Guided Reading: Readers, Texts and Teaching October 19, 2012 Kerry Crosby, Consultant

Goals for Training Readers Expand our understanding of the reading process. Hone our ability to observe and analyze reading behaviors. Understand how to teach for the reading process whenever students read. Texts Understand texts and what they demand of our readers. Think about how we select texts for guided reading Teaching Explore how to use guided reading to teach readers to effectively process increasingly challenging texts over time. Share best practices for guided reading logistics: record-keeping, staying organized, scheduling /meeting groups, keeping groups dynamic, etc.

Our ultimate goal as teachers is to help each student in our schools become a reader who loves books and all they have to offer. Reading is more than basic decoding competency. It has the potential to nourish the intellect, the emotions and the spirit. It feeds and replenishes the art and skill of writing. A child who lives a literate life in school and has pleasurable experiences with written language will make a place for reading and writing throughout life. Page 3, Fountas and Pinnell, Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency

Thinking Within, Beyond and About Text “A literary processing system is an integrated set of strategic actions by which readers extract and construct meaning from written language.” --Fountas and Pinnell (2006) p. 13

An Integrated System “It is important to emphasize again that the complex actions readers take while reading are going on all at once and with great speed… Strategies are not discrete; they don’t happen one at a time and you cannot teach them one at a time. You employ these interelated and complex strategies in a fluid way, your attention most of the time is focused on your search for meaning…-- page 53, Genre Study, Fountas and Pinnell

Guided Reading 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.

Guided Reading— Small Group Instruction There are three important elements of strong guided reading implementation. They are: –Knowing your readers strengths and needs. –Understanding the supports and demands of text. –Teaching that promotes active strategic processing.

Knowing our Readers: Assessment and the Reading Process “If you value readers’ development of a complex literacy processing system, then you will want to assess all aspects of the processing system. Weakness in any one aspect can diminish the reader’s full understanding of a text. Your goal is not comprehension and fluency alone but the reader’s ability to engage all the systems of effective processing.” page 88, TCF

What do we want to assess? –Accuracy –Self-Correction –Sources of Information Used and Neglected –Reading Behaviors: Use of Problem-Solving Actions (systems of strategic actions) –Fluency and Phrasing –Comprehension Figure 8-12, page 102

Coding Reading Behaviors Accurate reading Substitution/incorrect response Omission Insertion Repetition Told (child does not attempt) Self-correction You try it Appeal Benchmark Handout, TCF fig. 8-8, p. 99

Analyzing Reading Behaviors Sources of information Readers use 3 sources of information to process written text: –Meaning--Ask yourself does it make sense? –Structure—Ask yourself does it sound right? –Visual—Ask yourself does it look right? Self-Corrections What probably sent the reader back to make this correction? What is the most likely reason?

Instructional vs. Independent –Instructional Levels A-K: 90-94% accuracy with excellent or satisfactory comprehension or % accuracy with limited comprehension. –Instructional Levels L-Z: 95-97% accuracy with excellent or satisfactory comprehension or % accuracy with limited comprehension Instructional v. Independent Texts

Reading Workshop—page minutes PreK-Grade 2Grade 3-Grade 6  Modeled/Shared Reading  Independent Reading/ Reading Conferences (independent texts)  Independent Literacy Work  Guided Reading (instructional level texts)  Group Share  Book Talk and Minilesson  Independent Reading/Reading Conferences (independent texts)  Literature Study/Book Club  Guided Reading(instructional level texts)  Group Share

Rationale for Guided Reading To help students adjust their processing as they read for different purposes and encounter new genres. To meet the varying instructional needs of all students. To help students make challenges manageable without “taking away the privilege of setting up their own dialogue with the author on the first reading of the text.” Mooney, 1990, p. 45

Role of guided reading within the reading workshop Gives students the opportunity to read at an appropriate instructional level. Introduces students to new books that offer a moderate challenge with scaffolding. Helps students learn more about the reading process. Provides the teacher with the opportunity to focus on a small group to hone their observations of the students’ reading behavior to better inform instruction.

Guided reading instruction: Is specific and focused Finely tuned to the needs and challenges of the particular group of students Provides specific support for readers as they delve into texts

A Framework for Guided Reading Lessons Selecting the text Introducing the text Reading the text Discussing and Revisiting the Text Teaching for Processing Extending the meaning of the Text (optional) Word Work (optional) -- page , TCF

The Learning Zone “In the Vygotskian sense, guided reading makes it possible to teach at the cutting edge of students’ understanding. Your support is light. You do not take the problem-solving away from the student; instead, your teaching helps students read more productively and more intensively.”. --p. 192, Guiding Readers and Writers

Before guided reading Think about previous work with this group Select text that will build on the readers’ processing strengths, engage them, and meet their needs Read the book with your readers in mind Plan the introduction, making notes—will you have a “light” overlay? Have record keeping system ready and materials organized

After the lesson Think about whether the grouping was appropriate Consider what you learned from your observations Make quick notes about what students may need to do next Reflect on your teaching –What did these readers learn about reading that will help them read their next book? Organize materials for the next time

Logistics: Making it Work Routines and Organization for Independent Learning

What is the rest of the class doing? Establishing routines prior to starting guided reading is important for classroom management. ********* Students are: Reading texts independently/literacy centers Writing about their reading Reading texts for literature study Completing tasks related to guided reading

Materials Small table: kidney shaped or round White board, dry erase markers Easel Multiple copies of text Record-keeping materials/forms Magnetic letters (optional)

Lesson Frequency Lower achieving students meet more frequently Higher achieving students meet less frequently Work with one group for several consecutive days when using longer texts Create a schedule, weekly or monthly

Living a Literate Life “ A child who lives a literate life in school and has pleasurable experiences with written language will make a place for reading and writing throughout life.” --Fountas and Pinnell