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Reading is a skill, like playing the flute or swimming. When you want to learn a skill, you need to be doing the thing. Guthrie & Homesick (2014) found that reading volume predicted reading comprehension and that dramatic increases in reading volume are important for thoughtful literacy proficiencies.
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PNA supports the overwhelming amount of research on the need for students to spend time actually reading. In third grade, reading workshop is an important part of daily instruction. It begins with a whole group mini-lesson where students are explicitly taught a powerful reading strategy. Then, students choose a good reading spot where they can settle down and continue their independent reading work. Students also receive feedback during individual or small group conferences. A reading workshop usually ends with readers sharing a little bit of what they read and the strategies they used to understand the story. To support reading workshop, students are also encouraged to read 20 minutes each night
Making prediction is one of the skills emphasized in third grade. This skill enables readers to become active readers instead of passive bystanders. Look at the reading learning progression that happened in third grade. The first picture on the left shows students’ prediction before the workshop and the picture on the right shows prediction done during the reading workshop.
