Guided Reading and the Reading Process – Step 2 READING

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After pre-reading comes the FUN PART – READING! You can read all about pre-reading HERE!

Reading is when my little learners apply what they have learned! They apply knowledge of sight words, phonics skills, decoding, vocabulary skills, word identification, and reading strategies. The goal of reading is for my students to make meaning… therefore, my fluent readers have a better understanding. They’re not wasting their energy focusing on decoding… they’re reading for the sole purpose of making meaning.

As a first and second grade teacher… sometimes my students need practice reading for comprehension while practicing a new phonics skill. We use fluency passages and phonics brochures A LOT when we’re working on fluency.

Other times, my students simply need books on their instructional level so that they can learn and apply reading strategies.

My guided reading lessons usually last 20-30 minutes. When students come to group they ALWAYS  do these things..

1. They whisper read a story that has already been read, read their individualized sight word notebook, or whisper read decoding drills with a phonics skill that has already been taught. This gets them reading right away, and gives me a chance to walk around the classroom to ensure that the rest of the class is engaged and learning. You can read more about decoding drills HERE.
2. Next, I focus on pre-reading… surveying the book, forming questions to guide their reading, new vocabulary, teaching a new comprehension skill or strategy.
3. When my students engage in READING, they read a story that they haven’t read before. They whisper read and I observe. I’m looking to see if they are self-monitoring, decoding unfamiliar words, identifying sight words. I’m also reinforcing the reading strategy that we’re focusing on and determining what strategy I might need to review or teach next. I look for opportunities to model a strategy. Sometimes I think aloud.

Guided reading is my FAVORITE time of the day! The conversations… the growth… the love of reading! It can’t be beat!

While I would argue that guided reading is one of the most important times of the day…. my students have many times throughout the day to engage in the reading process…

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• I read aloud to my students EVERY SINGLE DAY!! This lets me model reading strategies and model reading fluency.
• My students buddy read… A LOT! Letting them read with a friend gives them the opportunity to help each other, talk with a friend, and share their opinions and interpretations of the text.
• I give my students time to select books from our classroom library and read independently!

Next week I’ll be sharing all of the different strategies that I use to RESPOND to reading!