A series of articles providing the community with an understanding of Van Buren’s new Guided Reading program
Last month’s article explored Guided Reading at the Pre-emergent Level (students who have not begun reading books yet). This month’s article features Guided Reading with Emergent Readers.
Children in the Emergent stage of reading have some recognition of letters and sounds. They know some sight words (such as go and the) as well as some print in their environment (such as McDonald’s). They may also write their names and a few more words. They can “tell” the story in a book by looking at the pictures.
The goal of Guided Reading at this stage is helping each child develop “a tool bag of strategies.” This is accomplished by giving the child as many opportunities as possible to come to unfamiliar words and experiencing the success of figuring them out for himself.
At this level, the teacher selects a very simple text from our Guided Reading book room. She considers the current reading level of the 4-6 children in the group, their interests and strengths and weaknesses observed so far. Before they meet, the teacher considers what the group will need to know to successfully and independently read the book.
During the Guided Reading group, the teacher introduces the book and the group discusses the cover, title, author, and any experiences the children have related to the topic. The teacher leads the group in a “picture walk.” The teacher models how to read the first page to familiarize the students with the book language and some of the pattern of the text. As they look through the pictures together, the teacher discusses any confusing illustrations.
For example, in a book with a dog chasing things, she might say, “Look at what Buffy chased now. What do you think she is chasing? Yes, that may be a rock. What else might it be?” The group may think of rock, pebble, and stone. Then they look at the text to see what word the author used. She has the students tell how they will remember the author’s word(s) when they read the text by themselves. This encourages students to consider the meaning of what they read, what sounds right as they’re reading and the importance of the print in conveying the author’s exact words.
After the picture walk, the students “whisper read” the complete text to themselves. The teacher “listens in” on individual readers to determine if they are reading successfully and to observe what strategies they are using to help themselves when having difficulty. At this time she may guide students to successful strategies as needed.
After everyone has read the text, the teacher will have students read their favorite page aloud to the group. At this time the teacher and group discuss the story as well as strategies used to figure out words independently. The classroom teacher keeps a list or chart of all the possible strategies shared by the students. Strategies are added to the list throughout the year and can be used by the children as a resource for helping themselves. It is not unusual for the children to have shared dozens of strategies by the end of the year.
In the following days, the teacher will extend the children’s learning by leading the children in a rereading of the book (choral reading, buddy reading, round robin, Reader’s Theater, etc.), revisiting challenging pages, conducting phonics mini lessons, using graphic organizers to gather information, and providing writing extensions.
Guided Reading for Emergent Readers provides these young readers with a real and exciting purpose for reading. The teacher and children are more actively involved in the process. Teachers consider the children’s strengths and needs each time they read and this drives instruction rather than a predetermined set of instructions from a textbook. Children are given many more opportunities to participate and enjoy stories. It is quite motivating for the children to be given the opportunity to share their ideas and reflect on their own strategies.
Next month’s article will feature Guided Reading at the Early Stage.