Chelsea Prep is dedicated to achieving excellence in education for every student. Our mission is to deliver a rigorous standards-based curriculum which promotes analytical thinking, content knowledge and independence. Students are engaged in a balanced literacy program and use a problem solving approach in order to become lifelong problem solvers and readers.
Reading and writing workshop

PS 33 employs a research-based reading and writing curriculum developed by Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. The teacher-educators from this research and staff development organization are involved in long-lasting collaborations with teachers across the world. The Project has a deep and enduring affiliation with six hundred schools, and develops ideas that are foundational to literacy instruction.For more information on TCRWP, please visit their website: http://tc.readingandwritingproject.com
Writing Workshop
Each writing period starts with a mini-lesson from the teacher. During this time, the teacher will instruct the whole class on a writing technique that is not just appropriate to that unit of study, but to their life as a writer. Students will have the opportunity to engage this skill while still in a whole group; this is an opportunity for them to try it out before working independently.
TCRWP views literacy development as a progression. Writing structures build upon eachother and allow multiple entry points for students of all levels. Below you can find the progressions for the three types of writing your child will be focused on.
- Independent writing is the time when students are working on their own writing. Students work within specific genres, but each individual student generates his/her own ideas.
- In Kindergarten-second grade, students use writing folders. In third-fifth grade, students work in their own Writers Notebook, collecting artifacts, ideas, and storylines for their future writing.
- The writing process is a major focus in all grades. Students are taught to brainstorm ideas, draft a story, revise and edit that story and publish their writing into a final piece.
- Revision and editing are two areas of the writing process that are emphasized in each unit.
TCRWP views literacy development as a progression. Writing structures build upon eachother and allow multiple entry points for students of all levels. Below you can find the progressions for the three types of writing your child will be focused on.
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All Grades Opinion Writing Progression |
reading workshop
Similiar to writing workshop, reading workshop starts with a mini-lesson. TCRWP reading instruction relies on research that shows that children need to read a lot of texts, with high comprehension, in order to become a proficient reader. TCRWP reading workshops are structured to allow for students to read (eyes on print) every day for 30-40 minutes in the reading workshop. Volume is vigilantly watched.
What Does Reading Workshop Look Like?
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What does this mean for students?
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