To get our kids into reading and more importantly the grand world of ideas we must show them ways to create personal meaning in and from any piece of text. To do that, we must teach them ways to talk back to and interact with every text by marking the text and THEN annotating in the margins--learning out loud! I'll share my experiences as a workshop model teacher on both a professional and personal level, sharing how workshop model has helped my kids at school, me as a teacher, and my daughter in her freshman year of college. I'm part of my district's Workshop Model cohort with Cris Tovani and Sam Bennett. I'm studying under them in workshops and they will be in our classrooms this year!

1. Workshop Model:
Getting kids to talk back
to any text and enjoy
(not fear) reading.
#RSCON4 session by Laura Gilchrist

2. A little about me!!
Laura Gilchrist
6th
grade Science and Social Studies
Educator, 19th
year
My husband and I have 17 and 19 year old daughters
and a PUG and CHIHUAHUA!
Passions: Nature, Birding, Photography, Bringing people
together in learning and fun to create opportunities for kids
1st
e-Conference! Excited and oh, a little nervous!! 
WELCOME!! Happy
we’re at RSCON4 together!

3. How do we get kids talking with text and opening
up to LEARNING from it?
Typical Classroom: Textbooks. Worksheets. Paper.
Kids are seen LOOKING AT TEXT in a textbook they can’t touch and then FILLING
OUT COLD STERILE WORKSHEET.
Workshop Model Classroom: Real HANDS-ON Conversation with TEXT involves
getting messy and colorful; taking a quiet time to read, mark up, talk back to the
TEXT….Kids ENJOY IT!! Time for conferring time with teacher helps kids read!
They have time to PROCESS the content and learn new words and skills.
It’s all about Conversation

4. Here’s my story about the power of CONVERSATION
with text and how it has moved my kids, my daughters, and
ME as a teacher into a happy place of behavioral, emotional,
and cognitive growth!
It’s all about Conversation
The start of one of my stories…The start of one of my stories…
College move-in Day!College move-in Day!

5. cclicensed(BYNCSA)flickrphotobyPhilDragash:http://flickr.com/photos/philman/8569339336/
This is how we
set our children
up to work with
text:
HANDS-
OFF
Distant. Lifeless.
Mute.
Irrelevant.
This is how we
set our children
up to work with
text:
HANDS-
OFF
Distant. Lifeless.
Mute.
Irrelevant.
The TextThe Text
Our kids…
LOOKING
at the Text.
Our kids…
LOOKING
at the Text.
We need to change the dynamics of this picture.

6. Kids: Grab your
highlighters and
pens, or your stylus
because it’s….
Time to
Get Personal
With TEXT! A
publicatio
n of

7. Kids need to…cclicensed(BY)Flickrphotobyzeevveez: Talk BACK
To the TEXT—Get personal
SHAKE HANDS
WITH THE TEXT
cclicensed(BYNCND)flickrphotobyPeter
MARKING the TEXT ANNOTATING
In the margins!

8. Nice to meet you!
cclicensed(BY)flickrphotobyzeevveez:
1. Meet the text and
Shake hands with it
By marking the text with
highlighters, pens, pencils,
sticky notes, and more they
GET TO KNOW IT!!
The big hand represents the
texts we want
kids to be able to read!
cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo
by Seth

9. 2. ANNOTATE—
WRITE thoughts, questions, ideas in the margins!
-WHEN YOU TALK back, PUT YOUR thoughts, ideas, questions INTO THE
MARGINS. Teacher can see what you’re thinking and can talk with you, help
you and guide you. You might find inspiration and happiness there!
Now Let’s Talk!
cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by timrb
cclicensed(BYNCND)flickr
photobyPeter
I wonder
what
they’re
talking
about. 
I wonder
what
they’re
talking
about. 

10. Marking the text and Annotating
(Writing in the Margins)
*Look at the attention paid to the
words/text via the highlighting and
writing in the margins.
Student was ACTIVELY
reading/processing and creating
metaphors. Did marking
text/annotating before metaphor
drawings.
I see the
power in this 

11. I see the
power in this 
Marking the text AND Annotating
(Writing in the Margins)
--Invites kids to get TO KNOW the text
and see that they CAN READ IT and
get smarter from it.

12. And NOT in this
The same text as previous page.
Lifeless. Untouched.
--Kids just LOOK at it and
maybe touch it. HA!
They answer Questions on
another sheet of paper.
PASSIVE.
Kids need to be DOING!
Circling, underlining, making
connections to self, wondering,
thinking and then talking to others,
like classmates and the teacher
about their thoughts and their
reading.

14. How can the
teacher….
…help kids read for understanding if he/she can’t tell
what students are EVEN thinking?
If kids put their thinking in the margins, teachers WILL BE
ABLE TO see what kids are thinking and HELP kids one
on one during Annotating time--CONFERRING!

15. I tell the kids: If you were having a conversation with a PERSON, you would be
a GOOD LISTENER and give 100% attention to the person. In this case, the person is
the text.
Since we are good listeners, this is a time of quiet and
focus on that ‘person,’ the text!!
BONUS: During TEXT TALK TIME, the TEACHER confers with kids as they’re reading—
going around and HELPING THEM to get meaning from text and increase skills.
Teachers use the comments/annotations in the margins to see where kids are at!!
Classroom
management tips:

16. While kids are GETTING PERSONAL with the text through marking and annotating,
YOU, the teacher, are freed to look at comments and HELP the kids make more
meaning; use new strategies!
*****Get out there with the kids and
help them one to one!!*********
Power of Workshop Model:
Relationships and worktime
WITH both TEXT AND TEACHERS!
Conferring!
Cris Tovani and Sam Bennett; my Workshop
Model Gurus at a North Kansas City Schools
‘modeling’ a lesson for teachers!

17. MODEL marking the text and DO IT WITH THE KIDS!
-SHOW your Marking and Annotating on the doc camera if you can.
-There is no ‘right’ way to mark the text.
-Annotating—provide starters and examples and just THINK OUT
LOUD ON THE SAME PAPER the kids are reading.
*****BE A LEARNER WITH YOUR KIDS!*********
Model it!

18. No Text shall scare the kids
any more when they know
Workshop Model!
They can mark up and learn from any text!
It may take longer to get to know some texts,
but kids will know they can do it!
NO FEAR!

19. Problem: TEST is over 5
chapters and the lectures!!
LAMENT:“I just took 11
pages of notes from the
chapters and I don’t know
ONE THING! I’m going
To FAIL!”
I have a SOLUTION!!! ~mom 
The story of a college
freshman… My daughter’s STORY:
http://lauragilchrist.blogspot.com/2013/09/s
My daughter’s STORY:
http://lauragilchrist.blogspot.com/2013/09/s

20. Annotating
Using tech!
Idea: Kids can take a picture of the text they want to annotate, then upload and annotate in tech tool!
Idea: Kids can mark and annotate on paper (using pens, hilighters, sticky notes or dry erase surface)
around text and then take a picture and upload to their ePortfolio or their docs.
Question came up at RSCON about best web/app tools for annotating with tech.
Another question was raised about best tools for annotating text as a group!
Great questions.
(Google docs, Subtext, and more were shared)
I’m just getting into the tech side of Workshop Model. More later!

21. I asked two of my
students…. VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=jmkCtECEZ88&feature=youtu.be
VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=jmkCtECEZ88&feature=youtu.be

22. 1. Shaking Hands with the Text
MARKING THE TEXT—like shaking hands.
-Circling words they don’t know
-Underlining and/or highlighting things they think are important
-Kids need to find their own style; no one right way; highly personal
-MODEL marking the text and DO IT WITH THE KIDS! SHOW your writing on
the doc camera if you can. BE A LEARNER WITH YOUR KIDS!
2. Talking to the Text
ANNOTATING the TEXT—like talking to the text!!
-WHEN YOU TALK, YOUR WORDS ARE SPILLED INTO THE MARGINS. Teacher
can see what you’re thinking and can talk with you then, too!
Recap!

23. BY Laura Gilchrist.
@lauragilchrist4