Introducing our Chapter 4 Co-host...

...Brenda from Primary Inspired!


Brenda is the fabulous organizer behind the current Guided Math Book Study and she is so awesome that she is joining in for our study of Guiding Readers as well. If you haven't already done so, please head over to her blog to check out the Guided Math book study. I have learned so much from reading this book...I can hardly wait until school starts again to try out all my ideas! (Okay, so that might not be exactly trie...it is after all, only my first day of summer vacation, but the book is still a spectacular read. It will change how you think about your math instruction.)

But we are here to talk about guided reading, right? 
Chapter 4 is all about Guiding Early Readers and Brenda will be posting her thoughts on the chapter as the co-host. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE STUDY NOTES FOR THIS CHAPTER

So What Did I Think?
Well, I am in a similar situation as with Chapter 3. I have never had the opportunity to work with students that are this young and new to reading. However, the more I reflected on what I read I realized that this type of knowledge would have been very handy when working with a lot of the English Language Learners I have had in my class over the years. I do think one of the flaws of my teacher training was that since I was going through to be certified to teach students in the upper grades none of the information about how to teach a child to read was taught to me, or my classmates. And, as we all know, just because a student is in Grade 7 or 8 doesn't always mean they can read!
Looking back I have some guilt about how much more I could have helped my students if only I had known more about guided reading and the stages of reading development.
What I have come to love about Lori's writing and this book is the consistent nature in which she delivers information to her readers. It does not feel as though she is preaching to me but rather a colleague mentoring me through this learning journey. I do feel better equipped to work with younger students, which is a good thing because.....NEXT YEAR I AM TEACHING GRADE 3!! 
I can imagine that at the beginning of the year I will definitely still have some (or many) of my students working as early readers. The tips and lesson ideas offered by Lori is this chapter will really come in handy. 
Some "aha" Moments
- I didn't realize that early readers are unable to read silently- the type of texts early readers will develop an interest in (multiple characters but with a familiar topic)- meaning is sacrificed to visual features of a word **It's all supposed to make sense!"**- the three main cueing systems- semantic, syntactic, phonetic (this is the stuff that makes me feel....dumb?...I have no idea how to tell if a student is using these cueing systems)
Standout Highlights
* texts for early readers (page 47)- this is a great help to me as a teacher new to teaching younger students, I can imagine that I will keep this list some place nearby and handy for reference
* the guided reading lesson sequence and sample areas of focus- this is unbelievably helpful, I think it will be a useful scaffolding tool until I feel comfortable enough to create my own guided reading lessons and everything is so clearly laid out that i can start to align Lori's lessons to my long range plans
Before- teach students how to do a picture walk- texts will contain mostly high-frequency and decodable words, carefully consider whether to pre-teach vocabulary
During- self-monitoring comprehension strategies are key- readers must develop the habit of using all three cueing systems (need to learn more about these)- stagger start reading and work towards encouraging phrased reading
After- revisit trouble spots and discuss, share own experiences- retelling is important at this stage, good time to provide practice- still need to stimulate big ideas using questions and prompts- encourage re-reading of the same text
* lesson routines- love love love!
* the reading- writing connection- I was very happy to see that Lori spends time talking about writing in her book. Each year, when I reflect back on my program, I always feel that either my reading or writing program was stronger. I have yet to feel that they were equally good! Hopefully, I can devote more attention to the connection between the two and this will be the year I think they are both great.
Whew..that's a long post!
Don't forget to link up with your own posts and let us all know what you are thinking about the book!

Good Morning Summer!! End of the Year Activities (Chapter 3- Emergent Readers)

Jenn from Rowdy in First Grade has posted some great thoughts about Chapter 3 of our Guiding Readers book study- Guiding Emergent Readers.





Please head on over to read what she is saying. I really enjoyed reading through her post and seeing things through the eyes of a first grade teacher. As I have never taught such small people, it was interesting to learn about guided reading from Jenn's perspective. 

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I am FINALLY on summer break. It seems like the end of the school year took forever to get here, especially since I have been reading all our your posts about vacations, Made It Mondays, sleeping in...and gasp, back to school shopping?? How can 2 countries that are so close together have such vastly different school schedules?

The last week of school was both fun and stressful. I'm not sure if I have ever mentioned it before but my school is waaaaaaay over-capacity. We have a building built for 675 students and our current population is close to 1300!! So, that means we have something like 20+ portables (trailers) outside the main building. Being this big presents a whole lot of unique challenges for the staff, and come report card time life just got CRAZY! But, everything was sorted out, report cards went home (a day behind schedule!) and we made it through the year.

Here are some things my class and I did to celebrate the end of the year.

Stephanie from Teaching in Room 6 posted about these great goodbye posters her students made for a staff member that was leaving her school and I just loved how they looked. I decided that I wanted to do a smiler project with my Grade 4's because we had been studying perspective in art and language so it would be a good "curricular" tie-in for the last week of school. 

Each student traced their hand and then drew themselves "waving goodbye to Grade 4". In the speech bubbles we wrote all the things we would miss about Grade 4. They turned out super cute, I think! Thanks to Stephanie for such a great idea.

We also made masks (it was an artsy week). We used tinfoil (three layers) to create an outline of our faces and then paper macho went on top. They dried overnight and then the painting fun could start!

These were a few of my favourites.

Lastly, we converted one of our bulletin boards into a Twitter board and we updated our "status" based on the activities we did during the day. I loved it and am thinking I would like to find a way to use it all year in my class...like an exit ticket activity?

How did you end off your school year?

A Little Help from the Experts...

All this reading about guided reading has got me thinking about some of the great posts I have seen from my fellow TBA authors. I thought I might put together a list of some of ideas that have piqued my interest and have stuck out for me.


Sarah's First Grade Snippets posted about Guided Reading "Snapshot" Assessments which is an interesting idea given that we are always trying to get enough assessment in the time we are given. 


Jen from Runde's Room has posted about creating guided reading groups in her upper elementary class and also included some great photos of her bulletin boards and materials tub. 


Leslie over at Kindergarten Works has an amazing post all about her guided reading binder, set-up and organization. There are a tonne of pictures and tips. It's a treasure trove for sure!


A Teacher's Treasure is Mor's blog and she has a great post about some guided reading ideas she discovered on Pinterest. This one's for the crafty teachers out there. 


I also thought you might be interested in some of my own pinterest and blog finds as well...


Lot's of Beth Newingham pins (Of course!)


More organization and management ideas from What the Teacher Wants.

This looks like a pretty good guided reading resource. 


This is a TPT product that looks intriguing. (I have not purchased it myself...I like the looks of it so far). It's called Guided Reading Binder Pack- Common Core Aligned. 

One of our book study co-hosts, Sabra from Teaching with a Touch of Twang, created her own version of Lori Jamison Rog's Readers Tookits and not only are they CUTE, but she has them posted as a freebie!!

Well, hopefully that's enough to get us all started. 


Our Chapter 3 co-host, Jenn, hit a small snag and will be posting very soon with her thoughts on the chapter. I have very little experience working with early readers and so I am hesitant to post about this chapter myself. I do love how Lori so clearly outlines the possible lessons that could be used during a guided reading session with emergent readers. As someone very new to everything guided reading that is what drew me the most to this book. It seemed like I could easily take what I learned and apply it right away in my classroom and begin helping students from the very start.


I plan to take some time and re-read through Chapter 3 and hopefully read through some posts from other bloggers in order to clarify my thinking on working with emergent readers. This is the one area that terrifies me. As a former Grade 7/8 teacher, I really have no idea how to teach a young child how to read. I always focused on how to learn from reading. 


By reading this book I am gaining a lot more confidence that I will be able to incorporate guided reading into my daily literacy block more effectively and be able to help all my students, of varying ability, to grow as readers. 

Chapter 3 Study Notes

I'm sorry I am so late with this...today is the second last day of school. OMG, still another day! We are having fun though. Next year my school is going wireless and our board has decided to start a BYOD initiative. Basically, our students will be encouraged to Bring Your Own Device to school so we can access technology more readily. My teaching partner and I decided to test it out today and asked our students to bring in a device! We have some DS's, iPads, laptops, iPhones, iPods...and we are playing tonnes of games and surfing the web.

Here are the study notes for Chapter 3 of Guiding Readers. It's not my usual fun fonts because I am here at school and not using my MacBook. I apologize but as you all know the last week of school is CRAZY and the time has just gotten away from me on a lot of the days!

Page 1

Page 2

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!

My Thoughts on Chapter 2 of Guiding Readers (FREEBIE)

I chose to use the study notes sheet I created for Chapter 2 to outline my thoughts. I felt that this chapter had a lot of the "meat" behind guided reading and I wanted something I could print out and store in my planning binder in order to refer to it whenever I felt I needed to...plus you can download it as a freebie as well and have it to access later, too! 


Win, win!


Click here or on the image above to get your copy of my completed note sheet for Chapter 2 from Guiding Readers. 

Guiding Readers- Chapter 2

It's time for Chapter 2! 


Stacey from Leading and Reading is hosting this chapter  as well as Tori from Tori's Teacher Tips. 




The title of this chapter is The Guided Reading Lesson Sequence, and I have made a study note sheet for you all again. I'm sorry I didn't have it up earlier. I am a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding this summer and we had her Buck and Doe last night. (I'm not sure if it's just a Canadian thing...but basically it is a big party to celebrate your wedding and to help raise money to pay for the expenses). We have another family shower this afternoon for my husband's cousin who is also getting married this summer, so I plan to post my thoughts on Chapter 2 a little later. 

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday. For those of you still teaching, like me, we are getting close to the end now!

Plus, link up your blog posts on Chapter 2 so we can all learn together!

Guiding Readers- Chapter 1

So why did I choose this book? Well, I taught grades 7 and 8 for a long time, and here in Ontario there is very little guided reading happening in the intermediate grades. Now that I am teaching Grade 4 (and soon to be Grade 3!! Yes, that's right I am moving to Grade 3 next year), I have come to realize that I need to do some PD in this area so I can integrate this into my literacy program. 
I did start using the Daily 5 this year in my grade 4 class and loved it....but the guided reading component of it just never took off. Once the school year started it seemed like I never had the time or opportunity to read about how to do guided reading or start implementing it in my class. Maybe that is just an excuse, but seeing as there are only 7 days left it's pretty obvious it's not going to happen this year! BUT, next year...watch out!

Misty over at Think, Wonder, Teach is hosting the first chapter of our Guiding Reader's Book Study. 







Head on over to her blog to read all about her thoughts on the start of our book study.
Chapter 1- Guided Reading: What We Know Now
I picked up this book back in February when I attended Reading for the Love of It in Toronto and heard the author, Lori Jamison Rog speak. I was hooked from the start and went straight to the publisher's display to buy the book!
I really enjoyed reading through this chapter because it makes me feel as though I really do know something about guided reading! There was lots of highlighting and stars happening over here. 
Some highlights for me were:
- guided reading is a time for student reading, not teacher talk- to remember to listen twice as much as I talk when meeting with my students ( I always feel pressured to fill the empty space)- to see it as a way of consistently using the gradual release of responsibility and that guided reading becomes the "we do" - using a system, like the Daily 5, to make sure that independent learning component is self-directed, not teacher dictated- I love love LOVED the analogy for just-right reading as standing on their tiptoes (I think I may have to make it into a poster for my room!)- I also didn't really realize that reading easy texts provided more learning opportunities that challenging texts, but once I read what Lori wrote it really makes a lot of sense, if it's too tough it won't help students grow
A goal for me for next year is to "understand the strengths and needs of [my] students and [be able to] match them to the supports and challenges of a particular text, fiction, nonfiction trade books, chapter books, novels, environmental print" (page 13).
I really enjoyed the pace at which Lori writes. It makes the text very easy to follow and understand. 
I find myself excited to incorporate more student talk and to re-visit texts with my students through our guided reading groups. I re-read books that I love all the time, it makes sense to re-read books in our guided reading lessons as well.  AND...the reading-writing connection! I am just in love with this book so far and I can't wait to read what you all are writing about this book. 
UPDATE: The book is available on Amazon  but it does say that the book is temporarily out of stock.
Have you posted about Chapter 1? Link up below so we can all share in the learning together.

Guiding Readers Survey Results

Wow!! Thank you so much for all your responses. 


Here is what the results showed.


1. How do you feel about your current guided reading program?

2. Describe what you believe guided reading to be.


- teaching strategies to improve comprehension and fluency
- teaching students to become solid, fluent, comprehending readers
- small group instruction based on reading concepts already taught in class
- teaching students in small groups at their instructional level
- providing rich opportunities in a small group setting to help them be successful and move them onto the next level
- a time for readers to take on responsibility for utilizing skills and strategies already taught during whole class lessons
-  a time to bring readers with a common need together to work on a common goal
- what every student individually needs to make them successful in reading
- guided instruction on word attack and comprehension strategies
- a well thought-out plan for engaging students with text to encourage independent thinking, discussion and metacognitive skill development
- it's ultimate purpose to develop effective, independent readers who comprehend deeply, broadly and critically


3. How often during a 5 day week do you implement guiding 
reading into your literacy program?

4. Do you have to use a mandated guided reading program in your classroom?

Other responses:
- Treasures
- Continuum for Literacy Learning by Fountas and Pinell




5. Do you have any other professional books on guided reading to recommend?


I think we will save this juicy topic for it's own post!




6. What are your goals for participating in this book study?


- Become better at leading my struggling students to grow as readers
- To actually make the most of the given minutes i have, give myself a focus for each group
- As a K-5 Literacy Coach, my goal is to help teachers create a manageable system for guided reading and how to utilize the short time that we have with each group to maximize student learning
- To find out how to do something better; to collaborate with others to find out what works in their classrooms and what doesn't work; activities to do to keep the rest of the class busy while working with individual groups
- To be more effective in my approach to guided reading. I feel like my instruction is disorganized and very haphazard. Don't feel like what I'm doing is very effective
- As a mentor literacy teacher (and long-time former instructor for the OISE Reading Specialist course) I continue to enjoy and learn from professional dialogue on this subject
- Help me not feel so lost. After 7 years, I still feel like I don't truly know if I am doing what best helps my students. I am much more confident in math and science. Reading is not my strong suit
- To figure out a better way to organize my thinking....


Well, that is a lot to think about. A lot! I hope that the book study is everything for everybody, but if I have learned anything from my years as a teacher it's what you make of it. Post about the book. Comment on each other's posts. Ask questions. Post again. Help each other as much as possible. And of course, have fun!

Chapter 1 Note Taking Sheet

I thought I'd give something a try for the first chapter of the Guiding Readers book study and see how it goes....if people love it, I'll keep it up...if not, no worries.

Click on the image to download the freebie. Font are from Miss Tiina Fonts. 

I created a note-taking sheet for the first chapter, based on the headings in the book. What do you think? Useful? Not so much?

Would it be better to have a note-taking sheet to record thoughts from other people's blog posts instead of the book?