Guided Reading

One of the things I've been struggling with this year at school is that there have been significant changes in the expectations for literacy instruction every year that I've been teaching.  My first year we were told one thing.  Last year that was tweaked in a big way.  This year, it was tweaked again in a BIG way.  The difference between this year and that first year is incredibly drastic.  Basically this boils down to me continuously learning and relearning how to teach!  This is really frustrating for me as a newbie teacher because it seems like every time I feel I have a handle on something, it changes!  Needless to say, over the past month+ I have been focusing on updating my guided reading structure and practice to meet the current expectations in my district.

One change that was introduced last year is the way we are expected to distribute the time during a guided reading group.  Previously, I would have the kids preview the text, set the purpose for reading, then have the kids read anywhere from 1-3 pages at a time, followed by a short discussion, then more reading, more discussion.  Now, we spend 1-3 minutes on a preview of the text (which is hard!  I like to talk too much!), then set a purpose and have the kids start reading a bigger chunk of the text to themselves for about 12 minutes.  During this time, I listen to 1 or 2 students whisper read and take notes on their fluency.  I also ask questions of that particular student and take notes on their comprehension.  This is brand new for me.  Not only had I never taken a running record before this year (they're not as big of a thing in intermediate grades as primary), but I had also never taken notes during my guided reading.  I know that many teachers always take notes during their guided reading, but I always felt like it was more distracting to me and that I couldn't focus on the kids as well.

Here is a sample week of lesson plans for guided reading.  (Also new for me...)  These plans are for my approaching group, so we meet every day.  My other groups are met with by myself or an aide between 2-4 times a week, depending on the level.  (Highest group is only 2x/week.)

I've tried a few different methods for data collection and informal assessment during guided reading, but I think I have finally settled on something that works well for me.  I keep my Guided Reading lesson plans, group rotation schedule, and notes/assessments in this binder:

Each group has a tabbed section with notes pages for each student.  I copy sheets for the boys on blue and girls on pink so that I can find the students I'm looking for more quickly.  Initially I was using a very generic, non-detailed sheet and taking notes for the week all over it, but it was super disorganized.  NOT my style. :) This week, I used a couple examples from other teachers to create this template that is already working MUCH better for me:

Because we are reading leveled readers from our core literacy series, my fluency notes aren't traditional running records.  I don't really want to spend an hour every week xeroxing the books to mark words on, so I just record student errors in the "running record" section.  I use a combination between Fountas & Pinnell codes and codes that I've come up with on my own based on things I wanted to record.  In the comprehension section, I jot down the type of question I asked (inference, right there, summary, prediction, etc.) and record +, 1/2, or - depending on their answers.  Here's the key I use: 

After finishing the "conference," I make a quick note about their overall comprehension and anything I noticed we need to focus on in the future.  I try to conference with two students during every guided reading session.  I'm not sure I like the fact that this practice keeps me from interacting with all of the kids in each group during each session, but the kids I conference with definitely have my full attention...We then come back as a full group for the last 3 minutes and either discuss the "focus question" I gave before reading, fill out a graphic organizer based on our weekly skill, or write a short response, so I do get to check in quickly with even the kiddos whose reading I didn't listen to.  It has been a big adjustment for me this year, but I'm just glad to have figured out a system that works for me within the constraints of the school's expectations.  Hopefully in the long run these changes help me provide better instruction to my students and better meet their individual needs.  In any case, I feel more organized than I ever have before in terms of guided reading!  So at least there's that. :)

Many of the materials mentioned in this post are available as a free download on Teachers Pay Teachers--check it out!

Tell me about your guided reading structure! 

A lot of these changes feel brand new to me, but I'm sure that a lot of you already do some of these things, or have other good ideas for guided reading.

PS: I was pretty excited this week to find out that Juice Boxes & Crayolas is featured on this list of Top 50 Education Blogs!