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 r s t a n d i n g
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G u i d e d
Re a d i n g
 What is Guided reading
Teaching approach designed to help individual readers
build an effective system for processing a variety of
increasingly challenging texts over time (Fountas & Pinnell,
2011).
Teacher provides instruction to a small group of
students.
Text is easy enough for students to read
Instruction is explicit and direct.
with teacher skillful support
text offers challenges and opportunities
for problem solving.
Teachers choose selections that help
students expand their strategies.
(Scholastic Reading Club, 2017).
 Purpose of Guided Reading

Guided reading is used to assist children in learning better

fluency, decoding skills, and comprehension skills. 2-3 (Sandymcdgp,
2010)

Students can understand and enjoy the story because its

accessible to them through their own strategies (Scholastic Reading Club,
2017).

Students use problem-solving strategies to figure out words they

dont know, deal with difficult sentence structure, and understand
concepts or ideas they have never before encountered in print
(Scholastic Reading Club, 2017).
 Why is guiding reading important?

Guided reading provides extra support for struggling

readers in a safe setting (Mesquite ISD, 2008).

It allows teachers to differentiate their instruction so that

they can reteach skills to the struggling reader and
introduce new skills to the students who are ready before
other students (Mesquite ISD, 2008).
 When are children ready for guided
reading?
Guided reading should begin when children start to understand and exhibit:
a knowledge of the alphabet
writing vocabulary of a few high-frequency words including their name
an awareness that reading must make sense
some of the early reading behaviors: directionality, one-to-one matching,
locating known words, locating unknown words
(Scholastic Reading Club, 2017)
an interest in learning to read
ideas related to the class discussion
(Clidas, n.d.)
 How do teachers match books to readers for
guiding reading lessons?

The teacher selects a text for a small group of

students who are similar in their reading
behaviors (Scholastic Reading Club, 2017)
Teachers should choose Guided Reading
Program books for students that:
match their knowledge base
are interesting to them
help them take the next step in learning to read
offer just enough challenge to support learning
to read while still supporting fluency and
meaning (Scholastic Reading Club, 2017)
 Leveled Books and Determining Levels
Leveled Reading: Teachers use various assessment tools to determine how well
a child reads. They then match the child to books that are challenging enough
for her to make progress (Scholastic, 2017).
Types of assessment tools
Guided Reading Level (GRL)
Child will sit one-on-one with his teacher and read from a benchmark book.
Teacher may ask child questions and to retell the story. Teacher uses a Reading
Record to calculate any oral reading mistakes and to help determine a suitable
guided reading level and books for the child ( Scholastic, 2017).
Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA)
Child will read a benchmark book to the teacher and then retell the story. The
teacher then scores the child on a range of skills, such as accuracy of reading,
comprehension, and fluency (Scholastic, 2017).
Lexile Measures (Scholastic, 2017)
the measure of how difficult a text is or a student's reading ability level
taking a school-administeredScholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) assessment
taking a standardized leveled reading test that converts the results to a Lexile
 Procedure for Implementing a Guided
Reading Lesson
(Scholastic Reading Club, 2017)
The teacher works with a small group of students with similar needs.
The teacher provides introductions to the text that support childrens later attempts
at problem solving.
Each student reads the whole text or a unified part of the text.
Readers figure out new words while reading for meaning.
The teacher prompts, encourages, and confirms students attempts at
problem solving.
The teacher and student engage in meaningful conversations about
what they are reading.
The teacher and student revisit the text to demonstrate and use a range of
comprehension strategies.
Organizing the
Guided Reading
Classroom
 How many students should be in a guided reading group
and how long should the lessons be?

3 4 students should be in a guided reading group

(Mesquite ISD, 2008).
4 - 6 students (Lanning & LaMere, 2000)
Guided reading should take place everyday for 15
minutes per group (Mesquite ISD, 2008).
Lowest Readers: Everyday
Mid-Level Readers: 2 to 3 times a week
High Level Readers: Once a week
Lessons can last as long as 30 minutes (Lanning &
LaMere, 2000)
 How do you determine who is in what group? In other
words, what type of assessment(s) can be used to
determine the members of each group? Explain.

Groups are based on student needs, skill, and

level of reading (Mesquite ISD, 2008).
running records, print tests, and teacher
observations (Scholastic, 2017)
Guided Reading Level (GRL) (Scholastic, 2017)
Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA)
(Scholastic, 2017)
Lexile Measures (Scholastic, 2017)
How do you know when to regroup or to move individual
students to other groups?

Observations and running records can

provide valuable information for
teachers in determining whether
students need to be regrouped based on
change in their needs (Kreul, 2017).

As the strengths and needs of the group

members change, so do the groups
(Lanning & LaMere, 2000)
In terms of scheduling guided reading lessons, how do you
organize your literacy block? In other words, how much time
is allotted for guided reading as a whole and what do the
other students do while you are teaching guided reading
groups?
As a whole, guided reading can be done for 45 minutes a day (Mesquite
ISD, 2008).

During guided reading time, children not participating in guided reading

activities go to their centers and complete activities that are present in
that center for the day (Mesquite ISD, 2008).
 z i n g a n d
Analy o u r
g o n Y
Reflectin
Learning
p e r i e n c e
Ex
 Analyzing and Reflecting
Question 1:
How has this assignment expanded your understanding of how to
differentiate reading instruction for the various readers in your
kindergarten class?

This assignment has helped me to understand how to match books to a particular

group of children in guided reading sessions based on their reading level. It has
helped me to understand how instruction may vary for some children. Some children
may be ready for more advanced reading, while others may need more time on a
lesson. I really like how guided reading allows every child to get the individual
reading instruction they need within a small group. This assignment has encouraged
me to plan small group times that allow me to work with 3 to four children at a time
who have similar needs and interest.
 Analyzing and Reflecting
Question 2:
What questions do you have about guided reading that was not answered
in your research?

After reading articles, webpages, and viewing videos, I believe I gained a lot of in
depth information about guided reading. The only question I have is when should
guided reading begin in the school year? Does the teacher teach and assess, then
establish small groups for guided reading?
 Analyzing and Reflecting
Question 3:
In what ways will you be able to increase your understanding of how to
implement guided reading? In other words, what kinds of materials, resources,
workshops/seminars, organizations, conferences or local experiences are
available to you?
I believe I can increase my understanding of how to implement guided reading by
completing more research online and observing guided reading implemented in
classrooms via YouTube. I found that there are guided reading webinars available to help
enhance my understanding of how to implement guided reading in the classroom. One
webinar I found is based on the Fountas & Pinnell professional book Guided Reading,
Second Edition: Responsive Teaching Across the Grades. However, this webinar charges a
fee of $200.00 per person. There are also books available that explain how to use guided
reading and why it is an effective method of teaching. There are many resources available,
but for now I will continue to research guided reading online to enhance my understanding
of this instruction method.
 References
Clidas, J. (n.d). Guided reading with emergent readers. Retrieved from
https://www.leeandlow.com/images/pdfs/intro.pdf
Fountas, I.C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2011). About leveled texts. Retrieved from
http://www.fountasandpinnellleveledbooks.com/aboutLeveledTexts.aspx
Kreul, M. (2017). Guided reading in the primary classroom. Retrieved from
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/guided-reading-primary-classroom/
Lanning, J.L., & LaMere, R. (2000). An important aspect of guided reading: Books galore! Classroom
connections.Council Connections, 5(3),26-28. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED450358.pdf
Mesquite ISD. (2008, March 14).Modeling guided reading faq . [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txC-Qo_8GiU
Sandymcdgp. (2010, September 22).The components of balanced literacy. [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nhZ7g0955Q
Scholastic. (2017). Learn about leveled reading. Parents Raising Readers and Learners. Retrieved from
http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/book-selection-tips/learn-about-leveled-reading
Scholastic Reading Club. (2017). What is guided reading? Retrieved from
http://www.scholastic.ca/clubs/images/whatisgrl.pdf