This collection of videos is intended as a series of demonstration lessons offering educators a common experience for discussing and exploring student learning and instructional possibilities. They are NOT intended to be “model” lessons, implying they illustrate how every lesson should be conducted nor how every series of lessons should proceed.
Starting a New Shared Reading Book with Kindergartners (Video 1 of 7)
Join literacy consultant Debra Crouch as she shares a big book with a San Diego Kindergarten class. This introductory session focuses on meaning and cognition of Which Pet is Best? Watch how Debra models her thinking about how the book works. Most conversation happens as whole-group discussion, until the turn-and-talk at the end of the book.
Shared Reading: Session 1 – Good First Teaching for All Pre-K, K, and 1st grade Readers, Using Lift Off to Literacy Copy
This session focuses on the intention behind the Shared Reading Approach. What is the purpose of Shared Reading in a rich thinking and talking curriculum? What is the role of repeated readings in Shared Reading to develop and expand language? What do we consider when choosing texts for engaging and thoughtful Shared Reading? How do we design lessons to [...]
Shared Reading: Session 2 – Extending Shared Reading for Emergent and Early Readers, Using Lift Off to Literacy Copy
This session focuses on the kinds of instruction that occur once the text has become familiar to students. What happens after we read the shared reading book? What opportunities for learning does the book offer? extending oral language and comprehension through discussions developing vocabulary knowledge exploring how words work applying foundational skills in context How can we determine appropriate [...]
Shared Reading: Session 3 – Extending Shared Reading for Emergent and Early Readers Through Writing, Using Lift Off to Literacy
This session focuses on how to bridge reading and writing instruction using Shared Reading texts. What else happens after we read the shared reading book? What opportunities for learning through writing does the book offer? Modeled Writing Shared Writing Extensions How can we support students to apply foundational skills through writing? How can we determine appropriate teaching points within [...]
Guided Reading: Session 1 – Collaborative Meaning-Making in Small Group Copy
This K-5 session focuses on coming to a common definition of guided reading designed to support student meaning-making.What is Guided Reading?What best practices are critical for an engaging and effective small group lesson?What does it mean to co-construct meaning?What role does purposeful talk play in small groups? How is talking well about a text taught?
Guided Reading: Session 2 – Focusing on Learners
This K-5 session focuses on assessments and grouping for guided reading. What assessments are necessary to inform instruction? How do I use a continuum of reading behaviors to assess and group students? How does instruction in small group change over the year and across the grades? How do I group my students and how often should I change my [...]
Guided Reading: Session 3 – Learning about Supports and Challenges in Texts Copy
This K-5 session explains the use of supports and challenges within leveled texts. What are supports and challenges in leveled texts? What does a “level” mean? What is the difference between a leveled text and a text that has been leveled? How does a teacher look beyond the level when selecting a text?
Guided Reading: Session 4 – Lessons with Emergent Readers Copy
This session focuses on lesson structure and facilitation for discussion. It highlights readers working in Levels A-D. (Grades K-1) What reading behaviors, understandings, and attitudes describe readers at these reading stages? What supports and challenges are built in to leveled texts for these readers? What does a lesson with students reading at these levels look and sound like? What [...]
Guided Reading: Session 5 – Lessons with Early/Transitional Readers Copy
This session focuses on lesson structure and facilitation for discussion. It highlights readers working in Levels E-H. (Grades K-2) What reading behaviors, understandings, and attitudes describe readers at these reading stages? What supports and challenges are built in to leveled texts for these readers? What does a lesson with students reading at these levels look and sound like? What [...]
Guided Reading: Session 6 – Lessons with Fluent Readers Copy
This session focuses on lesson structure and facilitation for discussion. It highlights readers working in Levels I-N. (Grades 2-5) What reading behaviors, understandings, and attitudes describe readers at these reading stages? What supports and challenges are built in to leveled texts for these readers? What does a lesson with students reading at these levels look and sound like? What [...]
Guided Reading: Session 7 – Lessons with Advanced Readers
This session focuses on lesson structure and facilitation for discussion. It highlights readers working in Levels O+. (Grades 3-5) What reading behaviors, understandings, and attitudes describe readers at these reading stages? What supports and challenges are built in to leveled texts for these readers? What does a lesson with students reading at these levels look and sound like? What [...]
Deepening Meaning: Returning to the Book with Kindergartners (Video 2 of 7)
This follow-up reading's focus is about deepening meaning of the book. Debra again models her thinking and invites students to turn-and-talk several times during their second reading of Which Pet is Best? Students join in reading the text aloud with the teacher as they choose. Debra uses a pointer to track the print by moving fluidly under the text, as all [...]
Building Vocabulary During Shared Reading with Kindergartners (Video 3 of 7)
In this installment with Debra Crouch, she and her students revisit the text to focus on vocabulary —specifically, describing words. Students discuss numerous describing words in the book. With each word discussed, Debra reads the sentence on the page to establish meaning, discusses meaning of the vocabulary word, and then rereads the sentence to put the word back into context. Students join in [...]
Word Study: Returning to the Shared Reading Text (Video 4 of 7)
Before the video begins, Debra had students draw and write a response to the book: write about a pet you think is best. After collecting the students’ writing, Debra examined their writing to determine an appropriate teaching focus for word study. Debra determined that the word study focus would be to encourage students to ask themselves, “Does the word look [...]
Modeled Writing with Shared Reading for Kindergartners (Video 5 of 7)
This modeled writing experience gives children an opportunity to hear a writer decide what to write about, how to say the ideas to be written, and to notice strategies and conventions for getting an idea onto paper. Literacy consultant Debra Crouch writes about a topic the students had already written about: the best pet. After discussing the topic with students, [...]
Extend Oral Language with Kindergartners (Video 6 of 7)
This lesson happened just before the first reading of Which Pet is Best? The book had been used in several reading sessions the previous week. In this session, several pages, not the entire book, are used as a warm-up at the beginning of shared reading time to extend oral language. Students join in the reading as they choose. The language focus is [...]
Extending Oral Language, Small Group Kindergarten (Video 7 of 7)
SMALL GROUP READING TO EXTEND ORAL LANGUAGE Watch as the teacher leads a reading lesson with a small group of kindergarten children. The teacher invites each child to look at the pictures in the book and asks the child open questions about the story. Most of all, the teacher prompts the child to use their own words. She also asks [...]
Shared Reading: First Reading of Squeaky’s Big Adventure / A Pizza for Bear for First Graders (1 of 8)
Squeaky’s Big Adventure had been used in several Shared Reading sessions the previous week and now several pages of the book, but not the entire book, were used as a warm-up at the beginning of shared reading time. The students were continuing to deepen meanings of the text, bringing additional thinking to interpreting details in the words/illustrations, continuing to [...]
Shared Reading: Returning to the Text – A Pizza for Bear for First Graders (2 of 8)
This small group of English Learners was brought together to revisit a text they had experienced once in whole group, giving individuals an opportunity to think and talk more about the book currently beginning to be used for study in the whole group.
Shared Reading: Returning to the Text – Small group – extending oral language for First Graders (3 of 8)
This small group of English Learners was brought together to revisit a text they had experienced once in whole group, giving individuals an opportunity to think and talk more about the book currently beginning to be used for study in the whole group.
Shared Reading: Returning to the book: Second reading of the text for First Graders (4 of 8)
This lesson focuses is about deepening meaning of the book. The teacher uses a pointer to track the print, using a fluid motion rather than pointing word-by-word as all students have one-to-one match firmly established. Students join in reading the text aloud with the teacher as they choose. After reading the text through two times, the lesson focus was [...]
Shared Reading: Returning to the text – Building vocabulary for First Graders (5 of 8)
This revisit to the text focuses on vocabulary—noticing interesting and more specific word choices. Students discuss some of the interesting words the author uses in the book and how they brought more specificity to meaning. With each word discussed, there is reading of the sentence on the page to establish meaning, discussion of the vocabulary word, partner talk about [...]
Shared Reading: Returning to the text – Modeling Writing for First Graders (6 of 8)
This modeled writing experience gives children an opportunity to hear a writer decide what to write about, how to say the ideas to be written, and to notice strategies and conventions for getting an idea onto paper. The teacher writes about a topic the students would later be writing about during independent work time. After discussing the topic with [...]
Shared Reading: Returning to the text: Part 1—Phonemic awareness for First Graders (7 of 8)
The first part of this two-part lesson is designed to support students to listen for sounds in words. (This particular sound, the long /e/ sound, was chosen for instruction because there were many examples of words in two well-known books with this sound that used varied spelling patterns to represent the sound.) The teacher revisits two known books, rereading [...]
Shared Reading: Returning to the text: Part 2—Phonics for First Graders (8 of 8)
In this lesson, students’ attention is drawn to the numerous ways the long /e/ sound is represented in words. The teacher and the students underline the spelling pattern that represents the long /e/ sound.The teacher and students sort some of the words into groups according to the spelling pattern used to represent the long /e/ sound. The lesson focus, [...]
Guided Reading, First Grade First reading of the informational text, Clever Tails
In the video, the first reading of the book, Clever Tails, occurs in a single guided reading session, however, a classroom teacher might choose to have students read part of the book in one guided reading session and read the rest of the book in a second guided reading session. Collaboration goals for all the lessons: Students are working [...]
Guided Reading, First Grade Returning to the informational text, Clever Tails
There are two academic focuses as students return to this known text. The first focus is deepening comprehension of key concepts in the text. By rereading the text and talking more about the content of the text, readers deepen their understandings as required in more complex texts. The students use the index to determine what section of the text [...]
Guided Reading, First Grade First reading of the fiction text, The Monkey’s Tail
This lesson begins with students rereading Clever Tails to think more about the strategies they use as readers. The fiction text in the pair, The Monkey’s Tail, has the same key concepts as the informational text, Clever Tails, so revisiting those key concepts supports the students to be successful with the upcoming text. The teacher takes a reading record [...]
Guided Reading, First Grade Second reading of the fiction text, The Monkey’s Tail
This word work lesson supported students to search for and use chunks in words. The lesson began by discussing the strategies we use to help us figure out words. We then focused on looking for parts of words we know to help us with multi-syllabic words.
Guided Reading, First Grade Synthesizing—Talk about the pair
The lesson offers students an opportunity to revisit, summarize, and extend their thinking about the key concepts of the two paired texts.
Guided Reading, Third Grade Session 1 with the informational text, Amazing Salamanders
The lesson begins with students rereading a text from a previous guided reading lesson to think more about the strategies they use as readers. The teacher takes a reading record with one student while the other students read silently. Collaboration goals for all the lessons: Students are working on explain their thinking fully to the group, waiting until others [...]
Guided Reading, Third Grade Session 2 with the fiction text, The Salamander Surprise
The teacher reminds students to continue to note in what in the text supports their ideas. Students discuss Chapters 2-4, continuing to figure out the story (characters, setting, and plot and how they connect) by thinking about what is revealed through what characters say, do, and think and how they interact with others (the relationships between characters). [...]
Guided Reading, Third Grade Session 1 with the fiction text, The Salamander Surprise
The students begin the lesson by revisiting their collaboration goals. The lesson with Salamander Surprise starts with a quick noticing of the table of contents to anticipate the storyline. Students silently read the first two pages of Chapter 1 to begin thinking about what is revealed through what characters say, do, and think. Students continue to note what in the [...]
Guided Reading, Third Grade Session 2 with the informational text, Amazing Salamanders
This lesson begins with a discussion of strategies the readers used during the first session with the book. The students are encouraged to explain their thinking fully to the group by noting what in the text supports their thinking. Session 2 includes reading and discussing Chapters 2 & 3. Students work to integrate running text and photographs and other [...]
Guided Reading, Third Grade Session 3 Making Meaning with Informational Text AMAZING SALAMANDERS
Session 3 is very similar to Session 2, beginning with a discussion of strategies used during the first two sessions with the book. Students continue working to explain their thinking fully to the group by noting what in the text supports their thinking. Session 3 includes reading and discussing Chapter 4. Students continue to work to integrate running text [...]
Guided Reading, Third Grade Synthesizing—Talk about the pair, Amazing Salamanders & Salamander Surprise
The lesson offers students an opportunity to revisit, summarize, and extend their thinking about the key concepts of the two paired texts.
Guided Reading, Fifth Grade Session 1 with the informational text, Animals in Danger: Orangutans
The lesson begins with a review of reading strategies students have been using already in their work and the collaboration goal of noticing the thinking of others and integrating it into our own thinking. Students independently explore the text to introduce the book to themselves. After a short discussion of the table of contents, the students read and the [...]
Guided Reading, Fifth Grade Session 2 with the informational text, Animals in Danger: Orangutans
Session 2 is similar to Session 1. Students read additional parts of the text independently away from the group, marking Very Important Points with sticky notes. During the lesson, students discuss the text, integrating information, making judgements about important parts of a text, and synthesizing information within and across the text.
Guided Reading, Fifth Grade Session 3 with the informational text, Animals in Danger: Orangutans
Session 3 extends the work begun in Sessions 1 & 2, as students continue integrating information, making judgements about important parts of a text, and synthesizing information within and across the text. Students begin to consider how their growing understandings and concerns from reading this text can impact personal decisions they make which in turn affect the lives of [...]
Guided Reading, Fifth Grade Session 1 with the fiction text, Ahmad’s Journey
Reading Ahmad’s Journey begins with students silently read the first four pages of Chapter 1 to begin thinking about what is revealed through what characters say, do, and think and how characters interact with others, revealing the relationships between characters. After noticing the asterisks on page 7, which indicate a change in point-of-view in the story, students read the [...]
Guided Reading, Fifth Grade Session 2 with the fiction text, Ahmad’s Journey
Students discuss Chapters 2-4, continuing to think about what is revealed through what characters say, do, and think and how they interact with others (the relationships between characters). They also begin to evaluate the motivations of the characters as revealed through character actions and decisions. After noticing the multiple points-of-view in the text, students work to understand how the [...]
Guided Reading, Fifth Grade Synthesizing—Talk about the pair, Animals in Danger: Orangutans & Ahmad’s Journey
The lesson offers students an opportunity to revisit, summarize, and extend their thinking about the key concepts of the two paired texts. Students return to themes from earlier discussions, considering decisions people make which affect the lives of orangutans in the rainforests.
Guided Reading: Returning to the Book: Phonemic Awareness and Phonics for First Graders
The word work lesson supports students to search for and use chunks in words to decode multisyllabic words. The lesson begins with students discussing strategies they use to figure out words. Students then examine several words from the text to look for parts of words they recognize to help decode multi-syllabic words. All the words used were known to [...]