whole New Ballgame. Mr. Acevedo is an inspiration. Theatrical read aloud? Check. Cool tattoos? Check. No Worksheet Zone? Check. Focusing on the Whole Child? Check. This read aloud will help students understand classroom expectations and show them that they are a part of a family.

Pick a book that has shorter chapters, ones that end on cliffhangers almost every single time. Kids are always super engaged with Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick. We read this book aloud during the nonfiction unit Reading the Weather, Reading the World. While we are immersed in research and nonfiction reading and writing, we have a historical fiction read-aloud to help us really feel the emotional impact of extreme weather. 

Mix up genres. Fiction chapter books are not your only choice for read aloud, yet so many teachers ONLY READ FICTIONAL CHAPTER BOOKS OUT LOUD. We want kids to have exposure to all kinds of different genres and format. Consider a 50/50 nonfiction, fiction balance. Consider audiobooks, web articles, PICTURE BOOKS, interviews and other firsthand accounts and more. We participate in Classroom Picture Book a Day and we choose books that tie into our workshop mini lessons, or teach us how to be kind, or make us belly laugh, or challenge our thinking. Somedays we read a chapter book or article and others two picture books. Sometimes we do a picture book to start class and a chapter in a chapter book to close out the class. There are no rules, so there's no need to stress yourself out. Read aloud every single day. This work grows hearts and helps nurture a love of reading. It's worth your time.

Alloted Classroom Time: Anywhere from 10-30 minutes
Further Reading: In Defense of Read-Aloud: Sustaining Best Practice by Steven L. Layne

READING WORKSHOP
This series builds on decades of teaching and research—in literally tens of thousands of schools. In states across the country, this curriculum has already given young people extraordinary power, not only as readers, but also as thinkers. When young people are explicitly taught the skills and strategies of proficient reading and are invited to live as richly literate people do, carrying books everywhere, bringing reading into every nook and corner of their lives, the results are dramatic. Lucy Calkins on Reading Workshop Units of Study

Not all teachers that use workshop use Lucy Calkins and her Units of Study. Workshop is really a format in which you can teach reading, writing and I'm sure, other areas. A general format would include a mini-lesson, independent reading time and then share. This year I have the new Units of Study so that is what I use in my classroom. Over the past two years I pieced together free workshop mini-lessons I found online and made it work. This is the format I choose to go with because it supports what I know to be important when it comes to teaching kids how to read. You have direct instruction, time to read and access to real books, support from a lead learner during that reading time and then a chance to communicate with classmates about what is being read. This set up supports and helps grow readers.

One thing I have seen many workshop classrooms do is level their libraries. I believe this comes from the focus on readers having time to spend in "just right book." Students might "shop" during the week for more JR books for their book bins, etc. This is one aspect of workshop that does not fall in line with my personal philosophies. 

Picture this: a classroom focusing heavily on a child's reading level. The child knows their level, their parents won't really let them read books that aren't on that level, their teacher won't either. They have a limited amount of M bins to choose from in their classroom. There might even be a color coordinating to that letter. What happens to our little friend when they decide to visit a public library? Will our friend be searching to find his M bin, only to find many different titles organized by the author's last name? YES, HE WILL, because this is how the world is set up. Book stores and libraries are not leveled. What are you getting them ready for? No place on the face of the earth is set up like this.

Stop limiting children by assuming that they do not have the ability to evaluate books for themselves. How insulting. Do you know how kids survive in my classroom without any knowledge of their reading level? Do you know how kids choose books in my classroom without any knowledge of their reading level? It's simple. Their library is organized by genre, and there is a section with different formats: graphic novels and audiobooks. They learn how to find books organized alphabetically by an author's last name. They learn that it's okay to abandon a book if it is more of a "not yet" fit. Mini lessons give readers the tools they need to be readers outside of the doors of the school building. When a book is too hard, when we have given a book enough of a chance and we're just not into it, how to prioritize a TBR list, how to talk about books with friends, ones we've loved and all the others. When we give readers the tools, they will use them. So, get rid of the labeled bins and the limitations. I read books that aren't on my reading level all the time. I bet you do the same. Actually, I don't even know what my level is. Do you?

While the kids are reading, you are conferring with readers or pulling small groups. You get to know readers and their interests. Since you are someone who reads you can start recommending books to them and seeing patterns and holes in their reading lives. Still concerned about kids not being able to choose their own books? This is when those conversations and guided moments come into play. If a student is continuously choosing books that are too difficult for them it will be easy to see in a reading conference. I'm asking you to talk to your readers. Build a community where you are constantly talking about books with your kids and they are constantly talking about books with each other.

Alloted Classroom Time: 45-60 minutes
  Mini-Lesson: 7-10 minutes
  Independent Reading: 15-30 minutes
  Share: 7-10 minutes
Further Reading: Revisiting the Reading Workshop by Barbara Orehovec & Marybeth Alley


WRITING WORKSHOP
At the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, we have been working for three decades to develop, pilot, revise, and implement state-of-the art curriculum in writing. We have had a chance to do this work under the influence of Common Core for the past few years, and this series—this treasure chest of experiences, theories, techniques, tried-and-true methods, and questions—will bring the results of that work to you. Lucy Calkins on Writing Workshop Units of Study

​Just like teachers of reading need to be readers, teachers of writing need to be writers. Writing is difficult to teach. It's so complex and so open ended. I haven't always felt confident with my abilities to teach writing, but then again, I haven't always identified myself as a writer. I think when you put yourself in the same position as your students it's easier to support them. Perhaps the random writing prompts aren't really what writers need. When we put on the vunerability of being a writer we can work together in a community of writers, supporting each other along the way.

Since beginning to work with workshop curriculum in the area of writing I have been blown away by the results. Most of my students are highly engaged with writing and often want to work on their writing at home. We treat writers as authors because that is what they really are. We use the same format as Reading Workshop and at the close of a unit we throw a celebration. Something I have been working on more is sharing their writing with a larger audience. When my kids knew that their last narrative piece was going to be public on Kid Blog, it took on a whole new meaning. I have been brainstorming with my principal about schoolwide writing displays and ideas for reaching out to local businesses that could display our stories.

Writing Workshop gives kids a voice and it still provides choice for them. They decide what they are writing and they are the one in charge. My mini lessons guide them along the way. They show they how to create a story arc in narrative writing, they teach them how to keep focus in an essay. Writing is quickly becoming my favorite area because of the abilities of my students when their classroom conditions are more conductive to creativity and freedom. Sharing is extremely important in workshop, writing is no exception. Once you have highly engaged writers, sharing is what they look forward to the most!

Alloted Classroom Time: 45-60 minutes
  Mini-Lesson: 7-10 minutes
  Independent Writing: 15-30 minutes
  Share: 7-10 minutes
Further Reading: Launching the Writing Workshop by Denise Leograndis

WORKSHOP SCHEDULING
If you do not have the time each day to do both reading and writing workshop, you could try one of the following options:

• Decide to do an alternating schedule where you do RW three days a week and WW two days a week, then flip the next week. This would probably be ideal if you have a 50-60 minute block. Indepedent time could be as low as 15 minutes, but anything lower than that will not give students a chance to get into the reading or writing zone.
• You could also decide to only do RW or WW for a full week, but still give kids 15-20 minutes for the opposite independent time. For example: All RW for one week, but also include 15 minutes of daily independent writing, just no mini lesson. The next week would be all WW, but include 15 minutes of daily independent reading, just no mini lesson.
• None of these are ideal, but I understand that many teachers are working with very tight time constraints. Also consider using time that would have been for morning work for 15-20 minutes of independent reading or writing. Find the time wherever you can.

WORD STUDY
This is an area that I do not feel fully confident with, yet. This year our fourth graders overall struggle with phonics. Not all of our students, but we have realized that they are missing some of those foundational skills that should be present by fourth grade. We completely revamped the way we do word study with the help of the third grade team in my building. We loved what they were doing with their kids and they have been supporting us along the way all year. The approach we take is a blended one.

• We start with Words Their Way Inventories at the start of the year. This helps us see which spelling stage each of our kids falls into.

• ​From there we decide on an appropriate place to start following an Orton-Gillingham progression that can be found in this gem of a book, Recipe for Reading. 
• Recipe for Reading also includes phonics rules that we use for weekly mini-lessons, along with word lists. For more word lists we consult the Words Their Way book.
• We then create three differentiated lists that we use over a two-week period. All lists follow the same rule or pattern. For instance: if we are working on "ee" versus "ea" each list would contain words that have either pattern. The words are more complex on the last list. My Intervention Specialist creates a list for our IEP students that follow the same pattern as well, so we are all working on the same rules.
• The kids spend two weeks in stations working on just the pattern or rule we assign for the week. During the stations students decide where they want to go, and I conduct a teacher's station every day. The students are required to visit the student station twice in a  two week period.
• Instead of doing a traditional test, we have an assessment where students spell five words from their list and five words that are not on their list but require them to apply the week's rule for correct spelling. We don't want to see if students can memorize words, we want to see if they can apply the rule in new words and if it transfers into their writing.

This approach is not perfect, but it has been working very well for us this year. Students love the stations and we have even seen some solid transfer in their independent writing. We have plans to move into more roots and affixes towards the end of the year when we seen phonological improvement. There is always room for improvement and we are constantly working on making word study better!

Alloted Classroom Time: 10-20 minutes 
Further Reading: Listed Above

SEARCHING FOR LOST TIME

• Get rid of morning work or other busy work. This is a great time for independent reading or writing.
• Start class ASAP. Sometimes we have so much extra time between announcements and getting started for the day. Have the kids in a routine where they know what will come next, their supplies should be ready and you can start straight away.
• Keep your mini lessons mini. Set a timer until you get it close to 7 minutes, don't ask kids questions during this time, no sharing during this time, this is for direct instruction only.
• Keep kids moving during transitions. Time your kids during their transitions when you go back to school tomorrow, I guarantee you'll find some extra time to be trimmed away.
• Classroom management. Set the expectations from day one and build strong relationships. When students feel valued and respected while they use curriculum that values their interests and voices, "behavioral issues" often disappear. Keep the worksheets, busy work and books they don't care about then kids often have no choice but to be disengaged.
• Tests and Quizzes. Don't over assess students. If you are conducting weekly tests when you could be conferring with readers and writers then maybe reevaluate the purpose those assessments serve. You can probably condense. 

MY SCHEDULE (2 HOURS)
Read Aloud: 10 minutes 
Reading Workshop: 45 minutes 
Writing Workshop: 45 minutes 
Word Study: 20 minutes 

I have two hours for each of my ELA blocks. I realize that many teachers do not have this same generous amount of time. If I was in a self contained classroom I would make sure to have at least two hours for ELA. Ideally, two and a half hours would be best.

If you are looking at blocks that are more like 50, 55, 60 or 80 minutes I would suggest trying some of the above methods. Try shortening your workshop times, or maybe staggering your days. With word study, since we spread it out over two weeks if we need to skip a day to make room for something else, we can, because two weeks is more than enough time for a pattern/rule study. We also can utilize an every other day schedule with word study if needed.

Be creative and don't be afraid to try out a new schedule. Staggering days will probably be the best way to go for most of you with really big time constraints. Again, consider approaching other teachers in your grade level and your administration when it comes to more time. For your convenience I have listed the amount of standards you are required to cover versus other subject areas, it might be beneficial to use that as a focal point in the conversation. While we don't all want to focus solely on Common Core (for many reasons), your Admin still expects you to teach the standards, so this is good information to have.

3rd Grade Language Arts
80 Standards (including sub standards in the areas of foundations, speaking and listening and language)

3rd Grade Math
33 Standards (including sub standards in the areas of measurements & data  and numbers & operations-fractions)

3rd Grade Science
18 Standards


4th Grade Language Arts
76 Standards (including sub standards in the areas of foundations, speaking and listening and language)

4th Grade Math
34 Standards (including sub standards in the areas of measurements & data  and numbers & operations-fractions)

4th Grade Science
17 Standards


5th Grade Language Arts
74 Standards (including sub standards in the areas of foundations, speaking and listening and language)

5th Grade Math
34 Standards (including sub standards in the areas of measurements & data  and numbers & operations-fractions)

5th Grade Science
16 Standards

I list these standards out not to create a division among departmentalized content areas, but to help look at the big picture. Of course we want kids spending time in every subject area, every single day. Maybe looking at the demands of each area could help when deciding where time is best spent. I know that our students need to spend time reading and writing each day. Maybe it's time to look at more than just content. In what ways can our work cross multiple content areas? Aren't we all reading and writing teachers when it comes down to it?