Reading+Workshop+Rules

1. You must read a book. Magazines, newspapers, and comic books don’t have the chunks of text you need to develop fluency, and they won’t help you discover who you are as a reader of literature. 2. Don’t read a book you don’t like. Don’t waste time with a book you don’t love when there are so many great ones out there waiting for you. 3. If you don’t like your book, find another one. Browse, ask me or a friend for a recommendation, or check out the “Favorite Books” list or display. 4. It’s all right to reread a book you love. This is what readers do. 5. It’s okay to skim or skip parts if you get bored or stuck; readers do this, too. 6. Record every book you finish or abandon on the form in your reading notebook. Collect data about yourself as a reader, look for patterns, and take satisfaction in your accomplishments over time. 7. Understand that reading is thinking. Do nothing to distract me or other readers. Don’t put your words into our brains as we’re trying to escape into the worlds created by the authors of our books. 8. When you confer with me, use as soft a voice as I use when I talk to you: whisper. 9. Read (and write in your reading journal) the whole time. 10. Read as well and as much as you can.