The Teacher Tip
Address Your Students’ Needs with Guided Reading in Small Groups
September 4, 2018
Adapted from Core Instructional Routines: Go-To Structures for Effective LiteracyTeaching, K–5 by Judy Dodge and Andrea Honigsfeld
To meet the varying instructional needs of all students in your classroom, try incorporating guided reading into your small-group instruction routine. Students co-construct meaning about the text with your guidance, and practice strategies so they can ultimately read independently. We recommend a guided reading routine with three (expandable and adaptable) stages.
Stage 1: Before Reading
· Introduce and briefly discuss the text with your guided reading group.
· Use anticipation guides, questions that set the stage for the reading, and other pre-reading strategies of your choice.
Stage 2: During Reading
· As your students read the whole text or an excerpt you selected, observe them for reading strategy use.
· Offer strategies that promote students’ comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Stage 3: After Reading
· Engage your students in responding to the reading selection through whole-group discussions, think-pair-share, writing, or acting out aspects of the story.
· Return to the text, especially the challenging sections of it, to review the reading strategy used to make sense of the reading.
To learn more about Core Instructions Routines: Go-To Structures for Effective Literacy Teaching, K-5 and to download sample materials, click here.
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