approach that students do not receive instruction from the same teacher every time and that the groups are flexible
rather than fixed (Muraswski, 2005). According to Hines (2006), “inclusion calls for teachers to redefine roles.
General and special educators in an inclusive setting must blend ideas and those of parents, administrators, and
related service staff to enhance understanding among all who interact with students with disabilities” (p. 12).
Not only are two heads better than one, but in the co-taught classroom, two sets of hands and two sets of
eyes and ears prove beneficial to the learning process. There are numerous variations and variables involved in a
successful co-taught classroom. Presented here are ideas for incorporating reading and writing lessons in the
classroom utilizing each of the four co-teaching models.
Reader’s Workshop
Fountas and Pinnell (1996) explain the process of Reader’s Workshop as “the teacher presents a short,
focused lesson to support the effective use of reading strategies or to promote and broaden students’ knowledge
about books” (p. 32). In a co-taught classroom, Reader’s Workshop can take on many different forms depending on
the model utilized. Presented here are examples of each model and one way it can be utilized during instruction.
Alternative teaching. This approach to co-teaching involves one teacher working with a small group of
students on a specific skill while the other teacher works with the rest of the class. This method would prove
effective in a Reader’s Workshop model when the majority of the class is ready to move on to a higher level concept
or a new concept, but a few students are still struggling with a particular topic. One teacher pulls a small group of
students for review, direct or explicit teaching of a skill, while the other teacher moves on with the rest of the class.
Hines (2006) encourages teachers to rotate roles and not rely on one teacher to always do the remedial teaching.
Station teaching. During a Reader’s Workshop lesson, each teacher is responsible to teach a group of
students a specific mini-lesson or skill. After a specified amount of time, the groups switch to the other teacher and
are given instruction on that specific skill. This method is particularly effective for teachers to be able to model a
reading strategy and informally assess their students more accurately due to the smaller group size. For example,
during a lesson one teacher focuses on a particular decoding strategy (using context clues, rereading for meaning,
chunking unknown words), while the other teacher focuses on comprehension strategies (predicting, questioning, or
visualizing). With this model, students get two different skills from two different viewpoints in one lesson.
Parallel teaching. This model of co-teaching is most effective when the two teachers possess different
teaching strengths. During parallel teaching, the same concept/content is taught concurrently, each teacher
instructing half of the class. This allows for one teacher to present information more traditionally or “by the book,”
while the other teacher presents the same information in a more hands-on approach. Using this method provides
students opportunities to utilize their multiple intelligences when developing or securing new skills. An example of
such a lesson could involve one teacher modeling a comprehension strategy through think-alouds and visual
demonstration while the other teacher presents the same strategy and provides students with instruction through a
cooperative learning structure. Students should be placed in flexible groups and should be alternated between
teachers to provide the best learning opportunity. When done correctly, all students in the class benefit from
receiving instruction in various ways throughout the school year.
Team teaching. To effectively utilize this method of co-teaching, both teachers must be comfortable and
familiar with each others teaching styles. This typically takes time to develop. Once this has been achieved, team
teaching is a powerful co-teaching practice. A Reader’s Workshop lesson for team teaching involves both teachers
planning and delivering the lesson through a variety of ways: dialogue with