Hey friends and welcome to the first week of our 2018 Summer Book Study;
The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading! Can I just start off by saying that both Greg (The Kindergarten Smorgasboard) and myself have been deluged with positive comments and feedback on our book selection this year! I think every teacher wants to be better equipped when it comes to guided reading! I hope that you are just as excited as we both are, to delve into this book and learn and grow as an educator! So let’s take a running leap and jump right into this book study head-first! (If you are not sure what book study I am talking about, head over to THIS post to read more!)
What Is Guided Reading?
Jan Richardson explicitly explains that guided reading is differentiated, small group instruction that supports students in developing reading proficiency. It also targets specific learning needs, has appropriate scaffolding and gradually reduces support from the teacher, which promotes more independent reading. (pg 13) Guided Reading is not only important for the student, but for the teacher too. Using the 3-step model, illustrated below, a teacher will be able to instruct each student at their instructional level, so they become a more developed and independent reader!
Guided Reading is intentional and strategic! I love how Jan Richardson states that although ‘assessment’ has become a dirty word in education, if it is designed and used properly and efficiently, it is extremely valuable!
Guided Reading is just a part of balanced reading instruction. I love how Jan broke apart the different parts of reading instruction and shared what a balanced program looks like! No need to take away read-alouds (please don’t!) or to spend too much time on direct instruction; use this model and you can achieve success!
So I’m sure you are convinced of the importance of Guided Reading, but where do you fit it in and what are the other students doing while you are running your guided reading groups?
I was so excited to read that Jan Richardson promotes independent literacy work stations! While reading this chapter, I was shaking my head vigorously in agreement and excitement, since I am already doing that in my class! Using this method allows my students to work independently and purposefully when practicing skills that have been previously taught, which then allows me to work with my guided reading groups, uninterrupted!
If you are not operating literacy stations in your class, consider reading these posts: Literacy Stations in the Kindergarten Classroom. I share what literacy stations are, how to run them and keep them going for a year of engagement and learning! But exactly what Jan has written in her book on pages 16-22 is how I operate and use stations in my class.
Here is my synopsis of Chapter 1:
Assess (Use ESGI)
Decide (Determine what skills each student needs and group them accordingly)
Guide (Flexible Guided Reading Groups to target their specific reading needs)
Guided Reading Groups will be held during the independent literacy block of time, which for me, is 45 minutes. This allows me to get in 3 different groups for 15 minutes each. While I am meeting with my groups, the other students are working independently at their literacy work stations.
What were your opinions on this chapter and did you have any ah-ha moments? Please leave a comment here or join me on my Instagram page for a LIVE broadcast or on my FB page, where we will be discussing chapter 1!
Don’t forget to head over to read Greg’s post on chapter 1 HERE and participate in his FB Live and Instagram Lives!
I am new to guided reading so am enjoying the book so far. I do have 32 students in my class so having small groups each day is difficult, so am trying to figure out how I would do that. I am thinking I would have to do the same activities for 3 groups one day and 3 groups the next day. Probably Mon/Tues and then Thu/Fri. Wednesday is a restructured short day, so probably would reserve this more for the read alouds and pair/share activities. Thoughts?
WOW! What grade do you teach and do you have an aide or any assistants?
I teach kindergarten. This year I had a 3 hour aide, but she wasn’t trained in teaching or anything so it was difficult because she didn’t really know how to work with children. I couldn’t give her a group and say, do this activity for example, without really explaining the reasoning behind it. A lot of time I saw her getting off track with the students instead of sticking to the task. Need to work on that part this year.
Yes, sometimes it’s not as ‘perfect’ as it sounds, to have an aide in the classroom. 🙁 I hope she gets some training and can be a little more purposeful next year!