What is YOUR favorite time of the day?
Before lunch?
Recess?
Mine is…
GUIDED READING!
The place where “MAGIC” happens!
The “AHA!”..the lightbulb…whatever you want to call it.
Last year I got rid of my
TEACHER DESK.
This is my
CENTRAL COMMAND.
Then I added stools from IKEA.
My kiddos LOVE IT!
My next favorite “accessory”
from by BFF…AMAZON!
Brewster Wall Pops
WPE99065 Peel & Stick Calypso Dry-Erase Dots
with Marker
I put BIG teal dots on my table!
My kids write on them!
After we read… then
we write questions on them
and then change seats to answer them!
Musical Chairs!
They LOVE it!
Write & WIPE!
The BEST!
I use my
to guide my lessons.
I use it
to assess kids reading levels,
to group them with like skills,
and to teach them AT THEIR LEVEL.
Now a couple of things I have learned “on the way”…
1. Guided Reading is NOT the independent reading time!
They read to themselves (READ TO SELF) at a different time of the day… we do it after lunch.
2. Guided Reading is NOT a time for a LONG teacher LESSON!
I only have them for 15-20 min.
Always give them a skill or strategy they can use NOW!
Your goal is to create INDEPENDENT READERS…
do not enable them to wait for YOU to do the reading.
3. You DO NOT have to read a BOOK every day!
(This is not the time for HOW MANY BOOKS have you read?)
My lowest reading group needs PHONEMIC AWARENESS.
If you don’t know your letter sounds…it’s really HARD to read.
So Guided reading should be called
GUIDED LITERACY
Meet them at their level.
Give them a “takeaway” that they can use TODAY.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
I also use FRIDAYS for assessments ONLY.
NO GROUPS!
I do one-to-one RUNNING RECORDS.
I do fluency assessments.
I do letter & phonics assessments.
BUT…
Don’t “DAWDLE”…
Make it quick. Not a “story” time.
Try to get the most BANG for your buck.
Suggestion:
Start with your middle groups.
The “BUBBLE” kids.
They will be moving the fastest.
Next. Alternate assessments between your highs & lows.
Your highs probably will make continued growth with “less” support…they
came in with strong foundations or they wouldn’t be HIGH!
Don’t forget about them.
Keep them connected with BOOK CLUBS, Writing, and
LOTS of comprehension.
My low babies. You can’t practice TOO MUCH.
When they become “done”…distracted, unable to focus, etc.
CHANGE IT UP.
Interactive writing, phonics games, reading with “finger pointers”, etc., etc.
Change the game…not the content.
Here is a Sight Word FREEBIE for YOU to get started!
So I LOVE the guided reading table.
LOTS of learning goes on there.
BUT ALWAYS, ALWAYS, remember…
IT STARTS WITH
