Guided reading is one of those classroom practices
that, in my classroom, looks different each year. When it comes to guided reading, I question am
I doing it right, is it working, should I do it every week, would students be
better off with me popping in for individual conferences or would it be best
for me to pull those groups and work with small groups? Each year I tend to do different things
because each year the students have different needs and respond to different
things. This year I began with guided
reading groups and then decided to hold individual conferences while they were
reading. After reading, this chapter I
am going back to those guided reading groups.
Routman
describes guided practice as when the student are practicing what the teacher
has taught. The point is also made that teachers
must give the students time to understand the concept before they release
responsibility to the child. I think
this is important. Students are
overloaded each day with so much information.
When it comes to reading, they need to be able to master these concepts
so they can become better readers. If
teachers do not ensure students are fully grasping an understanding we are
doing them a disservice. Guided reading
groups allow the teacher time to focus on a small group of students and their needs.
To improve
my guided reading groups, I need to find more reading material. I usually use leveled Social Studies articles
and non-fiction books because that is what I have used in the past. I was excited to read that Routman uses short
stories by Cynthia Rylant. That is
definitely a material I am going to look into purchasing as well as more
collections of well-written short stories. I could also use higher level
picture books as reading material. I am
also going to stick to the 15 minutes of group time (often I get carried away
and keep them longer than that). The shorter time frame would allow me time to
conference with my students who are independently reading during this time. I
look forward to implementing these materials and some of her tips during my
guided reading time.
You already have such a strong hold on how to best meet the needs of your students through guided reading. It's telling that you alter your approach with each new group. Such a great practice! I also liked the idea of using well written short stories as material for groups. I hadn't considered it in my own practice. We usually used sections of chapter books or articles as well. I'd love to hear how this works!
ReplyDeleteHi Sara Margaret,
ReplyDeleteOne of the qualities I appreciate most about you as a teacher is how you are constantly adjusting your structures and strategies to meet the needs of your students. You have incorporated conferencing in your literacy block to help know your students' interests and you have continued to strengthen your guided reading groups to help provide your students with scaffolding and support with application of reading strategies and skills before they are expected to apply them independently. I wonder if there are opportunities for students to work in guided reading groups and read independently with an exit slip for self reflection or an opportunity to write after as a reading response. Sincerely, Dawn