Guided Reading...Oh How I've Misunderstood You!

Growing up in a home where education is highly valued, I have always had mixed feelings and understandings of what guided reading is and what is should look like. As I embraced my own passion for teaching during my college years, I was given several opportunities to see guided reading groups in action. I saw choral reading, students reading one at a time out loud, teachers asking large amounts of questions, students being given books greatly above their reading level, and on the flip side students given books below their reading level. I saw teachers focusing on the "5 Big Ideas" and forming groups based on those, and then stopping there. I always wondered if the students would ever be taken further and deeper....if they would ever be fully engaged and then practicing what was being learned....

Today, my confusion and questions about guided reading have been unraveled. After reading Lucy Calkins work The Art of Teaching Reading, figuratively my mind has been blown! What I now understand is that guided reading is not.....the teacher beginning the session with a list of several questions. It is not "a time for children to reread texts they have already read as a whole class" (Calkins, 178). It is not an opportunity for round robin reading or choral reading. How is that beneficial? It is not stop and go reading. It does not occur with long-term ability based groups. It is not more than 15 minutes in length of time. Finally, it should not be followed by meaningless activities such as ditto worksheets.

Taking all of this into consideration, I have found that guided reading is so much more. It is initiated by the teacher and the text is given a short overview and takes students to specific pages that contain a point of difficulty. It is a time for students to read an unfamiliar text and also a time for textual challenges with support from the teacher. It is a time for all students to be holding a copy of the text and to be reading quietly and simultaneously to themselves. It is a time for reading the whole text without stopping and returning to a favorite page while the other members of the group finish. It is "done with short-term, transient, ability-based groups" (Calkins, 179). It is completed within a 10-15 minute time period. Lastly, it is followed by a point of teaching, possibly the use of a white board, but it ends there.

Wow...what a difference.

What I found even more intriguing was that guided reading groups can go deeper and can be developed into Strategy Lessons. In these types of situations, the students may be mixed ability, but may all struggle with the same strategy or may need a new strategy to improve their reading. It could be anything as simple as looking at the beginning letters of words to decipher the unknown word to bringing in a newspaper article on a book club book and meeting with those students to share. These groups are not limited to the 5 Big Reading Ideas. There is so much room for growth and depth and an incredible opportunity to teach students where they are and take them where they need to be.

This will become a tremendous part of my first grade classroom and I look forward to studying and sharing the outcome. :)

Let the depth and risk-taking begin!

The Power of Preparation

Growing up, I was always taught that with preparation and making the choice to think ahead, success would follow. Now that I am in the work force and am the sole individual responsible for my success, this learning has never been more true.For the past two months I have been thinking, day dreaming, researching, reading, planning, taking notes and praying about my future classroom. It has been consuming thought life.


What I have found through all of this is that there are so many phenomenal resources available to teachers...books...individuals...websites...podcasts. I have everything I need right at my fingertips, yet I still sometimes feel that is not enough. What I have realized though is that it truly is not enough. Without love for children I have nothing. Without a love for learning I have nothing. Without discipline I have nothing. Without a desire to ask questions I have nothing. Without vision, I have nothing. All of these are the true ingredients to what I need to succeed as a teacher.

So, what happens next? Of that I am not sure...
What I do know though is that my children will be loved everyday.
They will be challenged to be better and to rise above circumstance.
They will most importantly though be led by example...an example of a teacher who is prepared for whatever may come!