Getting+Started

=Getting Started with Guided Reading=

Once your students are comfortable with the routines and expectations of Independent Reading and they are engaged in purposeful reading, responding, and discussion opportunities, then you are ready to begin small group instruction through Guided Reading. During Guided Reading, you gather together students with similar reading needs and provide them with structured support as they read instructional level text. A text that is //just right// for Guided Reading is one in which a student demonstrates a minimum of 70 percent comprehension and 90 to 95 percent word recognition. Since instructional levels change over time as students develop as readers, guided reading groupings are dynamic and can change membership frequently.

1. Forming Groups
Since it is important that students in a Guided Reading group are reading at approximately the same level and are ready to focus on similar reading strategies, you will need to assess students’ comprehension and word recognition prior to forming groupings. Tools such as an informal reading inventory or a Benchmark Assessment are very helpful in determining students’ instructional levels. For more information on assessing reading levels please refer to the assessment page.

Using the information provided from your assessment opportunities, place students with similar needs in groups of 6 or fewer. Small group instruction is only beneficial if groups are kept to an optimal size so that all group members can contribute fully to discussions. If you have students who are operating at levels far below or above others in the class, it is recommended that you place these students in smaller sized groups (2 or 3) or place them in a group closest to their level and provide additional support with reading easier or harder materials during Independent Reading.

2. Scheduling Groups
While your students are reading independently, you can meet with your Guided Reading groups. Each Guided Reading session is approximately 20 minutes in duration so that means you could schedule one or two groups per day, depending on the amount of time in your Readers’ Workshop block. Plan to rotate around the groups so that all groups are seen on a regular basis; however, students who require additional support should be seen on a more frequent basis.

In a 45 minute block, your schedule might look like the following:

conference || Group 5 || Group 2 ||
 * Monday || Tuesday ||= Wednesday || Thursday || Friday ||
 * Group 1 || Group 3 ||= Individual
 * Group 2 || Group 4 ||=  || Group 1 || Group 3 ||

3. Selecting Appropriate Text for a Group
When choosing a text for your readers, ensure that the text matches the group’s instructional level and needs. The following chart provides a comparison of levels from various diagnostic tools.



- //from Scholastics Moving Up with Literacy Place//