What is a reading mini-lesson? Reading mini-lessons are a key component in the Reading Workshop. This whole group lesson explicitly teaches students applicable strategies that they can use during independent reading.
In this post, we’ll further explain what a reading mini-lesson is and explore the key components. You may also want to check out the following posts that are a part of the reading mini-lesson series:
- 4 Types of Reading Mini-lessons
- Mini-lesson Mistakes Teachers Make
- Tips for More Effective Mini-lessons
- Essential Tools Reading Mini-lessons
What is a Reading Mini-Lesson?
Reading mini-lessons are concise, targeted whole group lessons that explicitly teach a specific skill or strategy. They should be about 10-15 minutes long – hence why they’re called “mini.” Ultimately the goal of a mini-lesson is to help students become skilled readers who can independently apply the strategies to any text they read.
Typically, you will teach one reading mini-lesson a day. The lesson will focus on ONE specific skill or strategy. These daily lessons should be presented in a logical order that gradually build off of each other. Anchor charts are frequently used to record the strategies covered in the mini-lessons. The charts provide visual reminders to students of the strategies they should be implementing during independent reading.
Components of a Reading Mini-lesson
Reading mini-lessons tend to follow the same structure. Each component is crucial for an effective mini-lesson. Recommended times are provided to help you keep your lessons “mini.” These components can also be used during Writing Workshop to teach a writing mini-lesson.
Connect (1-2 minutes)
Begin by reminding students of a skill/strategy that you worked on in a previous lesson. Connect that skill to the purpose of the new lesson.
- “Yesterday we worked on…. “
- “Remember last week when we…?”
State Teaching Point (1 minute)
Explicitly state the purpose of today’s lesson. It should be one sentence using clear language that students can easily understand and explain themselves. Let students know how this can help them as readers.
- “Good readers can…”
- “Today I want to show you how good readers…”
Teach/Model (3-5 minutes)
Use a familiar text to explicitly teach and model the strategy. Do not read the entire book! Just read the section of the text that demonstrates the targeted skill you’re teaching. This may be just the cover, a paragraph, or a few pages depending on the purpose of your lesson. The think-aloud method helps to model how the strategy works. In this method, the teacher explicitly states their thinking as they use the strategy.
- “I notice that the author…”
- “This part of the text makes me think…”
Practice (3-5 minutes)
Provide students with an opportunity to try out the skill themselves. They can turn and talk about a specific prompt or write their response on a sticky note. This is meant to be a quick chance to practice the strategy (they will have more time to practice the skill during small groups and independent reading).
- “Turn to your shoulder partner and tell them what you notice…”
- “Write down your thinking about…”
Link (1 minute)
Restate the teaching point. (Be sure to use the exact same language as the beginning of the mini-lesson). Encourage students to apply the strategy during their independent reading.
- “Today and every day, you can….”
- “During your reading today, I want you to…”
Putting it All Together
“Reading minilessons form the “glue” that connects literacy learning, makes it explicit, and turns it over to students to apply independently.” Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell
Reading mini-lessons are not isolated from the rest of your instruction. You can reinforce the skills and strategies taught during mini-lessons during reading conferences and small groups. Encourage students can to apply the strategies during independent reading.
Want more information? Watch this reading mini-lesson webinar from the mini-lesson experts themselves, Fountas and Pinnell. (You will need to create a free account in order to view the webinar.)
Do you currently use mini-lessons as a part of your Reader’s Workshop? Which components do you feel most comfortable implementing? Which components do you find the most challenging to plan for or implement? Let’s chat more in the comments!
Want to Pin this for later?
I am a student teacher who has been STRUGGLING with mini lessons in the station work the students do in my cooperating teacher’s room. With this, I now have a realistic schedule of a mini lesson. Thank you so much for the freebie!