Guided Reading Material

Guided Reading OverviewDefinitionMaking the Most of Guided ReadingAccording to Fountas and Pinnell, guided •reading is an instructional setting that Ensure that the heart of each guided reading enables you (the teacher) to work with a is actual reading and practice. Commit at least 2/3 of small group of students to help them total guided reading time to actual reading practice. Never do anything that isn’t aimed directly at the goal learn effective strategies for processing of text with understanding. The purpose of independent reading. • Let students’ needs drive instruction. guided reading is to meet the varying When your guided reading groups meet, keep students’ individual instructional needs of all the students in goals on the front burner. Don’t deviate, and give them your class, enabling them to greatly expand their reading powers (p.189 -time to mature the skill. •191). Keep in mind, guided reading is Highlight the three top needs in your class, integrate only one piece of a literacy program.and repeatedly focus on them throughout the day, no matter what you are teaching.Guided reading gives students the • When teaching independent reading strategies:opportunity to read at their just right level, • model it;which means that the books provide them • when the class reads together, ask “does that make with a moderate challenge. They are sense?” and show them what to do when it doesn’t;grouped with students who are similar in • remind students to ask the same question when they ability, needs, and strengths. Instruction read independently;is then finely tuned to meet the needs of • explicitly describe to students the strategy you used.particular students. • Dissolve and create new groups whenever students’ needs change.http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/miller/miller011.shtmlSuggested Mini-Lessons•Suggested CentersStory Elements• Vocabulary••computers (work on typing skills, research, type Sequencing•reading letter)Character Development••poetry (copy poem into book and read it aloud in Predicting•whisper phones or to friend to practice fluency and Fluency•expression)Decoding Strategies••magazines (read the current Weekly Reader or Time Making Connections (personal, to For Kids magazine and complete corresponding another text, to the world)•worksheet)Inferring••spelling (practice spelling words using magnetic Summarizing•letters or a tray of sand for example)Analyzing••writing (free creative writing)Critiquing••buddy readingSkimming and Scanning••word (activities such as making words)Retelling••overhead (create words on the overhead or find Word Meaningsrhyming words in poems)• big book (find word wall words)Visit Jen’s site to learn more:• read the room (some students can find simple words http://www.oncboces.org/webpages/jfarrwhile others are looking for multi-syllabic words) Click Curriculum Resources > ELA Resources > Reading ResourcesSuggested Reading Activities Grades 3-6 – page 1Facts Questions Responses (FQR)Purpose: This strategy helps readers reflect and glean important information and deepen understanding through questioning.Procedures:1. Read an informational text2. Write down any facts that you learned, questions you have, or responses on a sticky note3. Make a three column chart (labled Facts, Questions, Responses) and put the sticky notes into their column.4. Reflect on the questions. Were some of them answered in the text? In your head? or do you need to do some further research?Materials needed: Chart paper, sticky notesVery Important Points (VIP)Purpose: The purpose of this strategy is to support readers in their efforts to navigate through the text reflection on key points or ideas, making connections, and clarifying understanding.Procedures:1. Provide each student with sticky notes cut into strips.2. As the children read have them mark the text to indicate very important points. These important points can consist of points of interest, confusion, or a place where the student remembered a connection.3. At the end of the reading have the students meet in pairs of a small group and discuss the VIP's they selected.4. For a higher level activity you can have them come to a consensus about the VIP's for a particular section.Materials needed: Sticky notes cut into strips for each student.Title: Read, Cover, Remember, & RetellPurpose: This strategy supports readers by stopping them frequently to THINK about the meaning.Procedures:1. Read only as much as your hand can cover.2. Cover the words with your hand.3. Remember what you have just read. It is okay to take another look.4. Retell what you just read inside your head or to a partner.Materials needed: Reading materialsSuggested Reading Activities Grades 3-6 page – 2 Two Word StrategyPurpose: The two word strategy is used to help students synthesize information.Procedures:1. Have your students read a thought provoking section.2. After reading ask your students to be silent and then write only two words (not in a phrase) that reflect their thinking about the passage.3. After selection their words, students turn to someone close and read their words, telling why they chose them and explaining how they relate to the story and/or their personal lives.4. Create a class list of these words. As each word is added and the rationale for selection is shared, a richer understanding of the selection begins to surface.Materials needed: Books and chart paper or chalk boardInteractive Journals-Emergent WritersPurpose: Interactive journals provide a wonderful opportunity for students to reflect on their reading, build on their understanding and share opinions and observations with other students.Procedures:1. Each student draws and writes about a story or learning experience using one half of the paper.2. Partners talk about their drawing, their writing, and their reflections.3. Partners trade papers.4. Using the second section on their partner's paper, each student draws and writes a response to their partner's work. This might take the form of adding information, voicing a shared thought about the story or something else.5. Partners meet in larger groups to talk about their shared drawing and writing.Materials needed: Piece of paper folded in half.Mini Fluence lessonsPurpose: Mini lessons that will help with fluency.Procedures:1. When you read, make it sound like talking.2. Partner the children at a guided reading level. Both children have a copy of the text. The assignment is to have each child read silently one page at a time. At the bottom of each page, they write a question they have learned from the reading. After both partners have written a question and made eye contact, they discuss the question.3. When you read, make it sound like talking.4. Partner the children at a guided reading level. Both children have a copy of the text. The assignment is to have each child read silently one page at a time. At the bottom of each page, they write a question they have learned from the reading. After both partners have written a question and made eye contact, they discuss the question.Materials needed: Each student needs a paper folded into fourths.Suggested Reading Activities Grades 3-6 page – 3 Interactive Journals--More Fluent WritersPurpose: Interactive journals provide a wonderful opportunity for students to reflect on their reading, build on their understanding and share opinions and observations with other students.Procedures:1. Students gather in teams of three. Each team member has his or her own paper and pencil. They need to know that there will be an audience for their writing as other members of their group will read and respond to what they write.2. All students begin writing and reflecting in quadrant #1. Their writing might be stimulated with questions such as, "What is the most important thought to remember about the Civil War?" "What personal connections were there for you?"3. At a predetermined signal, have the students pass their papers within their group of three. They now are holding someone else's paper. The task is to read what is written in quadrant #1 and then respond in quadrant #2 with additional thought, reflections, or shared feelings.4. The students pass their papers one more time. This time they read #1 and #2, then respond in #3.5. All papers return to their original owners. The owner of the paper reads all responses and then reflects in quadrant #4. This self reflection might include thoughts such as…"Do I stil feel 6. the same as I did in quadrant #1?" "Did I learn anything new?" "What lingering questions do I have?"Materials needed: Each student needs a paper folded into fourths.http://www.oe.k12.mi.us/balanced_literacy/guided_reading.htmPrompts to Support StrategiesTo support the control of early reading behaviorsTo support searching for cues• Read it with your fingerMEANING• Do you think it look like __________? • Try that again.• Did you have enough words?• You said__________. Does that make sense?• Did it match?(• Look at the picture.• Did you run out of words?• What might happen nest, in the story?• Read that again and start the word• Did that make sense?To support self-monitoring behavior• What would make sense?• Why did you stop?• Try __________, would that make sense?• It could be __________, but look at ________. STRUCTURE• Where's the tricky work? (after error)• Does it look right?• Try that again.• Can you say it that way? • Were you right?• What would sound right?To support Cross-checking• Try __________. Would that sound right?• Check the picture. VISUAL• What could you try?• Does it look right?• Try that again and think what would make • What do you expect to see at the beginning? at the sense? end?• Do you know a word that starts with those • Do you know a work like that?letters? Ends with those letters? • What does it start with? Can you say more than • Check it. Does it look right and sound right to that?you? • What do you know that might help?• What part do you know? To Support Self-Correction• What do you know that might help?• You're nearly right. Try that again.To support phrased, fluent reading• I liked the way you worked that out.• Put your words together so it sounds like talking.• You made a mistake. Can you find it?•• Something wasn't quite right.Guided Reading Idea- "Book Club" GroupsOriginally posted at: http://www.wfu.edu/education/fourblocks/block1.htmlFor book club groups, the teacher selects three or four books, tied together by author, genre, topic or theme. After reading aloud the first chapter or several pages of each book to the children or previewing the pictures with them, the teacher has children indicate their first and second (and third if there are four books) choices for which book they would like to read. Whenever possible, in choosing the three or four books, we try to include one that is easier and one that is harder. If children who are struggling choose the easier book as any of their choices, they are put in the group that will read this book. If the more advanced readers choose the harder book for any of their choices, they are put in that group. (We don't tell the children that some books are harder and easier!) Each time we do book club groups, the groups change and while we do consider the reading levels and choices of children when assigning, the groups all have a range of readers and are not ability groups.Once book club groups are formed, they meet regularly to read and discuss the book. The teacher rotates through the groups giving guidance, support and encouragement. Each day the groups report to the whole class what has happened or what they have learned in their book so far.Here is an example using four informational books, Cats, Wolves, Sharks and Sea Turtles by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House). Because cats is a familiar topic for most children and because there is less text on the pages, Cats is an easier book than the other three. Sea Turtles is a little harder than Wolves and Sharks.The teacher begins the Guided Reading Block today by telling the children that she has found four wonderful informational animal books. One at a time, she shows the cover of each book and lets children tell what they know about each animal and some of their personal experiences with them. Using only the cover, she gets children thinking about what they know and about what they might learn. She then tells the children that they only have this week to spend on these books and they only have seven of each. They will not all be able to read all four books but they will read one book and hear about the animals in the books the other groups are reading.Next, she hands them an index card and asks them to write their name and the numbers 1, 2 and 3 on the card. She then explains that she is going to give them 20 minutes to preview the books--five minutes for each book. At the end of the 20 minutes, they will return to their seats and write down their first, second and third choices. She places all the copies of each book in the four corners of the room. She then divides the class into four random groups and sends a group to each corner. She sets her timer for five minutes and tells the children that when the timer sounds, they must move to the next corner and the next group of books.For the next 20 minutes, the children are busily trying to read as much as they can and look at as many pages as they can. Every time the timer sounds and they have to move, they groan and complain they haven't had enough time. The teacher sympathizes but tells them this is not the time to study these books but only to decide which ones they most want to read.When the 20 minutes is up, the children return to their seats to make their choices. It isn't easy! Most protest that they want to read them all! They have trouble deciding which is their first choice and which is their second choice. The teacher tells them not to worry too much about the order of choices because she can't guarantee they will get their first choice--or even their second choice. There are only seven copies of each and the groups need to be about the same size. "I promise I will give you one of your choices and I will try to give you your first choice but I can't promise that!“After school, she looks at all the cards. First, she looks at the cards of the struggling readers. Four of her five struggling readers have chosen Cats as one of their choices so she puts them in the Cats group along with two more able readers who have also chosen Cats. One struggling reader did not choose Cats but he chose Sharks as his first choice and she puts him in the Sharks group. Next, she looks at the choices of her most able readers. Five of these have chosen Sea Turtles and she puts them along with one fairly able reader in the Sea Turtles group. She puts the other children in groups according to their choices and evens out the numbers.(continued on next page)Guided Reading Idea- "Book Club" Groups, continuedShe takes four sheets of chart paper and heads each with the name of one of the books and the names of the children in that group. She then divides the chart into three columns and heads them K-W-L. She stars the name of the child in each group who she has chosen to do the writing on the KWL chart and be the leader of the group. She places the charts along with the books in the four corners. She uses large paper clips to clip together the pages in the last two-thirds of each book so that students will not read beyond the first ten pages on the first day.When the children come in the next morning, they immediately find their names on the charts and know which book they will read. Some are disappointed that they didn't get their first choice. The teacher sympathizes but points out that she was able to give them one of their choices. She also tells them that she will be able to keep the books in the room for one more week after this week and they can read the others during self selected reading if they choose.At Guided Reading time, the groups go to their corners and the teacher orients them to how they are going to work for the next three days. She has done many KWL charts with them so they know that you brainstorm things you know for the first column and things you want to learn for the second column. She gives markers to the member of each group who she has chosen to do the writing and tells the children that the writer will also be the "teacher" and lead the group just as she does when they do KWL's together. She asks them to spend ten minutes putting things they know and want to learn in the first two columns. She explains that they will then have 20 minutes to read the pages in the first third of the book and add things to the L column on the chart. She sets her timer for ten minutes and circulates encouraging each group to list as much as they can in the first two columns. When the timer sounds, she tells them to finish writing what they are writing and then begin reading the book. They will read each two-page spread to themselves and then list things in the L column before going to the next two-page spread.As the groups work, the teacher goes around and helps them decide what to write so that they don't write everything in the book and reminds them how she writes the note they tell her when they do KWL's together. She begins with the Cats group and spend more time here. Even though there are three pretty good readers in this group, the four struggling readers need support and encouragement. She did, of course, make sure to appoint the writer and "teacher" in this group to be one of the more able readers and writers.At the end of 19 minutes, she signals them that they only have another minute and that they should finish writing what they are writing on the chart. One group has not gotten to the last two-page spread and she tells them they can begin there tomorrow and they will have to "move a little faster." The last ten minutes are spent with each group sharing with the other three groups what they have learned so far.On the next two days, the groups review what they have learned so far, add a few more questions to the "What they want to learn" column, read the final two thirds of the book and add to the "Learn" column. Each day ends with the groups sharing what they have learned.On the fifth day, the groups reassemble for the last time. Their task today is to read everything they have listed in the "Learn" column and then to each write the three most interesting things they learned and draw a picture to illustrate their new knowledge. The teacher gives them a paragraph frame to organize their writing.I learned a lot about ______________. I learned that _______________. I also learned that_______________. The most interesting thing I learned was __________________________.The children work busily to write and illustrate their paragraphs using both the books and the KWL charts. Because they know so much about their topic and have the chart and book support and the frame to help structure their writing, everyone writes good paragraphs.Samples of children’s writingBook Club groups are one of the favorite ways to organize Guided Reading once the children read well enough that you can find multiple books tied together in some way. It is also crucial that the teacher has modeled the formats the groups will use, in this example-- KWL charts and paragraph frames. Most teachers find that the children participate eagerly in their Book Club groups and that the books they didn't get to read are the most popular selections during self selected reading the following week. It is not unusual for children to read all three books their group didn't read. Because their knowledge of each book is greatly increased by the sharing, they are often able to read books at a higher level than they generally can.Fixing ComprehensionProficient readers don't just plow ahead through text when it doesn't Proficient readers don't just plow ahead through text when it doesn't make sense -they stop amak nde use "fix-upsense " - strategthe iesy tso rt estorop e their understanding. One of the most important fix-up tools is rereading, with teachers demonstrating to students a and use "fix-up" variety of ways to reread text in order to repair meaning.strategies to restore their understanding. One of the most important fix-up tools is rereading.Asking QuestionsGood readers ask questions while they read. Use Sticky notes (post-it notes) to stop, mark text, Proficient readers don't just plow aheaand no d t thre ough tques ext when tions it doesas y n't makou r e seadens e in -they stop and use "fix-up" strategies to restore their understanding. One of the most your text book. If you are important fix-up tools is rereading, with teachers demonstrating to students a variety of ways to reread text in order to repair meaning.reading a handout (that your teacher says you can write on) underline text that puzzles you and write your questions in the gutters or margins of the pages.Important IdeasWith so many words to read, readers must sort through and prioritize information. Analyze everything from text features in nonfiction text like Proficienbulle t readers don't justs and headit plow aheangs, t d o v through terbal ext when it doescues in nov n't make sels lik ense e -they stop and use "fix-up" strategies to restore their understanding. One of the most strong verbs. Looking for these clues can help you sift important fix-up tools is rereading, with teachers demonstrating to students a thrvough ariety of ways to reread text in order to repair meaning.and decide the value of different bits of information found in your reading.InferringEffective readers use prior knowledge about a topic and the information they have found in the text (thus far) to make predictions Proficienabo t readeut w rs don't hat mi just ploght w aheahapd thrpen ough te next. xt when it doesn't make sense -they stop and use "fix-up" strategies to restore their understanding. One of the most When teachers demonstrate or important fix-up tools is rereading, with teachers demonstrating to students a model variety their of ways to rerreading ead text proce in orssedes r to repfor air meaning.students through think-alouds, they often stop and predict what will happen next to show how inferring is essential for comprehending text.Document Outline

• Guided Reading Overview Handouts
• Reading Comprehension Posters
• Reading Comprehension Bookmarks