Session 5 – Small Group Instruction
Agenda

 Guided Reading – purpose
 Preparing for the small group
 Book Orientations
 Reading and conferencing
 Book discussion and teaching point
 Creating a plan
Differentiated Tier 1 Instruction

Interactive Read Aloud
Whole Group
Differentiation
Whole Group
Mini-Lesson
Guided
Reading
Independent
Reading and
Journals
Conferencing
Sharing
Literacy
Stations or
Tasks
Book Clubs
Grade 2 +
Purpose of guided
Reading

Guided Reading
“Guided reading plays a
particular and very
important role in reading
workshop. Extensive
reading, even in connection
with individual conferences,
will not produce continuous
reading progress. Most
students require small-group
reading instruction.”
-Fountas & Pinnell
Teaching for Comprehending
and Fluency p. 373
Why Guided Reading?

 “The purpose of guided reading is to meet the varying
instructional needs of ALL the students in your class,
enabling them to greatly expand their reading powers.
Explicit instruction is essential and will make reading
more powerful for all students.”
 Fountas and Pinnell
Why Do We Use Guided Reading?

To improve fluency.
To make instruction more personalized.
Guided reading enables children to develop
and use strategies of an independent reader.
It allows children to gain confidence in their ability to
read on their own.
It allows for close observation of each student while
reading.
Principles of Guided Reading
Students are:
 Reading individually
and silently (or in
whispers)
 Using sticky notes to
mark their thinking or
strategy use.
“Clock reading mileage”

Teacher is:
 Sampling their oral
reading by listening in.
 Reinforce strategic
behaviors.
 Shift from
unproductive behaviors
 BRIEF conference.
 Making notes of
strengths and areas for
improvement
Using assessment data for your
small group instruction
Data from running records,
conferencing, and Fountas and Pinnell

Informing your small groups
 Independent levels
 Decisions about grouping
 Instructional levels
 Selecting texts for group lessons
 Strategic actions – MSV
 Preparing book orientation
 Teaching points for lesson
 Fluency
 Matching teaching points in guided reading
 Selecting ways to reread the text
 Comprehension




Book orientation
Discussion questions for deeper meaning
Teaching points for the guided reading
Extending the meaning through writing.
Preparing for guided
reading lessons

What instructional resources do you
need?

A designated place where the teacher can monitor the group.
Multiple copies of the book.
A clipboard or notepad to record observations.
Various teaching tools (sentence strips, white boards, paper, etc.)
What should students know before
beginning guided reading?

Some early reading behaviors such as; directionality, soundsymbol relationships and some high frequency words.
Demonstrate appropriate book handling abilities.
These can be taught and practiced during shared reading.
How do you organize your students for a
guided reading lesson?

Students and teacher are seated at table together so
teachers can easily hear all students read.
Establish groups of 4-6 students who are reading at
similar levels.
Adjust groups
OFTEN!
Selecting Text

 INDEPENDENT LEVEL: (A-K) 95-100% (L-Z) 98 – 100%
 “High success reading”
 Book boxes
 INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL: (A-K) 90-94% (L-Z) 95 – 97%
 Guided Small Group Instruction
 Intervention groups
 FRUSTRATION LEVEL: (A-K) less than 90% (L-Z) less than
95%
 To be avoided for independent and small group instruction
 Read Aloud or Shared Reading Experience
Selecting the Text

 Handout - Gradient of Text
Essential Elements of Guided Reading

 Set strategy focus
 Select Text
 Introduce Text
 Read Text
 Discuss and Revisit Text
 Respond to Text
Major Differences in guided reading
from primary to intermediate

1. Length of the text: Reading material at intermediate
grades is often longer and can not be completed in
one guided reading lesson.
2. Lesson focus: Lessons at the intermediate grades
focus on comprehension of text instead of decoding
skills.
3. Method of reading: Students read material
SILENTLY at the intermediate grades.
Book orientations

Guided Reading Structure

 Students should get warmed up to read….
Reread familiar text – builds fluency
 Teacher takes a running record on one student daily and
gives strategy instruction “on-the-spot” (teaching point).
Orientation to the Book

The goal is to prepare students to read the text
by creating a supportive context for building
meaning and applying processing
strategies.
Book Orientations

 “Debugging the book”
 What is going to get in the way?
 Might look different for different groups of kids.
 Scaffolding of book orientations - handout
Orientation to the Book

The teacher provides an overview of the text and
teacher and students co-construct meaning by
discussing the pictures. The teacher also sets a
purpose for reading the text.
During the discussion, the teacher:
• Uses specific language structures
• Discusses relevant or new vocabulary
• Guides the children to locate known and/or unknown
words
• Points out important features within text
Practice writing your
own….

 What new or relevant vocabulary will the
students need to know?
 What text features or structures of language will
be difficult?
 Set the purpose for reading and comprehension.
Reading the text and
conferencing

Article Jigsaw

 Group A – Why Move Away From Round Robin
Reading? (Rasinski)
 Group B – Reading the Text (Fountas and Pinnell)
Planning a focus…

 What do the students in this particular group need
extra time, support, or practice with?
 What are students in this group ready for?
 Focus: within the text
 Focus: beyond the text
What does teacher do during reading?

☺Observes students’ fluency and reading
strategies used during reading
☺Teaching points to emphasize
☺Listens and coaches students to use reading
strategies, prompting for strategic behaviors
☺Listens for strong points to praise
Reading Conferences

 Retelling (if a longer book is being used)
 Listen to oral reading
 Discussing what was read.
 Probing for strategic behaviors
 Noting strengths
 Setting goals.
Reading Conferences

Students read the entire text and practice
problem-solving strategies while focusing
on meaning.
Teacher conducts a reading conference
with each student and provides tailored
support to meet individual needs.
Book discussion and
teaching point

Book Discussion and Teaching Point

The goal is to enhance students’ comprehension
through thoughtful discussions and to lift strategy
usage through explicit teaching.
 Teacher and students discuss the book at the
meaning level.
 Teacher validates processing strategies used during
reading.
 Teacher explicitly teaches for strategy development
if processing strategies were neglected.
Discussion of the book

 Think critically about the text – what’s the BIG
QUESTION?
 Search for evidence to support their opinions or
disprove their thinking.
 Evaluate character development.
 Compare (or contrast) the text to texts they have
read.
Writing your own….

 Write a CR question for your books.
 What’s your focus?
 What questions could you generate to relate to the
focus of the lesson?
Video – Guided Reading

School Tube segment
http://www.schooltube.com/video/c73b68cace3e477b
8108/Primary-Guided-Reading
Seed Folk
- Teaching for Comprehending
and Fluency
Scenarios

Jigsaw scenarios

 Number off #2 – 7
 Read your scenario and share with group.
 What are the variations of guided reading?
Creating and planning

Guided Reading Templates

 Look through the sample planners
 What would you want included in your own
template?