Interconnected Skills - part 1

I've been working on this for quite some time.

In the Ontario Currculum, there states (in reading, for Grade 6):

In conversation with past colleagues and experts, my journey towards this has taken many different paths - some fruitful, but many not!

This year, in my Grade 6 class I had a few reservations and changes. My first concern was that the students would find it too difficult to look at the OTHER skills and apply it to reading. I decided, to start at least, to focus on reading first then look outwards. My focus then became: How does reading help make you a better listener? speaker? writer? viewer? representer?

My other concern was due, to a large part, the flexible and free structure of my writer's workshop. Using technology so intensively, immersing every subject in tech, lead to this idea - could they see a difference between writing and representing? Using media within our writing - what is it now?

I approached my reader's and writer's workshop this year with that in mind. I knew the lines between the seemingly artificial categories were becoming blurry - to me, and I felt, especially for my students. Growing up surrounded by media, what then is the difference? The process seems to be universal!

I started my year off with the specific language of PRODUCER and CONSUMER. In that I mean that the reader's workshop would become that of the Consumer's Workshop - where we work on strategies to effectively consume information. My writer's workshop became the Producer's Workshop - where we work on strategies to effectively produce information.