This article first appeared in California Reader, Volume 57, Number 3, Fall 2024. “Hurry up! She’s got new books!” the circle of children shouted as I sat in their midst on a Monday morning in early spring. Those finishing their morning routine scurried to join their classmates and they all eagerly leaned forward, anticipating the gifts in the bag at my [...]
Introduction Teachers are in the business of learning. We set up our classrooms, assess our students, and create our lessons. We select books, form reading groups, and teach students in those groups regularly. We create complex daily schedules packed with readers’ (and writers’) workshops, guided reading blocks, and independent reading time. We think aloud, make sure to cover all the comprehension strategies, and use sentence [...]
Thinking Critically About Text Complexity When Selecting Leveled Books for Guided Reading...There’s no way around it—when selecting leveled books for guided reading instruction, sooner or later you’re going to have to consider levels. Leveled books aren't a new concept. Grade level, Lexile level, DRA level, Fountas and Pinnell level — all of these “readabilities” exist to support teachers as they scaffold students as they read increasingly complex texts. [...]
Building literacy with paired texts is an exciting concept in guided reading instruction. Through intentional pairing of texts, teachers present students with opportunities to develop literacy in considerable ways. The students: Develop greater comprehension on a topicAs students read paired texts, they explore similar concepts and vocabulary for greater understanding of the ideas that surround a topic. A nonfiction text may introduce the ideas and vocabulary [...]
Teacher Observation is Key in Grouping Students for Guided ReadingGrouping students for guided reading first requires that teachers ‘know their students.’ Teachers assess their students, using the tools they know—letter/sound checks, a fluency passage, a benchmarking kit. Yet somehow, when teachers put the students together, the grouping just doesn’t seem to be quite ‘right.’ Something is missing—and the missing piece is teacher observation. Teacher observation is [...]
The Importance of Finding a Place for Guided Reading in a Balanced Literacy Classroom Guided reading and balanced literacy are big ideas in literacy instruction today. The function of different approaches in a balanced curriculum offers teachers opportunities to illustrate literacy for learners along a continuum of gradual release of responsibility. Reading to, with, and by children and teachers gives comparative amounts of support [...]
Increase Independence with Activities that Extend Guided Reading There are several ways in which activities that extend guided reading increase the powerful learning that comes through guided reading instruction. First, the very best activity to extend guided reading into independent work is to make the book available to students to read after the small group instruction has concluded. As students revisit the book on their [...]
Three Considerations for Raising Achievement among English Language Learners with Guided ReadingWorking with English Language learners in guided reading presents one of the best opportunities for raising achievement among these students. Keep these three key things in mind to make guided reading an effective part of an ELL’s learning day:English Language learners shouldn’t be locked into lower levels during guided reading. Text selection for guided reading is [...]
What Guided Reading Practices Contribute to Fluency? Building fluency during guided reading is essential for developing readers. Fluency is often defined by reading rate, but also includes pausing, phrasing, stress, and intonation, all of which are related to meaning. There are several ways fluency is built during guided reading. As teachers work with students in guided reading, understanding the role and expectations of fluency development [...]
When It Comes to High-Frequency Words, Context Is Key in Guided Reading Texts!The use of high-frequency words in guided reading texts offers young readers the opportunity to learn these words as part of a wider reading process. When developing readers learn these words, such as he, she, you, I, ask, is, but, the, have, and good in context, they learn to recognize these words by sight. This supports the child to become a [...]