Reading Workshop Teacher's Notebook

Keeping accurate, concise records can vastly improve instructional practice.  I started keeping records like this under the direction of Mrs. Debi Babgy, when I taught at North Harnett Primary School in Angier, NC.  My course work at USM taught us how to do running records, but I failed to put them into practice at first. When I first started teaching, I hate to admit I used the basal reading series too heavily. Mrs. Bagby turned me on to Guided Reading/Shared Reading with Fountas and Pinnell and my journey of teaching on a child's instructional level began.  I LOVE teaching reading! The NC Literacy Assessment System at the time I was there was really good and I still use the information to guide my teaching. I especially love the folder system to keep up with writing progression.

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Added to my teaching toolbelt is the  Orton-Gillingham training which supports multi-modality instruction.  I love movement, singing, clapping, snapping and chanting, so this makes learning more fun and I believe it is what makes it stick!

I must give Beth Newingham the credit for most all of these pages, although I have added some of my own as well as a from other great teachers.
Here is Mrs. Newingham's notebook notes from the Scholastic site:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2009/11/assessment-reading-workshop

In the first section of the teacher's notebook,  I have on hand the student's guided reading levels chart which shows monthly progress/regression.

Next I have a quick access to the student's just right color codes.  This is good to have on hand when needed. This Beth Newingham chart also shows monthly progress/regression.

The reading status chart is actually one of the first things you need to do. Quickly ask each student what they are reading and what page.  This keeps you updated on what they are reading and if they are making progress independently.







 

The conference log is kept under each student section, with extra copies in a pocket near the front of the notebook.  This form (another from Beth Newingham) lets the teacher note if the conference was initiated by the teacher or students.

 Fountas and Pinnell's "Guide for Observing and Noting Reading Behaviors" checklist can be found on pages 20-21 at this site:
http://www.heinemann.com/shared/studyGuides/E01825/studyGuide.pdf
This guide addressing comprehension issues.  You can use a highlighter and date when you observe a child making these comprehension connections. Check out Newingham's site for a picture of notation on this particular file to "see" it in action.http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2009/11/assessment-reading-workshop