Chapter 3...and some words from Lori Jamison Rog!

I am so happy with how the book study is progressing and have been loving the book. I feel like I have learned so much already and we are only on to Chapter 3!


I will (hopefully) be posting my thoughts about Chapter 3 tomorrow because...I am still teaching (big gasp, I know) and need to move my room, collect my thoughts and try not to fall asleep before 6:30pm (as I am writing this on Wednesday night and currently baking 4 dozen sugar cookies to decorate with my class and our kinder reading buddies tomorrow and a double batch of butter tart squares for our staff potluck)!!


I do, however, have some fun for you all....

After we completed the guided reading survey, I sent off a few of the posted questions to the author of Guiding Readers, Lori Jamison Rog, and she has emailed me back a few answers. 

This will be ongoing as she is answering the largish number of questions I sent a few at a time!

1. Why did you think it was important to write a book about guided reading and specifically the 18 minute lesson time frame? 

ROG: In 2003, I wrote a book called Guided Reading Basics, which was really an introduction to guided reading.  Back then, most of us were really struggling with the organizational pieces of small group reading instruction.  In fact, I used to say, "Anybody can work with a group of four kids.  The challenge is what to do with the other 20."  We were often working so hard on organizing for "the other 20" that we didn't have much time or energy left for planning the actual small group lesson.  And yet, those eighteen minutes of targeted, just-in-time support with that small group of students may very well be the finest teaching we do.

I wanted this book to focus on the teaching piece of small group reading - making the most of those precious minutes with each group of students. More than anything else, this book is a colllection of learning routines that are purposeful and goal-oriented, a smorgasbord of practical ideas from which professionals may choose to meet the needs of their students and their curriculum, whether they are working with homogeneous "needs-based" groups or heterogeneous groupings that focus on strategies or skills.  

As for "eighteen minutes," it's essentially a catch-phrase.  It works for me because I allow twenty minutes per group in my timetable; I set a timer for 18 minutes to allow a 2-minute "transition time."  The point isn't so much about the exact time frame as it is about keeping the lessons brief and focused and not allowing time to get away from us. 

 

2. Who are your guided reading "mentors"? 

ROG: Marie Clay, Helen Depree, Irene Fountas, Gay-Su Pinnell, and hundreds of teachers across North America with whom I've worked and from whom I've learned.

I am excited to learn more from Lori, both through reading her book and her answers to our questions. And, I hope you all are enjoying the book study as much as I am. Please don't hesitate to comment, ask questions, email, or suggest a discussion topic that you want to know more about. I am hoping we can start a discussion together so please comment away and I will compile everything into a post. 
The more we talk together the more we will all learn!
Plus....blog about the book study and post up below!