CPEL Guide: Guided Reading Grades K–3 · Next Step in Guided Reading (Richardson), and Making the Most of Small Groups (Diller). • Select the primary literacy objective for the

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CPEL Guide: Guided Reading Grades K–3

June 2019

CPEL — Guided ReadingGrades K-3

Descriptors with asterisks (*) indicate descriptors that are rated in the CPEL Manual.

During Guided Reading, the teacher teaches reading skills/behaviors/strategies to small groups of readers at similar reading levels or with similar skill/strategy needs. Readers can read from the same instructional level text or texts that provide students with problem-solving opportunities around a specific skill.

Planning1 Collects and organizes assessment data and observation notes throughout the year

2 *Continuously regroups children based on assessment data and observations

3 Chooses objective based on children’s needs from assessment data and anecdotal notes

4 *Chooses a text at the readers’ highest instructional level or that provides students with problem-solving opportunities around aspecific skill

5 *Establishes a small group schedule

6 *Thoughtfully plans all aspects of Guided Reading lessons

7 Plans language supports so all children can understand and participate in the lesson

8 Balances the types of books that are used during instruction (e.g., fiction, informational) to best support the lesson objective

9 Has books and materials for instruction organized and available

10 Posts or has resources available (such as anchor charts and lists of strategies)

11 Develops routines and procedures to promote responsibility within the Guided Reading group

12 Develops routines and procedures to promote responsibility for students working independently (who are not in the Guided Reading group)

13 Creates a joyful climate around learning to read

CPEL — Guided ReadingGrades K-3

Descriptors with asterisks (*) indicate descriptors that are rated in the CPEL Manual.

Lesson - Before1 *Engages children before reading by setting the context for the lesson

2 Introduces and previews the text, varying the length and type of book introduction by reading stage

3 *Teaches a reading skill, strategy, or behavior to the whole group

Lesson - During1 *Supports children by listening to and working with one reader at a time

2 *Observes and documents readers' behaviors and skills

3 Affirms children’s problem-solving attempts and successes

4 Provides prompts and reminders to use decoding and monitoring strategies previously taught

5 Reinforces the teaching point (when applicable)

Lesson - After1 *Engages children in text discussion and literacy activities after reading

2 Facilitates discussion to support comprehension of the text, as needed

3 Provides word work to support decoding and phonics skills, as needed

4 May reference or build anchor charts to support the independent application of the teaching point

5 *Reinforces the teaching point and links that work to the students’ independent reading


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Guided Reading

Effective Guided Reading instruction is “data informed.” Gather information on children to determine reading levels, reading strengths and needs , and information on their reading identities. The tools for informing instruction include both formative (running records, anecdotal notes, work samples, etc.) and standardized assessment data. The information from assessment data allows you to group children for instruction, plan targeted lessons, assess the effectiveness of those lessons, and monitor the children’s progress over time. An assessment binder is used to organize the data. The binder allows you to quickly and easily access and record information.

• Obtain a binder for organizing assessment data. Create sections to collect information on each child.• Administer a reliable beginning-of-the-year standardized assessment (DRA, Benchmark, etc.) and analyze the results.• Record pertinent information (scores, strengths, needs, etc.) into the assessment data for each child in the binder.• Assessing children is an ongoing process. Continuously check in on your readers as their skills grow and needs change throughout the

year.• Have the assessment binder handy to record anecdotal notes and running records during Guided Reading lessons. Be sure to have blank

running record forms and blank anecdotal record forms.• Include supportive documents such as sight word inventories, spelling assessments, or letter recognition inventories, in the binder. • Include middle-of-the-year standardized assessment data when it becomes available.• Refer to the assessment binder when planning lessons and making grouping decisions.

1. Collects and organizes assessment data and observation notes throughout the year

Planning

The in front of some of the descriptors below indicates descriptors that are scored in the CPEL Manual.✳


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Guided Reading

Place children in groups based on multiple sources of current formal and informal data. Continue to observe, re-assess, and regroup children based upon needed skills, behaviors, or strategies.

• Administer reliable assessments (DRA, Aimsweb, etc.) and analyze the results. • Examine formative assessment data (e.g., running records, anecdotal notes, writing samples, etc.) to identify children’s strengths and

needs. • Use information from all of these sources to form groups. • Continue to re-assess as you work with children throughout the year and re-group as needs change.

2. Continuously regroups children based on assessment data and observations

Planning

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Guided Reading

All effective Guided Reading lessons focus on a single primary literacy objective. This objective is chosen based on what children need to learn and are ready to learn. The choice of the objective is informed by assessment data. A lesson that is focused on the right objective supports targeted and purposeful instruction, and it has the potential to yield the most productive results. • Review assessment data to identify the instructional needs of the group.• Align your list with recommended text level instructional foci from professional literature, e.g., The Literacy Continuum (Fountas & Pinnell),

Next Step in Guided Reading (Richardson), and Making the Most of Small Groups (Diller).• Select the primary literacy objective for the lesson by identifying a skill or strategy that most children in the group are ready to learn,

ideally one that is already partially developed, i.e., the children are making attempts to use the skill or strategy but are not yet successful.

3. Chooses objective based on children’s needs from assessment data and anecdotal notes

Planning


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Guided Reading

Select a text at readers’ highest instructional level or that offers productive struggle for children. Provide opportunities for children to practice a needed skill, strategy, or reading behavior with the text. Sometimes, you’ll choose grade-level texts to give children practice applying grade-level skills and strategies. Reflect on individual and group data and use this information to help select the appropriate text for the group.• Review both formative (e.g., running records, anecdotal notes, etc.) and standardized assessment data, standards, and reading behaviors

to identify individual and group needs. • Select a text for the group that provides productive struggle and offers children problem-solving opportunities with your support.• Plan for opportunities for children to engage with the text around a specific skill you identified as a need for individuals and the group.

4. Chooses a text at the readers’ highest instructional level or that provides students with problem-solving opportunities around a specific skill

Planning

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Guided Reading

In advance, make an achievable schedule that allows time to meet with each group over the course of one or two weeks. The frequency of the group meetings is based on several factors: the instructional needs of the children in a particular group, the number of groups that you meet with each day, and the length of the literacy block. Groups needing more support will require more frequent meetings than groups needing less support, but all children should meet with the teacher as often as possible. No matter how capable they are, children needing the least support are still learning to read and deserve instruction. • Plan your Guided Reading schedule one to two weeks in advance.• Use a grid to help you plan your Guided Reading schedule. Each column represents a day of the week. Each row represents an available

meeting slot during a Guided Reading lesson. The grid below is for three Guided Reading group meetings per day, five days a week. Each entry in the grid indicates a specific group that you will meet with in a given slot on a given day.

• Fill in the grid for meetings with the highest support group first. They will need to meet with you as often as possible, preferably every day. • Complete the grid, filling in the other groups according to their instructional needs. Make sure to include all the groups—even the ones

needing the least support. • Make an effort to meet with every group as often as time permits. More Guided Reading group meetings equals more growth in reading.• Make sure the schedule is achievable in your current literacy block.• Double check your calendar for assemblies, field trips, or 1/2 days and adjust the schedule as necessary.

5. Establishes a small group schedule

Planning

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday1st Session2nd Session3rd Session

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Guided Reading

Successful lessons only happen with careful planning. A lesson plan should be achievable and should address all of the critical components of a Guided Reading lesson. Use a lesson plan to guide your thinking. Write out what you will say and do before reading (to introduce the text and the teaching point), during reading (what you will listen for and coach children on as they are reading), and after reading (how you will faciliate discussion, reinforce the learning, do word work or other activities). On the lesson plan, record the actual language that you’ll use when teaching the lesson. This will help to conserve time and ensure a high-quality lesson. Guided Reading lessons are 15–20 minutes long, and the lesson plan will support you in being mindful of how much time you must allocate to each segment.

6. Thoughtfully plans all aspects of Guided Reading lessons

Planning

• Gather all of the lesson materials (e.g., texts, letter cards, etc.) and formative assessment data.

• Carefully read through the selected text to make sure that it offers ample opportunity to practice the behavior, skill, or strategy that will be the focus of the lesson.

• Plan the lesson making sure to include all the critical components of a Guid-ed Reading lesson.

• Rehearse the language for the lesson, giving special attention to the “before reading” segment (i.e., text introduction, purpose setting, and teaching point demonstration).

• Time the rehearsal to ensure that this lesson can be done within the 15–20 minute time frame.

• Invite your coach or a colleague to observe the lesson rehearsal and give you feedback.

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Guided Reading

A key role of the teacher in a Guided Reading lesson is to make tasks accessible to the children (e.g., word solving, monitoring comprehension, etc.). Some children, especially English Language Learners, need extra support to fully understand and participate in the lesson. Language supports create a bridge between the content and the language demands of the read aloud lesson. When you plan the Guided Reading lesson, identify where children will need help to understand the content and participate in the lesson. Supports can be child-friendly definitions, paraphrasing, pictures, props, charts, think-alouds, or examples.

• Review the completed lesson plan – including scripted prompts and lesson texts. Identify words, phrases, and expressions that might require explanation and support.

• Plan language supports for potentially challenging words, expressions, or concepts. Pay close attention to academic language. Script out exactly what you will say.

• Record your language supports on sticky notes and affix them to the book or the plan.• Gather charts or visuals (e.g., book illustrations, printed out images, etc.) that you plan to use as language supports. Have them available

for easy access during the lesson.• After the lesson, be sure to reflect back upon the language supports. Were they helpful? How do you know?

7. Plans language supports so all children can understand and participate in the lesson

Planning


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Guided Reading

We want children to be proficient in reading all types of texts: stories, articles, informational texts, plays, and poetry. Additionally, different types of books are needed to address different literacy objectives. For example, if the children are learning to sequence, a procedural book is a good choice. If they need to work on fluency, poetry is a great way to go. To better understand story elements, you’ll want to use a fiction book. Guided Reading is the best instructional format for supporting children as they learn about different genres. Under the teacher’s watchful eye, they can discover the structure of different types of books and how to adjust their reading style and rate to the type of book they are involved with.

• After determining the literacy objective, decide which type of book would be most effective for giving the children sufficient practice in working toward the objective.

• Work on developing a balanced collection of books for Guided Reading.

• Review your future plans for Guided Reading for all groups. Examine the genres of the book selections and try to remedy any pronounced imbalances. For example, if the books are overwhelmingly fiction, see if there are informational books that can be substituted to teach the objectives.

• When reading a fiction title with a group, offer children an easy informational book on the same topic to put in their book baggies.

• Work toward providing groups with diverse reading experiences across text types.

8. Balances the types of books that are used during instruction (e.g. fiction, informational) to best support the lesson objective

Planning


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Guided Reading

Guided Reading lessons involve the use of leveled books and a variety of instructional materials, including magnetic letters, word cards, whiteboards, markers, and more. Being prepared and organized is vital to successful teaching. Having books and materials available and at your fingertips

- allows lessons to start on time, - prevents children from losing attention and focus while you hunt for the right books and materials, - helps you stay on schedule, enabling you to get to all of your groups, - and allows you to successfully get to all of the components of the literacy block.

Being ready for your group models the importance of being prepared and demonstrates behaviors that we’d like children to emulate.• Use references such as Spaces and Places: Designing Classrooms for Literacy (Diller) to support planning and organizing the guided

reading area.• Designate materials as “exclusively for Guided Reading”. For example, have “Guided-Reading-only whiteboards.” If possible, make them

distinctive – a different color, perhaps.• Gather books for Guided Reading instruction for an entire week, understanding that your book choices might have to be adjusted as

the week progresses.• Store books in book bins – one for each group.• Spend some time at the end or beginning of the school day checking to make sure that everything you need to teach the next Guided

Reading lesson is in place.

9 Has books and materials for instruction organized and available

Planning


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Guided Reading

The Guided Reading area is equipped with all of the resources that children will need to support them in reading, including anchor charts, word charts, and strategy charts. Children are taught to refer to these resources for support. Appropriate resources are posted for all groups.

• Be sure that all charts posted in the Guided Reading area are in support of guided reading. Move other charts to other areas of the classroom.

• Co-created anchor charts that are appropriate for Guided Reading should be displayed at the children’s eye level.

• After teaching strategy lessons, display word charts and strategy charts to support the children. Remind them to refer to the charts for support.

• During one-to-one coaching in the “during reading” segment of Guided Reading lessons, remind children to use posted resources.

• Retire charts and other resources when they are no longer needed.

10. Posts or has resources available (such as anchor charts and lists of strategies)

Planning


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Guided Reading

Children who are comfortable and confident with the routines and procedures of Guided Reading will experience a higher degree of success in applying them to their independent reading. The “before reading” segment of the lesson is where sufficient time and instruction should be devoted to learning the routines and procedures of Guided Reading. The emphasis on procedures and routines will decrease over time to simply a brief reminder. Practicing procedures and routines will result in more productive and smoother lessons, increased reading progress, and independence in reading.

• Plan and reflect upon the procedures and routines needed for Guided Reading (e.g., whisper reading, repeated reading, what to do when you come to the Guided Reading table, etc.). Use the procedural lesson planning template.

• Teach the procedural lessons. For each procedure, this might include co-creating an anchor chart.

• Post the anchor chart(s) in the Guided Reading area.• Reread the anchor chart(s) as needed before Guided Reading lessons.• Practice routines as needed.• Begin each Guided Reading lesson with a brief review of one of the routines or

procedures.• Highlight children who are doing a good job following routines and procedures

during Guided Reading.• At the end of the lesson, have the children reflect on how well they carried out

the procedures.

11. Develops routines and procedures to promote responsibility within the Guided Reading group

Planning


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Guided Reading

Guided Reading takes place in an environment of immersed readers and writers. You can’t successfully move forward with a Guided Reading lesson until the children who are not at the Guided Reading table are meaningfully engaged in independent reading and writing tasks. You must be able to exclusively devote your attention to the children at the Guided Reading table. Through a series of carefully planned, taught, and practiced procedural lessons, the children working independently learn what to do, where to do it, how to access materials, and how to solve the problems that are likely to emerge. They become increasingly more self-directed, self-regulated, and independent. This serves them well not only during Guided Reading, but also throughout the literacy block and the rest of the school day.

• Using the procedural lesson template, plan the procedures and routines that need to be in place for Independent Work Time (e.g., how to use the CD player, how to operate the Ipad, what to do if your pencil breaks, how to rotate to the next station, etc.).

• Teach the procedural lessons. For each procedure, this might include co-creating an anchor chart.

• Post the anchor chart(s) in the areas where they are needed.• Practice, role play, and rehearse as needed. • Briefly review routines and procedures for Independent Work Time each day before

taking any Guided Reading groups.• Check in with the children between

Guided Reading lessons.• Highlight the children and the groups that

are engaged in the expected behaviors.• Develop a child-friendly rubric so the

children can self-monitor and self-assess.• Reteach procedural lessons as needed.• Have a whole class reflection at the end

of Guided Reading/Independent Work Time.

• Address problems in class meetings.

12. Develops routines and procedures to promote responsibility for students working independently (who are not in the Guided Reading group)

Planning


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When we teach children to read, one of the most important lessons we convey is that reading is fun! If they don’t believe that reading is fun, they won’t put in the time, effort, and persistence necessary to become fluent readers. Make it worth their while. The climate that we create in our classrooms greatly contributes to children’s motivation to read. Share memorable characters, gorgeous illustrations, and clever story lines. Then put the books in their hands, support them in their reading, and let them have fun.

• Read aloud books with proven “kid appeal”. Let your children know what they’ll get when they learn to read. Highlight the high interest books in your classroom library.

• Select books that children will like for Guided Reading whenever possible. Keep track of the authors, characters, series, and topics that appeal to your children.

• Keep the books for Guided Reading instruction in the children’s instructional range. Nothing takes the joy out of reading like laboring through a book that is too difficult.

• When possible, choose books that can be easily converted into readers’ theater scripts. The children will build fluency through repeated readings and have fun performing for their friends.

• Try comics and graphic novels for early readers.• Plan appealing extension book activities. Let your

children draw, sing, write, and act in response to their books.

13. Creates a joyful climate around learning to read

PlanningGuided Reading


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Before children begin reading, the teacher engages and orients the children by setting the purpose and context for the book and lesson. The teacher piques children’s interest in the text and sets the purpose of the lesson. The teacher briefly introduces and previews the text. How much the teacher introduces depends on the needs of the readers based on their stage of reading development and the demands of the text. In many cases, the teacher explicitly states the teaching point, telling the children why they are reading the selected book, what strategy they will work on applying, and how the strategy will help them as readers. By setting the purpose before reading, and then reiterating that purpose during and after reading, the children are clear about their focus. The purpose for reading the book is always strongly aligned with the primary literacy goal of the lesson.• Thoughtfully plan your introduction prior to teaching the lesson. • Refer to, and perhaps even read verbatim, the scripted “before reading” segment of the lesson plan to ensure that you are using clear,

child-friendly, and comprehensible language.• Introduce the text based on the needs of the group or the demands of the text. • Pique children’s interest so they are excited and ready to begin reading. • Set the purpose for reading by stating the teaching point. For example, “Today we will work on using context clues–the other words in the

sentence–to help us understand the meaning of an unknown word.” • Tell the children how working on the teaching point will help them as readers. For example, “Using context helps you as a reader because

we don’t always want to stop our reading to look a word up—especially when the book is really interesting. Context clues will help us learn new words ‘on the go.’”

1. Engages children before reading by setting the context for the lesson

Before

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Guided Reading


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Guided Reading

A successful book introduction equips readers with the tools and information that they will need to read a text. The book introduction occurs in the “before reading” segment of the lesson. Book introductions consider the children’s background knowledge, the structure of the text, the lesson focus, and words and phrases that are critical to successfully reading the book. The length of a book introduction varies based on the children’s reading stage, their familiarity with the text type, and their experience with reading books at that particular text level.

• Examine the selected text (e.g., needed background knowledge, structure, vocabulary) to determine the focus of its introduction.• Plan, prepare, and rehearse the book introduction. • Read the title of the book to the children. Give a two to three sentence overview of the book.• Distribute the book and guide the children through it, emphasizing what you focused on in your introduction, as follows:

1. Guide emergent readers through almost the entire book, having them point to the critical words in the book. 2. Early readers will need to be guided through only about 1/3 of the book. 3. Transitional and fluent readers will require only a succinct overview.

• Be mindful of the time spent on the book introduction in a 15-20 minute lesson.

2. Introduces and previews the text, varying the length and type of book introduction by reading stage

Before


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Based on your readers’ needs, select a relevant teaching point that will allow children to access the text at their instructional level. Demonstrate the skill or behavior, guide children in a brief practice, and link the skill to their independent reading. Demonstrating the teaching point by modeling it and using think aloud as an extra layer of support will help ensure that your children are in a much stronger position to try applying the new strategy. • Plan for how you will teach a reading skill, strategy, or behavior in the most effective way.• Have the materials and resources, including the book for the lesson, at hand to demonstrate the teaching point. • Tell the children what you are going to show them. • Model the teaching point, using think aloud to support and illustrate your strategy demonstration. • Give the children an opportunity to try the strategy themselves under your watchful eye, if that level of support is needed.

3. Teaches a reading skill, strategy, or behavior to the whole group

Before

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Guided Reading


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The “guiding” of the Guided Reading lesson occurs in the “during reading” segment of the lesson. Every child has a book and is whisper reading or reading silently. It is the children’s opportunity to apply and practice the skills, strategies, and behaviors that you have taught them. They should be reading at their own pace, not choral, round-robin or “popcorn” reading. As the children are focused on their reading, your responsibility is to listen to and support individual readers one at a time with a brief conference. During this brief conference, you are responding to children’s immediate needs. You can notice the child’s reading behaviors and affirm the strategy (e.g., “You checked the picture, then tried the word.”), or step in and prompt (e.g., “Does that make sense? What can you try instead?”), or teach a new strategy (e.g., “Let me show you how to get your mouth ready for that word.”). The conferences provide pertinent information for future lessons and some feedback that can help you reflect retrospectively upon your book selection and book introduction. As children are reading at their own pace:• Listen in on each reader• Observe each child’s reading behaviors and strategy use• Conduct a brief conference with individual readers in which you

might:• check for understanding• affirm a reading strategy use• prompt for a reading strategy use• teach a reading strategy use• encourage fluent reading

1. Supports children by listening to and working with one reader at a time

During

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Guided Reading


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You can gather a lot of information on your readers from close observation. You want to observe and document readers’ relevant behaviors and skills in a clear, systematic way. When you listen in and observe, look for children’s overt and subtle reading behaviors. Are they tracking the words with their finger or eyes? Are they moving their lips as they read? Which of your readers are reacting to the books and seem “lost in the story?” Spend 20 seconds observing a child read. Write down what you see, hear, and notice.As you are working with children, take notes on what the readers are doing well and where they need support. Record your observations in a notebook or recording sheet in your binder. Also, take the time to write down what you say and do with the children as you are coaching them. Note if you taught them a new skill or strategy, affirmed what they were already doing to problem solve, or prompted them to take action. Encourage children to discuss their strengths and needs with you.Use your anecdotal notes to plan future lessons with a child or group of children. These notes are also an important record of a child’s reading progress. Remember! You don’t need to do a “formal” reading assessment to move a child’s reading level. Your informed observations are enough.• Prepare a binder or notebook for taking anecdotal notes. Be sure to record the date, the book title, and the text level. • Use a recording sheet for your notes. Or try

recording observations on sticky notes so you can move them around as needed.

• Have the binder available, open, and ready to go when you listen in on the children’s reading.

• Record specific information about reading behaviors (e.g., cross checked illustration; tried a word using the same first letter; didn’t sound right; returned to the beginning of the line and tried again) rather than global statements (e.g., labored, slow reading).

• Help children discuss their own strengths and needs.

• Reread and reflect upon your notes later in the school day. Revise them as appropriate.

• Use the notes to plan for future lessons.

2. Observes and documents readers’ behaviors and skills

During

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Guided Reading


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The power of Guided Rading reaches its peak during “in-the-moment” decision making by the children. Sometimes a child will “try something.” It might not appear to be successful, but in one important respect it always is – because the success is in the attempt! An often-offered prompt is “try something.” Affirm efforts to do so. The affirmation makes it safer for the child to try something the next time. When a child makes a decision based on the information on the page and her experiences as a reader (that you have supported with good instruction), the affirmation that is was the right decision has a profound effect. The child’s confidence and willingness to take risks increases.

• Develop a repertoire of prompts for Guided Reading conferences. Seek out professional books such as Fountas & Pinnell’s Prompting Guide for assistance.

• Affirm the child’s unsuccessful problem solving efforts by explicitly stating what the child did (e.g., “You found a chunk of the word that you know.”) and then offering encouragement (e.g., “Finding a chunk of the word that you know is a good strategy. Why don’t you try stretching the sounds out?”)

• Affirm the child’s successful problem-solving efforts by explicitly stating what the child did (e.g., “You read the sentence and it didn’t make sense, so you went back and reread. Good for you! Reading is supposed to make sense.”)

• Be sure to record children’s successful and unsuccessful problem-solving efforts to inform future lessons.

3. Affirms children’s problem solving attempts and successes

During

Guided Reading


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Prompting children when they get stuck is like giving them a little help to get them over a hump. Effective reading prompts encourage a child to try something out so they can solve the problem on their own. Prompting allows you to encourage readers to take actions they are capable of with your support. This is scaffolding — giving children the minimum amount of support they need to try something and still be successful. After you observe what the child is doing, think about if you want to teach them something, prompt them to try something out, or affirm something you want them to keep doing.

• Prior to the lesson, be sure to review your anecdotal notes from previous conferences to help prioritize focus strategies.

• Give the child that you are observing and working with with your total and complete attention.

• Take careful anecdotal notes to record exactly which prompts you gave and how the child responded.

• Use a reference such as Fountas and Pinnell’s Prompting Guide if you need support on exactly what to say to the child.

• Develop a repertoire of language supports for children who do not understand what you mean when you say things like, “Get your mouth ready.”

• Don’t be afraid to openly tell the child the word if the prompting is not going well.

• Keep your work with each child brief. Ideally, you want to work with each child in the group. The intensity of these sessions warrants succinctness.

• Use notes from your Guided Reading conferences to plan future literacy objectives, mini-lessons, and longer one-to-one Reading Workshop conferences.

4. Provides prompts and reminders to use decoding and monitoring strategies previously taught

During

Guided Reading


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The child’s ability to understand and then meaningfully apply the teaching point is best achieved when s/he encounters an authentic use of it. In a Guided Reading lesson the book is selected because it offers opportunities to practice and apply the teaching point. The authentic application of the teaching point deepens the child’s understanding of it and increases the likelihood that it will successfully become incorporated into his/her repertoire of known strategies.

• Prepare a prompt for yourself for reinforcing the teaching point (e.g., “Do you need to go back and reread?”) Jot the prompt down on a sticky note and affix it to your assessment binder to help remind you.

• Be aware of the passages in the text that are conducive to applying the teaching point.• Confirm the children’s application of the teaching point when you are working with them one-on-one. (e.g., “Good for you! You used a

word chunk that you knew to help you figure out that word.”)• Prompt children to apply the teaching point when they are missing an opportunity to do so.

5. Reinforces the teaching point (when applicable)

During

Guided Reading


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The after reading portion of Guided Reading is brief but very important. Use the time to solidify children’s learning by discussing the text and engaging children in needed literacy activities. Each time, facilitate a discussion that supports children’s comprehension of the text, invites them to share their personal responses, and asks questions. These quick book talks raise children’s speaking and listening skills and support their thinking, vocabulary, and comprehension. After reading is also the time to engage children in word work and/or extend the meaning of the text. Make sure these activities match the children’s needs according to their reading level or stage of development. Word work is critical in a Guided Reading lesson for emergent and early readers and can be useful to transitional and early fluent readers at strategic points to meet their needs. During word work, you may focus on early literacy concepts, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, letter-sound relationships, spelling patterns, high frequency words, word meaning/vocabulary, word structure, or word-solving actions. Optionally, extend children’s understanding of the text by engaging them in guided writing and/or responding to literature. The act of writing helps children express and organize their thinking so they can show it in writing. Using writing helps them to make meaning and deepen their understanding of what they read.

• Lead a text discussion that invites children to share their responses and ask questions.• Provide additional brief literacy activities, based on the group’s reading level and

needs.• Emergent and early readers can benefit from picture and word sorts, sound boxes,

making and breaking words apart, and sentence dictation.• Transitional readers can read and write words with blends, diagraphs, vowel patterns,

and multisyllabic words. • Fluent readers can engage in analysis of common affixes, word roots, homophones,

homonyms, and multisyllabic words.• Optionally, extend children’s learning by guiding them in writing and/or having them respond to literature. For example, have children

write about their favorite part of the story or write something they learned from the text.

1. Engages children in text discussion and literacy activities after reading

After

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Guided Reading


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Having a book discussion after the reading offers numerous benefits to children. It gives them the opportunity to practice taking turns. It deepens their comprehension of the story. It allows them to see and understand different opinions and perspectives on the book. Book discussions also help children to understand, use, and develop proficiency in the art of conversation: actively listening, responding to another speaker, agreeing, and respectfully disagreeing. Your role as facilitator is critical in a book discussion, especially when the children are new to the experience. Modeling and providing discussion language and prompts such as I liked the character because..., I was surprised at the ending because…, and I wish the author would have... assist and support children in having productive book discussions with each other.

• Have 2-3 open-ended questions prepared to start and stimulate the book discussion.• Record the questions on your planner for easy access.• Understand that the purpose of a book discussion is to share thoughts and opinions and to deepen comprehension. Refrain from posing

literal questions which limit responses to a single word or phrase.• Refer children to a posted co-created anchor chart (at the children’s eye level) on conversation stems that support the discussion.• Be mindful of the time allocated for guided reading. Adhere to the schedule. If the book discussion is going strong when time runs out,

find a venue for the children to continue the discussion on their own.

2. Facilitates discussion to support comprehension of the text, as needed

AfterGuided Reading


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Word work is critical for children who are still learning to “break the code.” Every Guided Reading lesson that uses a book at a text level from A through F ideally contains a word work component. These lessons are generally short, interactive, and focused on a single phonics element or decoding strategy. Giving children an opportunity to focus on and practice a particular decoding strategy or phonics element that appeared in the book which they have just read helps them better understand the relationship between the graphic representation and the sound. The in-context connection also provides an authentic experience that is more meaningful than an isolated drill exercise. It facilitates the children’s understanding that connecting letters to sounds leads to deciphering words, which leads to deriving meaning from written text.

• Make sure that you have access to your Guided Reading lesson plan template, which specifies your pre-planned word work activity.

• Be sure that any needed resources and materials (e.g., magnetic letters, letter cards, whiteboards, markers, etc.) for the activity are close at hand.

• In the brief (two-to-three minute) activity, engage the children in an interactive— preferably hands-on—task focused on a single phonics element or decoding strategy.

• Tell the children what to do and then demonstrate how to do it using a think aloud. For example, use a card that says “__ an” and say, “Take one of your magnetic letters and put it on the blank. Run your finger under the letters and read the word:

“R-r-r, -an, ran!”• Encourage the children to verbalize the letter sounds and letter blending.• Observe the children carefully to determine if the lesson will require re-teaching, reinforcement, or just occasional review.

3. Provides word work to support decoding and phonics skills, as needed

AfterGuided Reading


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Anchor charts can serve several important purposes during the “after reading” segment of the Guided Reading lesson. They can help to support visual learners in summing up and organizing the key ideas from the book. They can also document the application of the teaching point from the book. They provide a visual representation of the learning that has taken place. Anchor charts can also be created as a reference to support further learning. Engaging children in creating and/or adding to a chart or graphic organizer helps to solidify the learning that has taken place during the Guided Reading lesson.

• Have the materials and resources available to make the anchor chart (e.g., chart paper and markers).• Be conscious of the amount of time needed to create the chart. You may have to build the chart over multiple lessons.• If you need to build the chart over multiple lessons, be sure that you have multiple books appropriate for the teaching point.• Co-create the anchor chart with the children. Negotiate the language of the chart with the children.• Read aloud as you are scribing the anchor chart.• Lead the children in a shared reading of the anchor chart when it is completed.• Display the anchor chart at the children’s eye level in an appropriate place.• Retire the anchor chart when the children no longer need it.

4. May reference or build anchor charts to support the independent application of the teaching point

AfterGuided Reading


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Before ending the lesson, remind children what they worked on that day and restate the teaching point. Let children know how applying the teaching point to their own reading will help them as readers and encourage them to use it when reading independently.

• Before dismissing the group, restate the teaching point.• Use clear, concise, and consistent language.• Encourage children to apply the teaching point on their own when reading independently.

5. Reinforces the teaching point and links that work to the students’ independent reading.

After

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Guided Reading

Documents

CPEL Guide: Guided Reading Grades K–3 · Next Step in Guided Reading (Richardson), and Making the Most of Small Groups (Diller). • Select the primary literacy objective for the