• Guided Reading groups are determined by the teacher’s assessment of individual student needs.• A Guided Reading group could be made up of students of different ages and grade levels. The determining factor is their reading level not their grade level.• To determine groups for Guided Reading, the teacher must be aware of each reader’s progress as determined by individual running record analysis, and teacher observations during reading.• Students are not expected to demonstrate progress in the beginning stages of each level or with each book. Students should have multiple opportunities to read a wide variety of books, both fiction and non-fiction

 

Guided Reading Lessons

• Leveled books (or little books as they are sometimes called) are used with beginning readers in guided reading, children are matched with books.• Guided reading is used to get the children to explore the meaning in the text, to look at the pictures to predict how/what is happening and how the characters feel. At all levels children are grouped depending on needs

 

The teacher will gather a small group of 4 to 6 children that have similar needs and work with them in a book chosen just for this group for approximately 20 minutes through the following sequence.Introducing the Book
Guided Reading groups of beginning readers generally begin with a book introduction which includes a picture walk. The teacher creates a scaffold for children to read the book and connects the students’ background knowledge and experiences with the text. A statement is made by the teacher of what strategy is the focus of the lesson. The students do not have the book in hand at this time but are focusing their attention on the teacher-held book.Reading the BookGoals for reading are set or reviewed (e.g., one-to-one correspondence, using initial letter-sound correspondence). The students then move into a simultaneous and independent oral reading (not choral reading) of the text. As the students read, the teacher responds to each student’s reading, praising and guiding individuals in the use of concepts of print, and reading skills and strategies. Notes on each reader can be gathered at this time that aid in conferencing with the reader and on choosing the next book and specific need for each learner. Many of the students will have read the book several times during this portion of the lesson.After ReadingDuring the discussion and mini-language lesson that follows, explicit connections between the text and the students’ lives are made and strategy uses are highlighted. The teacher will ask, "What were you thinking as you read?" During this time, the teacher will focus on a few of the words that troubled the children. Some time with "working with words" will clarify and reinforce some important skills needed for word identification. It is very important that students take time to reflect on themselves as readers and how they are meeting the goals they have set for themselves. Each child might answer; "How will what you learned today help you to read other books?"

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