Guided Reading

Hey friends…I don’t know about you, but I NEVER feel like I actually am doing Guided Reading as well as I could be. Don’t get me wrong…I try really hard, and I love that part of my day. But, as always, I could probably do a better job planning it and making sure I am keeping it rigorous enough for ALL my kiddos…not just the struggling readers. Are any of you in the same boat??!

Anyway, I made a new planning form that might encourage me to go a little more in depth! In the past, I have only written a few words…it worked, honestly. And I may go back to that. But, I want to try to plan a little bit more…here’s hoping, right! 🙂

I think it’s so important to have a schedule for your groups! I meet with my struggling readers everyday, but if I don’t have it well planned out, I will look up and haven’t met with my highest group in a week! I REALLY try to stick to my plan..if I get off, I make it up the next day. I also am a firm believer in using time when you can get it! You will see me doing Guided Reading while my kiddos are responding to reading, reading independently during Reader’s Workshop, or even working on a Social Studies activity. I have EVEN been know to keep some of more distracted learners at a corner of my table while I am doing a GR group. Is it ideal, no…but we don’t teach in an ideal world. We teach to babies that need ALL of us…each and every day.

Click on any of the pictures to get an editable version of this! Be sure to save it, and download the ADORABLE free font from KG!!

I also wanted to share a few of my favorite resources with you! I would be SO lost without these! My school purchased these first two for me, but if they hadn’t…I would have purchased them myself. And I ordered the third one from Amazon.

This folder is one of the most brilliant things I have ever found on Pinterest! I used it SOOO much last year. This year, my kiddos are actually pretty much on the same level with the exception of a few outliers…I have a different system now (Just track their levels on my schedule), but when your kiddos are moving a lot I think this is THE most helpful tool to have. We have a “cap” on how high we can test our readers, so I work on deeper comprehension with them at the top level. That’s why most of my kiddos don’t move too much! 🙂 I actually made one for each of my team members last year because I loved it so much! 🙂

I’d love to hear your tips and resources for guided reading!

Here are a few of my “must haves!”

Bingo Dobbers…we LOVE them! I love that I can use them with all of my groups! My emerging readers use them to “dab” letters or beginning sounds! Sometimes we do sight words with them. In tutoring this week, I would call out a word (like shark), and they would dab the digraph they hear in it.

I have to have a wall behind my table!! I use it for anchor charts for my different groups. Some of my kiddos are still struggling with their Bs and Ds, and they use those charts ALL the time. Since we are studying nonfiction, we work on that in Guided Reading a lot too! They use the anchor chart to help! 🙂 And the three posters on the right are a freebie you can find HERE!

And we use magnetic letters ALOT! Here, we were practicing reading words with “ing.” I took the picture upside down apparently, haha! Sorry!! 🙂