Examine Guided Reading

Routman defines guided reading as building on student’s strengths, supporting the student and demonstrating in order to move a student toward independence.  Guided reading can be helping a student choose a book, decoding text, making sense of the text, defining words, building fluency, monitoring comprehension, and determining author’s purpose.  Guided reading groups should not be grouped by ability past second grade.  Instead they should be in flexible groups such as literature circles, literature studies, reading and discussing a story that has already been read, reading with a partner, read a small passage or chunk or reading that was begun in class, engaging in reciprocal teaching or rereading part of a familiar text such as reader’s theatre.

The quality of books should be examined before being used for guided reading.  Ask yourself these questions when examining a book:

·         Will this book adequately support the student as a reader?  Consider:

o   The size, placement, and appearances of print, including spacing between words and lines, and page layout.

o   Pronounceable words and repetition of common words.

o   Number of unique words compared with familiar words.

o   Sentence patterns and language sophistication.

o   Degree of predictability.

o   Familiarity with vocabulary and concepts.

o   Degree of support provided by illustrations/visuals.

o   Genre and content.

o   Length of book.

·         Does the book support reading for meaning?

·         Will the student enjoy the text?  Is it interesting and relevant?

Establish a workable schedule.  In primary grades students should meet with the teacher every day.  In grades 3-6 students only need to meet with the teacher 2-3 times per week.  Ensure that guided reading does not dominate your schedule, allow enough time for daily independent reading.  Shared reading should take up 10 minutes, guided reading 20 minutes and independent reading 30 minutes.

What should the other students be doing?

When planning literacy centers for students you are not working with in guided reading groups ensure that students are spending most of the time reading or doing activities related to reading such as writing a response to their writing, raising questions for an upcoming discussion group, writing a book review for the class, advertising or promoting a book for peers and performing reader’s theatre.  Make sure students know that you are not to be interrupted when you are working with a guided reading group.  Create expectations about how students should work such as whispering, staying on task, and have students take turns being a monitor.  The monitor should quietly remind other students of expected behavior.

What does a guided reading group look like?

·         Choose a book or text that offers support and a few challenges.

·         Briefly introduce the book to the students by previewing, providing background knowledge and key vocabulary and read the first few pages aloud to get students interested in the text.

·         Have the students read the book or text silently.

·         Monitor comprehension by checking to see if students are rereading, checking words against pictures, or using other strategies.

·         Have students read silently looking for a particular answer and then write responses in journals.

·         Support and teach as necessary.

·         Have students read on with partners.

·         Occasionally extend and respond through reader’s theatre, reading response logs or illustration for certain scenes.