Guided Reading

An Overview

It’s not enough just to create opportunities for children to do things they can already do. Instead, it’s up to us to provide powerful teaching so children can move, or better yet, leap forward.

Barbara Watson,Guided Reading by Fountas & Pinnell

At your tables, list the most important characteristics of guided reading.

Attribute Chart: What is Guided Reading?

Small groups of students are brought together based on students’ needs.

Students are at a similar stage of reading and language development.

Teacher selects short text that offers opportunities to use strategies.• Levels 1–14: Instructional level • Higher readers: Balance level of text difficulty

(concepts and language) with difficulty of strategy

Teacher scaffolds text so all students read by themselves, for themselves (no round robin).

Grouping is flexible and reassessed at least once a month.

Guided Reading is…

A teaching approach designed to help individual students learn how to process a variety of increasingly challenging texts with understanding and fluency.

Fountas & Pinnell,Guided Reading

Developmental Stages of Reading

Fluent Early Fluent (Transitional)

Levels 16+, I+ Upper

Emergent (Early) Levels 4–14, C–H Early Emergent Levels 1–3, A–BFoundationOral LanguageConcept DevelopmentConcepts About Print

Grouping Students for Guided Reading

Using ongoing assessment and observation of students, consider:

• Their developmental stage of reading and reading level,

• Their language-proficiency level,

• The strategies they know how to use, and

• The strategies they are ready to apply (after modeling in Read Aloud or Shared Reading).

And bring together students with similar needs for a period of time.

Steps in Guided Reading

1. Select a text.

2. Introduce the text and scaffold it.

3. Read the text and discuss it.

4. Work on skills and strategies.

5. Extend the text.

Steps in Guided Reading

1. Select a text that:

Is redundant with opportunities for students to use the focus strategies.

Is appropriate for students’ background knowledge, language level, and conceptual understanding.

Is at the Instructional level for students at levels 1–14. Accuracy: 90–95% Comprehension: 75%

Is at the Independent or Instructional level for students at higher levels—the level of difficulty is balanced with the complexity level of the strategy students are learning.

Is not at the students’ Frustration level.

Steps in Guided Reading

2. Introduce the text and scaffold it.

Overview statement of the “gist.”

Activate or build students’ background knowledge.

Include a picture walk for Emergent-level students (no picture walk at higher levels).

Give students a reading purpose.

Steps in Guided Reading

3. Read and discuss the text.

All students read by themselves, for themselves (no round robin). Emergent levels: Simultaneous but not choral reading, “whisper reading” Early Fluent/Fluent levels: Teacher chunks text, and student reads

silently

Teacher listens as students read.

Students discuss the text, using Accountable Talk.

Steps in Guided Reading

4. Work on skills and strategies.

Review and debrief how students applied the focus strategy(-ies).

Address student skill needs for both

• Comprehending and

• Decoding (may include magnetic letters, whiteboard, word sorts).

Steps in Guided Reading

5. Extend the book.

Repeated readings (in book bags)

Writing connections • Emergent levels—With the teacher

• Higher levels—In response journals

• Related Readings• Emergent readers: By level

• Higher readers: By genre, subject, series, and author

Common Questions about Guided Reading

1. What does guided reading look like at the Emergent level? At the Early Fluent level?

2. Why do Guided Reading?

3. How often should I meet with Guided Reading groups?

4. How many days should we spend on a book?

5. What about reading conferences?

1. What Does Guided Reading Look Like at the Emergent

Level?

Watch the Upper Emergent guided reading session and think about how the teacher takes students through the steps.

Steps in Guided Reading

1. Select a text.

2. Introduce the text and scaffold it.

3. Read the text and discuss it.

4. Work on skills and strategies.

5. Extend the text.

1. What Does Guided Reading Look Like at the Early Fluent

Level?

Watch the Early Fluent guided reading session and think about how the steps look different for students at higher reading levels.

2. Why Do Guided Reading?

Guided Reading is the bridge between whole group and independent work, between Awareness and Self-Regulation levels.

Students will be more engaged and do more problem-solving when they are in small groups with materials at their level.

Students have more opportunity to participate in deeper book discussions (Accountable Talk) and to learn from each other (Socialized Intelligence) when they are in small groups.

2. Why Do Guided Reading?(continued)

Students who are “fragile learners”—below grade level due to limited language and literacy—need almost daily support from an adult in a small group or 1:1 setting to move forward in their reading.

Students above grade level still need guided reading • To learn how to “scuba dive” rather than snorkel,

when they are reading.• To learn how to negotiate different genres, inclu-

ding short stories, nonfiction, poetry, and fables.

A guided reading lesson is a guided thinking lesson…where students talk, think, and read their way through the text.

David Hornsby

Ways to Meet the Needs of “Fragile Learners”

Students who are “fragile” due to limited language and literacy need to be engaged in literacy work with adults on a daily basis, if possible, through:

• Guided reading groups• Guided or interactive writing groups

(during Writing Workshop)• Small word work groups (during the Skills Block)• 1:1 conferences• 1:1 work with a classroom volunteer

Guided Reading is…

A structured, practical way of matching reading instruction to the diverse individual readers in the classroom. It provides the opportunity, in a small group setting, for the teacher to tailor direct instruction to each student’s specific reading needs.

Schulman & Payne,Guided Reading: Making It Work

3. How Often Should I Meet with

Guided Reading Groups?

It depends on students’ needs and reading levels.

Teachers create Guided Reading schedules

by considering the following variables:• Size: How many students in the group

• Frequency: How often you meet with them

• Time: How long the lesson lasts

For Example…

Foundation and Emergent groups would• Be small (3–5 students),

• Meet frequently (2–4 times per week), and

• Meet for short periods of time (10–15 minutes).

Early Fluent and Fluent groups would• Be larger (5–8 students),

• Meet less frequently (2 times per week), and

• Meet for longer periods of time (20–25 minutes).

4. How Many Days Should We Spend on a Book?

For Early Emergent and Upper Emergent, you might spend two days with a book.

For Early Fluent and Fluent, the number of days will vary, depending on the text. • Two or three days with a short text will probably be

enough time for the intended learning (students might finish on their own).

• Long novels are not recommended for guided reading.

5. What about Reading Conferences?

It is still important to meet with students in individual reading conferences approximately once every two weeks.

The Most Important Question is…

How did this guided reading session move my students forward as readers and thinkers?