Workshop Model of Instruction

Vista students learn by doing. Vista classrooms feel less like school rooms and more like dynamic, and exciting workshops, where real work is being completed. Therefore Vista has adopted the research-based (Teacher’s College, Columbia University) Lucy Calkins Workshop model for readers and writers. Every literacy teacher at Vista participates in extensive training and receives ongoing support to effectively facilitate the workshop model in their classrooms.

The workshop model allows students to read widely and deeply a variety of texts at the student’s current reading level and interest. At Vista there is a significant amount of time to read independently. Students build fluency in their writing through seeing clear demonstrations of how effective writers work and applying it to their own work. The Readers’ and Writers’ Workshop has played an important role in the increased student achievement at Vista.