In last month’s article, changes to our reading program were described. We will continue to use our basal reading program, but for a shorter period of time each day. The basal reading series is typically used for whole group instruction. Every child reads the week’s story from the series’ grade level anthology (book with the collection of stories) and completes the same activities. Basal series are used in most schools. The rest of reading time will be devoted to Guided Reading. Guided Reading uses small groups focused on an individual’s reading level and/or strengths and weaknesses to provide stronger and more individualized instruction. Van Buren is using an expert Guided Reading trainer to provide training and help us with the implementation of Guided Reading throughout this school year.
Guided Reading groups typically have 4-6 children. The group meets approximately 20 minutes at least twice a week. (More often for students having more difficulty.) These children are grouped together by factors such as reading level or weaknesses the teacher wants to address. For example a group might work together for several weeks with a focus on word analysis skills. This work would often take place during the context of reading a story, rather than in isolation, although follow up activities might be used. After several weeks, the teacher might form new groups and group children with similar comprehension difficulties. Some examples are learning to use author’s clues or drawing logical conclusions.
The books used for Guided Reading are selected by the teacher from our Guided Reading Book Room. The Book Room is the place where our “leveled” books are kept.
The teacher considers the child’s reading level and what her focus is for that group. This is one way that Guided Reading differs from typical “reading groups” used in the past.
Another way Guided Reading differs is the emphasis is on strategies for problem solving. A typical conversation might find the teacher asking, “How did you know that word was _______? The child explains to the group what strategy he used to help himself with that particular word. The teacher follows up with “…and how do you know for sure?” to promote “cross-checking.” Cross-checking encourages a child to use more than one strategy to problem solve or verify his attempts. This talk between the teacher and the child and the child with the other children allows meaningful reading work to occur. The teacher can direct this conversation and provide examples and practice to direct the children to strategies they need to use to be successful readers. A classroom which lists strategies they use often find they have a list of more than thirty strategies by the end of the school year.
An invaluable part of our training has been the opportunity to see Guided Reading in action. Our initial training was in October. After teaching us about Guided Reading, our trainer met with each grade level for two hours. During this time, the trainer and teachers at that grade level planned a Guided Reading lesson. Then 4-6 students from that grade were brought to the training room for a 20-30 minute Guided Reading lesson with the trainer. These lessons were quite an insight. Many of us found that our students could do more than was indicated in our whole group instruction.
Guided Reading involves a number of changes in the way we teach, the way our classroom is set up, the kind of writing and the type of follow up activities used. The trainer has encouraged us to implement Guided Reading in stages to facilitate a successful implementation. You may find your child’s classroom teacher is focusing on Literacy Zones at this time, while another child’s teacher is focused on small group instruction. Each teacher has submitted his own plan for implementation over the course of the year, so you will find that what is happening in classrooms is varying widely at this time. Despite these differences, one can be assured that the changes being implemented are steps to better meeting your child’s own needs.
Look for future articles about Guided Reading each month in the Knightly News. Future topics will include Guided Reading for Beginning Readers, Guided Reading for Early Readers, Guided Reading for Fluent Readers, Literature Circles, and Literacy Zones.