Reading Workshop 2.0: Supporting Readers in the Digital Age

by Frank Serafini

As reading teachers, how do we deal with the massive shifts that digital literacy is creating? We can't abandon what we know works to keep up with the latest online-literacy fads. Yet, we need to prepare readers for a world of digital content. Reading Workshop 2.0 gives us teaching that puts reading for meaning first while also balancing the need for kids to become sophisticated users of books as well as online reading resources. "This book," writes Frank Serafini, "is designed to help teachers organize their reading workshops in order to take advantage of the latest technologies." With his guidance, you'll bring more digital reading into your teaching without sacrificing sound instructional principles or practices. Reading print shares four essential processes with digital accessing and navigating; archiving and sharing; commenting and discussing; and interpreting and analyzing. Frank introduces important, well-established digitally based resources that further these processes, while his lesson ideas transfer learning from classroom to real-world digital reading. "If it doesn't help children develop as readers," writes Frank Serafini, "it doesn't matter how shiny the new object is." With Reading Workshop 2.0 , you'll help students with print while also helping them use online resources and technologies as they are intended-to make sense of texts more deeply, effectively, and efficiently.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2015

About the author

Dr. Frank Serafini is an author, illustrator, photographer, educator, musician, and a Professor of Literacy Education and Children’s Literature at Arizona State University.
Frank has published seven books with Heinemann, including: The Reading Workshop, Reading Aloud and Beyond, Lessons in Comprehension, and Around the Reading Workshop in 180 Days and Classroom Reading Assessments which will be available in 2010. In addition, Frank has published Reading the Visual (2014) and Beyond the Visual (2022) with Teachers College Press.
In 2008, Frank began writing and illustrating a series of non-fiction picturebooks focusing on nature with Kids Can Press. The Looking Closely series contains books about the desert, garden, pond, rainforest, shore and forest. In 2009, Looking Closely Along the Shore won an International Reading Association’s Teachers’ Choice Award, and Honorable Mention from the Society of School Librarians International.
A true “Renaissance Man,” Frank loves to travel, sing, play guitar, cook, draw, read, visit art galleries, and watch movies. His workshops are packed with important information and practical ideas, all delivered with a great sense of humor.

Reviews

[Kris Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Serafini admits in the Epilogue that the writing for Reading Workshop 2.0 felt rushed.
Well, I would say, it sounded rushed.

Little attention to online tools for our youngest learners. That's fine, except I would prefer a subtitle that mentions middle school/high school or young adults. I'm sure Heinemann wouldn't dare risk losing a single sale by adding grade level parameters.

He repeatedly points to Goodreads as a powerful reading workshop tool. I agree, but there is no mention that Goodreads is not COPPA compliant for readers under 13. Thank goodness for Biblionasium.com!

Dear Dr. Serafini,
If you're reading this, I'd be happy to co-write your next edition.
You're welcome. Kris Patrick

[Kellee Moye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=7088

Loved this expansion on the traditional reading workshop. Filled with theory, resources, and practical practices, this PD text was very beneficial!

When I read a professional text, I hope that it is a perfect mix of theory and practical practices so that not only do I understand the WHY and WHAT but also the HOW. This book does just that. Part One of the text deals with the foundations of reading workshop. Dr. Serafini shares a brief overview of what can be found in his initial book about workshop, The Reading Workshop: Creating Space for Readers, including the “Ten Theoretical Principles About Teaching Reading,” “Pedagogical Strands” of reading workshop, and “Instructional Components of the Reading Workshop.” As I haven’t read any other texts by Dr. Serafini, I loved this overview (this will be fixed soon though as I have now bought 4 others books by him!). Throughout this part of the book, I found myself thinking, “YES!” and wanting to go share what I was reading with every teacher I knew. He writes about much of what I stand for when it comes to teaching reading.

Part two jumps into the 2.0 part of the text. He breaks up this part into four processes that should be added to reading workshop to move it into the digital age: “Accessing and Navigating Digital Texts,” “Archiving and Sharing Our Reading Lives,” “Commenting on and Discussing Digital Texts,” and “Interpreting and Analyzing Digital Texts.” He stresses throughout that this isn’t instead of reading workshop, this is along with. Students must get familiar with digital texts, so our workshops really need to move to 2.0. Within each chapter on a process, he gives information, resources, and explicit lessons for teaching the process. So informative and practical.

Loved this expansion on the traditional reading workshop. Filled with theory, resources, and practical practices, this PD text was very beneficial!

[Mr. Halter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short read offered a number of useful digital tools that can be used to support reading and writing in the classroom. It also provided sample lessons to incorporate some of the tools naturally into the current instruction that is given.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While he comes across as slightly more full of himself than my favorite teacher authors (hence no five star rating), Serafini's book is full of practical ideas and solid pedagogy. The first half of the book is about the thinking behind his work, and I took copious notes. The second half of the book is more about practical applications, and I found myself underlining instead. The very nature of the book made me hyper-aware of how I was interacting with it. It is, of course, challenging to write about digital resources when they are continually changing, but he did a good job at presenting both categories and specific examples. I will be seeking out his other work as well.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a proponent of Reading Workshop, and using it currently in your classroom, this book will be a great resource for you. Serafini uses the first part of the book to review the basics of Reading Workshop, in the second part of the book he concentrates on using web 2.0 apps and websites to drag your workshop into the 21st century. The most sincere theme in this book is Serafini's commitment to not using technology for technology's sake. The resources highlighted in this book all take reading instruction to places paper, pencil and whiteboard can't reach.

[Sarah Krajewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of what Serafini mentions in this book is accurate and important when establishing a reading workshop environment; however, teachers many benefit more from a book with more samples and examples from actual classrooms. Serafini mentions great digital tools, but there are so many others that are left out. Great ideas in here, but I've read other books that are much more helpful to a classroom teacher.

[Lauren Gifford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read especially when trying to find a balance in theory and practice for our digitally driven children.

[Mckaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more practical applications that I could use in the classroom.

[Becky Feldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book for resources on implementing the workshop model with technology.