Layering my Classroom (And the Cybersale!!)

I think my love of 100 Minutes has been well documented since I started reading it this past summer…but today I want to talk about how I think it has helped me build in my classroom routines in my language program and add layers to my teaching.

Side note: 

This is a wordy and lengthy post…I apologize! But if you hang in there I have a whole list of must-have products from TPT sellers towards the end. 

I have already struggled with wanting to start EVERYTHING all at the same time and have my full program up and running. Lisa Donohue talked a lot about the importance of deepening your routines and taking students farther by adding on to previously existing structures and routines. I have found that thinking about my program in this way has really helped me to find the perfect time add a new layer to our existing literacy routines and provide my students opportunities to deepen their understanding of the concepts we are studying. 

Adding layers has been an especially important part to my class' success this year has I have a VERY wide range of abilities and quite a few ELL's and students working below grade level. Building in layers of routines to help deepen my program has really helped me to differentiate and work towards meeting all my students needs. It has been especially helpful as 6 students from my class receive ESL support three out of 5 days…that's a 1/3 of my class!! Then I have 3 other students who receive Spec Ed support everyday and 1 student who goes to a math group twice a week. 

My room is a constant revolving door. 

This has made scheduling guided lessons somewhat difficult but not impossible. Lisa Donohue wrote about intentional sequencing in her book 100 Minutes and it made so much sense to me…it was definitely the missing piece to the puzzle of my literacy program. 

It isn't perfect yet (and probably won't be) but it has helped me to see how to schedule our literacy block and why I should be putting  rotations in a certain order. 

So this is how I plan for guided reading and our literacy rotations. As you can see some of the boxes have X's in them. This is when my ELL's are receiving support and are not in the class with us. As  I said it isn't perfect yet. We have yet to build in Reading Response as a rotation (the goal for next week!) and I haven't yet met with groups for a Writing Conference. 

Sigh.

Always so much to do. 

This is our rotation board. Since it's new to me this year it's work in progress. 

If you like it you can find it here in my TPT store. 

Right now I have been using post-it notes to provide instructions to my students for each of their rotations. I am lucky this year that I have a full time educational assistant in my room to work with one of my students who needs 1:1 support. She has wonderfully taken the initiative to also work with three other students who need 1:1 support for most of their work. I often assign that group extra guided reading with her so that they are being taught in a guided group everyday…plus the time they are being pulled for ELL or Spec Ed support. 

Sometimes the scheduling makes my head spin. 

Here's a closer look at my Guided Reading Literacy Group Labels.

This is also the first year that I have been happy with how my guided reading program is running and I must admit guided reading has been a necessity in my class. I am VERY much behind in my literacy teaching due to the fact that some many of my students have so many different needs. Guided reading has been the key to this problem as I now teach all the components of my reading program in small groups. 

We save whole group time for interactive read alouds, chapter books, building on our routines and scaffolding our writing instruction. In the past I have focused most of my writing instruction on the text forms but this year it just wasn't feeling right so instead I have switched to a much freer writing approach, allowing my students to choose the majority of their own writing topics and forms. We are focusing on the writing process and how to edit and revise. 

Isn't it amazing how much your writing can change from year to year?

So now on to the good stuff…! 

What are some TPT products that I just can't live without?

Well, I'm glad you asked, especially since the Cybersale is on tomorrow. 

 Button from The 3AM Teacher

This amazing writing prompt product from Irene Hines has been the cornerstone for my weekly journal writing program. 

I just love it.

The Fluency Strip pack from The Moffat Girls has really helped my students who are ELL's and working below grade level to build on their fluency skills AND they love tracking their progress through the sets. 

I can not even tell you how much I LOVE The Weekly Word Wizard sets from SunnyDays. Since Grade 3 is a testing year in Ontario this product provides my students with constant practice of valuable grammar and vocabulary skills. 

I am loving it!!

The next few sets are already in my cart for tomorrow.

This next product is a MUST HAVE for anyone doing guided reading in their class. It has saved me sooooo much time when creating my guided lessons and helps to provide a consistent checking system of the skills we have already covered and need to review. Head over to Angeline Stewart's store to check it out. 

So there you have it…

My literacy program in a nutshell. I hope you get some good deals tomorrow and I'd love to hear about any suggestions you have for literacy products from your own TPT store or others that you think might benefit my students. 

Literacy Workshop…Revisiting 100 Minutes

In the past few years a few things have 

totally changed the way I teach. 

Have changed the teacher I am.

Have changed the way I view my profession.

The first was switching from teaching Grades 7 & 8 rotary to teaching Grades 3 and 4 core.

I used to teach two classes English, History and Geography on a rotary schedule where my students switched classes every 40 minutes.

I now teach one class of students everything and at most they only leave the room for 40 minutes a day. 

And it's so much better. 

I know my students better.

I integrate my content more effectively.

I like it better.

The second major shift was when I read Guided Math by Laney Sammons for an online book study with Brenda from Primary Inspired. 

Thinking about how to differentiate my teaching and teach in a guided setting really helped me to understand how I could help each of my students to achieve success. 

Then this past summer I read 100 Minutes by Lisa Donohue…and wow, did that ever change my teaching. Coming from the intermediate grades I really had no idea about guided reading. How to do it, what it was, how to plan for it, etc. I read The Daily 5 that first summer in an attempt to be ready to teach Grade 4 and have a guided reading program. 
However, I can't say that it really helped me that much. 
It was just too much to wrap my head around.
Too many rotations.
Too many options and choices.

A few years later I read Guiding Readers by Lori Jameson-Rog and lead a book study here on my blog and it really helped me to understand what guided reading was and how it could be used to help work with my students at their instructional reading level. But a few maternity leaves have popped up in the meantime and I just wasn't able to get a successful program up and running.

Until now!

I am pretty proud of my guided reading program even though it is still in the early stages I can see where I am heading with it and I know that it is going to be very beneficial to the students in my class. Especially since this year the reading levels of my students range from D to U!
Yes, in one Grade 3 class. 

The biggest takeaway from 100 Minutes for me was the idea of "intentional sequencing". It just made so much sense and really made all the difference for me with having a literacy workshop program that was up and running the way I wanted it for me.

That doesn't mean it's all gone smoothly by any means…
In my class there are 6 students who receive ESL support 3 days a week during my literacy block so that has made scheduling my guided reading and writing groups somewhat tricky. 

I would recommend 100 Minutes to anyone that is interested in having a workshop style program for their literacy classroom and is unsure of how they might go about organizing the time.

Click here to see how 100 Minutes has helped me layer my classroom and my MUST HAVE products from TPT for my literacy program. 

100 Minutes- My Thoughts on Chapter 8- Small Group Learning

Wow, Chapter 8 already!

Where has the time gone?

Thanks to Emily from Emmy Mac's Class for hosting Chapter 8.

Be sure to head on over and check out her post if you haven't already.

Small group learning is something I have really embraced in the last few years, especially in my math teaching but I still struggle with it in reading and writing. Coming from the intermediate grades (7 and 8) there wasn't any guided reading being done in my class or other classes, and while I did have writing conferences they weren't a regularly schedule thing.

If I could go back in time....wow, would my class/teaching be different.

But I guess that's what reflecting and growth is all about.

One of my goals for this coming school year, and part of the reason I chose to read this book and use it for the book study is that I really want to have a guided reading/ writing conference program in place this year that works for both me and my students.

Really this whole chapter was a great refresher on small group learning but I especially liked-

- the ideas about how to form your guided reading/ writing conference groups on pg 122 (by interest! awesome idea)

- how often to change your groupings (p 123)

- the outline for how to conduct a guided reading lesson

(this reminded me that I want to get out my copy of Guiding Readers by Lori Jameson Rog from the book study 2 years ago and re-read that as well!!)

- the guiding questions based on the reading strategies provided on pages 130-134

- the entire section about Feedback and Writing Conferences on pages 126-127

- "A writing conference is not a time when students hand over their work to the teacher in order to have it corrected." YES!!! YESS!! YESSSSSS!!

- on page 128 Lisa talks about assigning a role to each student during a writing conference so that they have a specific task to do and focus on, she provides some really cute suggestions too

- the feedback prompts for writing conferences on page 135

Lisa states that students should spend the majority of the time during a guided reading lesson actually reading. If the lesson is only 15-20 minutes in length ... is this reading all reading aloud? Shared reading? 

How many lessons do you spend on one text? 

Should the children have had an opportunity to read the text to themselves before coming to the guided reading lesson so they are prepared to read and discuss??

Ahhhhhh!!!!

How I will structure my guided reading lessons so that it works for me and my students.

How I will track my student's writing goals.

My plan to embed word skills (getting ready to start reading Word Nerds very soon!!)

Now that we are into the nitty gritty of the book (and near the end...giveaway coming soon!) I am starting to have so many more questions about how everything will look in my class and how I will structure my 100 minutes. I foresee a lot of time spent re-reading this book, making MORE notes and planning.

And to be honest... I can't wait!!

So what does all this mean for my classroom?

To be continued...

I'd love to hear more about your guided reading lessons and writing conferences...link up below.

One chapter left!!

Tina from Croft's Classroom is our last co-host for the 100 Minutes book study.

I hope you will go visit her on June 25th.

100 Minutes- Chapter 8- Small-Group Learning

Small group learning has become the cornerstone of my classroom ever since I read Guided Math for the first time two years ago and loved it. If it works in language why wouldn't it work in math?

Chapter 8 is being hosted by my fellow Canadian teacher-blogger Emily from Emmy Mac's Class. 

I think this is a "don't miss chapter" and opportunity to post your thoughts. I hope see lots of link ups for this one.

Don't forget, I'll be back tomorrow with my own post on this great topic. 

100 Minutes- My Thoughts on Chapter 7 "The Foundation of Independence"

Another amazing post and fabulous chapter.

Thanks to Brenda from Primary Inspired for hosting Chapter 7. 

A great friend of mine in transitioning from many years in Grade 6 to Grade 3 next year (hello Sonia!!) and as I read through this chapter my first thoughts were, 

"Yes!! Sonia is going to love this and wow will it really help!"

And of course I texted that to her right away!

Love you, Sonia. 

It's funny. A fellow teacher asked me how I ended up picking this book for the book study and it's strange. I hadn't seen it anywhere else, or read a review of it. While I was browsing the Pembroke Publishers website it stuck out for me, I asked one of the reps about it and thought it sounded good...and here we are.

Aren't you glad I happened across this book by chance? 

I sure am!

So on to my thoughts about the book. Here are some things that really stood out for me...

Reading and Writing Cycle

Throughout my reading of the book I've been a little concerned (but keeping it to myself) about the idea that students would do 2 days of a reading cycle and then 2 days of a writing cycle.

Would this mean that they wouldn't have 

independent reading or writing 

EVERYDAY? 

But upon reading through this chapter I have decided to let go of my concerns and when September comes to go with the outline of the 100 Minutes framework. Everything makes so much sense and I am ridiculously in love with the idea of intentional sequencing that I MUST give the framework a fair chance before I attempt any kind of adaptation.

On page 107 Lisa talk about the "triangulation of student data" which is  HUGE thing in my board right now.

Using observations, conversations and products to assess and evaluate our students is so important. I have found in recent years that I am much more comfortable with this type of assessment and have learned so much more about my students as learners.

One of my goals for the coming year is to have my students track a personal goal for their own writing. It's something that I have read a lot about and have really wanted to try but just haven't done yet. Silly me.

Stamina

A lot of this chapter reminded me of The Daily 5 and the importance of building stamina and practicing routines in order to set the stage for a successful literacy block. If you haven't read the chapters in The Daily 5 where the Sisters discuss the first days/weeks of the year and setting up your routines and developing the students' stamina- I recommend getting your hands on a copy and checking it out. 

So worthwhile.

If you're like me and have read it...then re-read it.

There is nothing more important than the first days/weeks of your literacy block.

Using Book Boxes

Lisa talks about giving your students some time to browse and select up to 6 books for their book boxes prior to starting your independent reading routine (page 111). This is something I haven't really tried before, book boxes I mean, and it something I really want to do this coming school year.

Starting Independent Reading First...

Then Independent Writing

In my class and in my experience, it's better to start reading first and get a routine somewhat established before starting independent writing. 

You may disagree and that's ok!

One of the best things about teaching is that we all have the opportunity to try it our own way.

Somethings I'm going to consider over the summer:

Writer's Notebooks? 

Artifact Box? 

Writing Inspiration Board?

Family survey- "What did you write today?" (weekly homework?)

Reading logs?

Genre challenge- when to start? how will my program fit in to the 100 Minutes framework

I'm going to end with my favourite quote from this chapter...

"When you invest time in establishing routines for independent reading and independent writing, students will understand that the work they do independently is just as important as the work they do when working directly with the teacher."

(Page 116)

What was your favourite part of this chapter?

Don't forget to link up with your post and

 thoughts on Chapter 7.

Emily from Emmy Mac's Class on June 21st.

Stay tuned for Chapter 8- Small Group Learning. 

Also...you really should head over to Learning with Mrs. Leeby and checkout the amazing giveaway she has going on.

I heard a little something about Tiffany earrings!!

Whoa!

100 Minutes....How do you balance your literacy block? ~ Book Study and Giveaway

<a href="http://thinkingofteaching.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Thinking of Teaching" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3SJ1AwljVyTUUDaNRRqzNn1nnSk4I7SwrrCCbJ8007CKmPjhmRomfJi8hD1n3pivnG4W2OFqhT-Zv5fkGUtuBXvID0cQ9ceqqy3_UgDz67fRxN4oLDAOF3TNjbEkVAINXsldVQn0hhzEC/s1600/100+Minutes+Button2.jpg" /></a>

For the past few summers I have been hosting and co-hosting a variety of book studies here at Thinking of Teaching and have found that it is a super rewarding experience. I love hearing the thoughts of other teacher bloggers about the reading and the response that come in about my own reflections.

For this summer I have picked 100 Minutes: Making Every Minute Count in the Literacy Block by Lisa Donohue

Here are some options to purchase the book:

Pembroke Publishers (Canada)

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Stenhouse (USA)

Why did I pick this book?

Well, I've read The Daily 5, The Cafe, checked out the sister's website, heard them speak live and visited countless blogs and pins about The Daily 5...yet I just can't get it to work in my class. It doesn't seem to fit my teaching style.

That isn't to say that I'm throwing it all away! There is a lot of about The Daily 5 that I love...the mini-lessons, building stamina, the CAFE board, etc but...I want to mesh it with something else. 

In Part One of her book, Lisa Donahue talks about all the things she has tried and done in the past during her literacy block and I swear it's like reading my own teaching story. How do we fit everything? What do the other students do when it's guided reading time? Where does modelled reading fit? How often do they have to work through the entire writing process?

The introduction to Part One alone has gotten me hooked!

I can't wait to dive in, start reading and even better....start talking to you all about it. 

But first, who's in?

I'm looking for co-hosts for the duration of the book study. Being a co-host is simple....you sign up to host a chapter (or 2), post your thoughts, provide a linky so others can link up with their thoughts, and if you want to have a giveaway or a freebie that coincides with your chapter. 
(A freebie or a giveaway is not necessary!)

If you are interested in being a co-host 
for the 100 Minutes Book Study
 please click here to fill out the form. 

The co-host schedule is now full. 

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But wait....maybe you aren't sure you want to co-host but you definitely want to read the book and join in on the discussion. Well, that's great too!

The book study will start on May 23rd...so you've got lots of time to grab a copy and get reading. We will discuss one chapter every 4-5 days. I will be posting on most of the chapters along with the co-hosts and we will provide a linky so that you can join in on the discussion as well. 

To help celebrate this great book study, the amazing people at Pembroke Publishers have provided me with a copy to giveaway! They also gave me a copy of Word Nerds by Brenda Overturf as a prize....whoooo hoo! 
(I missed out on the Word Nerds Book Study last summer
...but I hear there's another one in the works for this summer.) 
Finally, for fun I'm going to throw in your choice of any product from my TPT store as a prize as well. 

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win a copy of 100 Minutes, Word Nerds, or a product from my store. 
The giveaway ends May 2nd. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guided Reading Products and Freebies Blog Hop

In celebration of the end of our Guiding Readers: Making the Most of the 18-Minute Guided Reading Lesson by Lori Jamison Rog I thought it would be super fun to have a guided reading blog hop! I know that many of you have posted about freebies or products that you have created. This is the opportunity to share your great ideas and to gain some new ones from our amazing blogging community.


I am super excited to get started on my own guided reading program planning now that we are finished the book study. I want to send out a HUGE thank you to all the co-hosts and Lori Jamison Rog for their participation during the book study, and of course to all of you. I hope you learned something new, gained the skills and knowledge to be confident in your own guided reading program and are rejuvenated and ready to start back to school (whenever that might be for you!)


Before we get to the Blog Hop I wanted to share some of my idea on Chapter 9- Functional Reading. Although this was a short chapter I believe it is an important one. I am anticipating and planning all of the types of functional text I can bring into my classroom in order to help my students with this valuable reading skill. One area where I think this will be most valuable is in Math, Social Studies and Science. I can see my self integrating the ideas that Lori has shared in my new guided math program, perhaps as a Math Stretch at the beginning of each day. Functional reading would be a great add-on to when we are talking about the math students have used at home. Of course, it would well in Social Studies as we are often looking at maps, charts, signs etc. Perhaps this could be a whole new rotation within my Daily 5 program...Interacting with Everyday Reading? Ohhhh, I like it!


Once again I hope you learned something new and gained something from the book study. Any and all feedback comments are appreciated as this is the second book study I have hosted and I am always looking for ways to improve. Have a great summer break (what's left of yours....!) and happy back to school!

Guided Reading Blog Hop Guidelines
1. Feel free to post to any freebies or products you have created- past or present posts.
2. Link up as many times as you like- to different posts, of course!
3. Please make sure you post directly to your post, not just your blog. Any links that are not linked to a specific post will be deleted.
4. If you have adapted or modified an idea from any professional reading source, please make sure you give credit and cite your source.
5. HAVE FUN!! Visit as many of the other posts as possible and leave a comment.




Grab the Blog Hop Code for your own blog!get the InLinkz code

Chapter 9- Functional Reading

We made it! Congratulations on dedicating so much of your summer break to professional reading and learning something new (hopefully) that will help your students. It's been great to have you all along for the ride!

Mary from Pitner's Potpourri is our last fabulous co-host. Functional reading something that I always knew was important but not really something I had planned to teach too often. However, this year my team and I actually have it in our long range plans!


Please head over to Mary's blog to see what she is saying about this chapter and don't forget (for the last time!) to link up below.


Chapter 9 Study Sheet




I will be posting my own thoughts on Chapter 9 in a little bit along with an exciting celebration linky party for our book study!

The Non-Fiction Connection- Chapter 8

Just a quick note before we start talking about today's chapter: Please remember to cite the source of any freebies/products you create as part of our book study of Guiding Readers: Making the Most of the 18 Minute Lesson by Lori Jamison Rog. This should be done on the product as well as your blog. This is an important step in order to give credit to the original author and to set an example for our students in what we expect when they are completing a research assignment. Thanks.

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I think that this chapter is going to be one of the most popular. Most people are comfortable teaching with fiction but still shy away from non-fiction, especially in a guided reading setting. As someone who taught the upper grades, a lot of my student's reading came in the form of non-fiction once they reached Grade 7 or 8 so it was an essential skill that many students were lacking. 

Chapter 8 Study Notes


We'd love to hear your ideas!!


My thoughts:


Non-fiction text is one of my favourite things to teach! It grabs the attention of so many readers and allows them to learn new things that they are interested in. It always amazes me how many parents...and teachers...don't consider "it" to be reading unless "it" is a novel. My father is a wonderful example. I have never seen him gold, let alone read, a novel in my entire life. However, he reads about 5 newspapers everyday and countless other business and trades magazines and papers. If that's not reading then I don't know what is!!


I do agree with Lori that it is important to recognize that non-fiction text comes with it's own challenges and supports that are very different than fictional texts. Lori breaks down these ideas very clearly in Chapter 8 and makes it easy for someone who is new to teaching non-fiction to understand and gather ideas for lessons. 


I love the ideas that Lori has shared for guided reading lessons and I have used a lot of these lessons (or similar) in my class before. I believe that non-fiction guided reading has a place in our social studies and science classrooms which would actually give our students a double-dose of reading instruction during the day. Plus, it would model for our students that reading isn't just something that we do in Language Arts class but that happens in other subjects as well. How fun would a guided math lesson be structured like a guided reading lesson using a non-fiction text heavy on numbers, graphs, and data! Go integration!

Struggling Readers- Upper Grades

Alison from Toad-ally Exceptional Learners is joining us to host Chapter 7- Struggling Readers in the Upper Grades. 

I wish had read this chapter back when I taught the upper grades...sigh. Isn't it hard to look back and think about all the things you could have done to help if only you'd had the time to read more, learn more, teach more. I think all teachers feel like this at some point. It's what makes us good teachers, that desire to be better. 

Chapter 7 Note Sheet


My AHA Moments-


Lori writes about teaching students how to read in the primary grades and teaching students to read to learn in the upper grades and this is how I have always thought of it. Now that I am looking back on my years as a Grade 7/8 teacher and am teaching primary I totally agree that all students still need to be taught how to read.


I also like how Lori mentioned several times (in both this chapter and the previous one) that guided reading can be done in the form of literature circles or independent reading. That really gives teacher sin the upper grades a lot of flexibility as to how they want to structure their program. On page 117, Lori talks about how everyone is a struggling reader at some point in their lives, depending on the material they are reading. I loved this because it is a point I often discussed with my students in the upper grades. There are texts that they could read fluently....text messages written in their "code" that I would have no idea what they were trying to say! They always liked that.


Once again I think Lori has provided a lot of food for thought with this chapter and I am really hoping that some UPPER GRADE TEACHERS  chime in on the discussion. I would love to hear your thoughts.




Don't forget to link up!

Guiding Readers- Chapter 6

This chapter will be hosted by Sabra and her blog, Teaching with a Touch of Twang. Sabra has been following along and posting throughout the entire book study and I have really learned a lot from her posts. I am glad that we were amble to meet through the book study and I hope that you can all jump on over to her blog and see what she is saying about Chapter 6- Guiding Fluent Readers. 

Chapter 6 Study Notes

Lori has emailed her answers to the last few questions I sent her from the survey at the beginning of the book study. I am loving that she is so dedicated to helping us learn through the process of this book study. 

Me: Is it always best to group by ability, or should we try to sometimes have groups of "mixed ability"?

Lori: In small group, aka guided, reading, we generally group by common need rather than ability. That seems like a bit of a fine distinction, but there may be variations in the abilities of students who have the same learning goals. That said, unless we're working with students one-on-one, we're always going to have a range of abilities in a group.

The common need that brings a small group together may be based on the difficulty (e.g., level) of a text or it may be based on a specific reading strategy . Sometimes teachers like to work with students at a range of reading levels that have the same specific need - reading with expression and fluency, for example, or drawing inferences.  

But it's been my experience that students at roughly the same reading level often have the same strategic needs, especially in early grades. At higher grades, we might see more diversity within the same level, and choose to sometimes broaden the range of the group in order to focus on a particular strategy or skill.  Let's not forget also, that one of the advantages of working with small groups of only four or six students is that it's possible to assess and attend to specific individual issues as well as those of the group.  

An effective classoom will always incorporate a variety of grouping structures. Some groups are large, some are groups of four or two, depending on the purpose. We sometimes group by interest, sometimes by student choice, sometimes by teacher selection and sometimes totally randomly, depending on the purpose and function of the group. I find that I can differentiate reading instruction most effectively and efficiently, when my groups are structured around common needs or learning goals. When students experience many different grouping structures, needs-based reading instruction for a short 18-minutes at a time is just one more classroom experience.

Me: What did you find the hardest part if using GR in your classroom the first year you used it? 

Management!   I didn't have any systems in place so I felt I was always running around in circles.  I spent so much time organizing centers and other independent learning activities (which the kids often completed in less time than it took me to prepare them!) that my lessons were pretty much off the cuff.  When I first read of the management system in Daily 5, it was a light bulb going off in my head!  Of course, I've simplified my system even more - in independent learning, the students are reading, writing or completing the "must-do" follow-up from their lesson.  But I love the D5 steps to muscle memory.

In addition to simplifying the independent learning component, I've simplified my grouping schedule into a two day cycle.  That way, if we miss a day of guided reading, or I choose not to schedule GR every day, I simply use the Day 1-Day 2 schedule.  I haven't really discussed this in my book, because I wanted to focus on the teaching piece, but here are some examples:

Four groups (A-D, weakest to strongest), three GR cycles a day.  If I have two cycles a day, I adapt accordingly.  There's method in my madness of which groups are scheduled when (e.g., I try to see the weakest group every day and always in the middle slot), but I can go into that another time.

Four Groups: this has been updated as there was a mistake!! (July 10th)

Me: If you could only give one piece of advice to a teacher just starting to use guided reading, what would it be?

Lori: Get your independent learning structures in place before trying to start small group instruction.  It may take 6-8 weeks, but it's worth the time spent.  During that time, you are still teaching and assessing, but more through large group and individual instruction.  Then start with one group - usually the most needy (except in Kindergarten, where I suggest to start with the most advanced). 

And then, make the best use of your own time by "frontloading" your small group reading plans, using a planner such as the three day cycle in my book.

NEWS!! Lori has agreed to answer any more questions people may have at this point if the book study. So if something has come up please leave a comment below or email me at thinkingofteaching@gmail.com

I will be emailing the questions off to Lori on July 12th so make sure you get your questions in while you can!

(Not all questions will be able to be answered, so I apologize if advance if yours is not.)

I have been seeing all sorts of great guided reading freebies and products on TPT and Teacher's Notebook that my fellow bloggers have created. Would people be interested is having a linky party to share your guided reading freebies and products for sale?  Please leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts.