In the letters, the students communicate about the books they are reading. They can express their thoughts about authors, plots, different genres and other topics. The major benefit of using a reading workshop is that it personalizes the English class for each student. What is interesting to one student may not be interesting to another. Reading workshop allows students a choice in what they read and provides time for independent reading.
Libraries also reap the benefits of Reading Workshop.
First, it gets students into the library. Once students get there, they may discover they like it and go back on their own. By giving students the freedom to choose a book that is interesting to them, the teacher encourages students' reading for pleasure, a goal of all libraries. See the links below for sample topics. Give students time to read without distractions.