This whole guided reading beast can feel overwhelming at first. Rest assured friends, it can be conquered! We'll walk through step-by-step so you can easily

Unlock strategies for 4th and 5th grade small group reading. Explore different focuses and a six-step process to use.

Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism

Find out how to create a reading graphic organizers file box to save you time when planning for your reading small groups.

Guided reading groups are one of the most complex areas of planning and instruction. I've narrowed the focus to upper elementary reading.

Hi everyone, I'm finally ready to reveal my new guided reading pack and I'm so excited about it! Last year, I made it my mission to improve my guided reading

Learn how to use the science of reading to support pre-readers in your reading small groups and guided reading groups.

I have always believed the time my students and I spend at the small group table is THE most important time of our day. If you have followed my blog for

Guided Reading Level C Curriculum is here! This level of Guided Reading will move students to a more independent level of reading with simple stories,

Planning your guided literacy time is bout to get so much easier. I get asked a lot about how to tie reading and writing together, while focusing on fluency, comprehension, phonics, vocabulary, writing, etc. I create this resource to get kids excited about reading and writing, and to make planning

Visualizing the text is such an important strategy used for building your students’ reading comprehension. It is very versatile as it can be used in different ways with students of all ages and reading levels. I

The buckets are packed with goodies, and the kids were soooooo excited to start our new guided reading groups this week. I have 5 different groups with 4 students in each group. Each group will be reading a different Jerry Spinelli novel: Wringer, Report to the Principal's Office, Maniac Magee, Loser, and Fourth Grade Rats. We do guided reading each day, and all groups work at the same time. My resource teacher works with me during this time, and she meets with (runs) the same group each day - she works with my below grade level group. I meet with two different groups each day (I read with one group, then I work on the task with a second group). This way, I meet with each of my four groups every second day, and my group that needs help the most has teacher support every day. Our overall focus for the next four weeks is Literal Comprehension (this is our division focus for my school). Each group also has a subfocus they are working on in their groups (vocabulary, phrasing, expression, accuracy, and conventions). I know conventions isn't a typical guided reading group focus, but for this particular group, it is a necessity! On Tuesday we built our Literal Comprehension Anchor chart - establishing our learning goal and building our success criteria. Each student copied this chart into their reading journals. This is one of my student's journals. I was WOWED by it - such attention to detail! (Now, if I can just get her to stop spelling summary with an 'e' I will be one happy teacher!). Each day after reading the students have two tasks. First, they need to answer literal comprehension questions from their reading. They can discuss their answers as a group, but each student is responsible for writing their own answers in their journals. The next task is something new I started this year. I created a Summary of Learning sheet for each group which I posted on my bulletin board. Each sheet has the novel name and the groups' subfocus written on it. After each day of reading, students are required to write one thing they learned from their reading each day on a special coloured sticky note. This should relate to their group's subfocus. They then post their notes on their sheets on the bulletin board. I created a special "Summary of Learning" section in my guided reading binder to keep track of all these sticky notes. Each day as I take down the old sticky notes so the students can post their new ones, I will add it to their page (a piece of blank paper inside a page protector). It will be so neat to see the growth in their reflections. Happy Thursday!!! Reading Comprehension Strategy Bundle Book Report Bundle Building Better Reading Responses Reading Concept Posters Bundle InLinkz.com

This list of FREE online reading for kids provides you with engaging books and passages to use with your guided reading groups!

I often get questions about how to set up small group lessons in upper elementary. Strategy groups are one framework that can work for a variety of reading skills. Check out this post to learn more.

Guided reading groups are so important. I have always cherished this time to reach a small group of students that are grouped at the same reading level. Not to mention this gives me time to sit down and not be on my feet! I make sure to do small groups EVERY day no matter what. In …

These easy reading response activities make fiction and nonfiction reading meaningful. Learn how these reading graphic organizers can work for you.

After part one of guided reading and small groups in middle school ELA, this post outlines what the other students are doing during this time

A blog about teaching, education and all things related to teaching elementary grade levels.

As an ESL teacher, I often hear from classroom teachers that they don't always know where to start when it comes to working with beginning English language learners (ELLs), or newcomers, in small group instruction. In this post I'll share a typical "guided reading" lesson that I would give to my beginning ELLs, as well as a glance of at what a typical week would look like. Let me start by saying, the very first thing I do before I start instructing my newcomers is, I assess what they already know. First, I see if they have literacy skills in their native language...can they read and write? Then, I see if they know alphabet letter names and sounds. Next, I assess their reading level. Since they don't have English literacy skills yet, their reading level typically starts at level "A" (emergent). I can say that most students do have some literacy skills in their home language, and often times, many know some letter names and sounds. So now I've got my starting point! When I first begin working with my newcomers, the main components of reading that I typically focus on are building vocabulary, phonological awareness/phonics and sight words. So a typical week would encompass all three of these skills. Down the road I add comprehension skills, but they are not ready for that yet. Step 1 - Choose an appropriate book. I carefully select books that have relevant vocabulary. For the most part, my main focus is to build their vocabulary. The literacy skills in their native language will transfer to their new language, however, they have an extremely limited vocabulary, so... vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary! I chose this book because I wanted to teach my students the word "big." It's also about animals, and I know that most kids are interested in reading about animals! I used gestures to SHOW them what "big" means. It's important to be mindful of your students' age when picking out books. You don't want to give 4th-6th graders books about bunnies or teddy bears. Try picking age appropriate books; which I know can be a challenge if the selection is limited, but you don't want your students feeling embarrassed. Step 2 - Preview the book. Point to and say each animal's name and have the students repeat the names back to you, keeping in mind to speak clearly and to enunciate the sounds in each word. It's important for them to hear how to pronounce the names. A side thought...Think about "A" level books... they are not created with English language learners in mind. "A" level books have repeated sentences, which are GREAT, but they also have very specific vocabulary that students are expected to decode using picture cues. In the book my students read last week, the repeated sentence was, "We go to the _____." The pictures show the family in different locations like the pool, park, library, soccer game, etc. In one picture the family is standing in front of a large fish tank. If I asked English only students where the family is, some might say a fish store or they might even guess aquarium, depending on their background knowledge. Then they'd cross check their thinking with the word and see that it begins with the letter "a" and hopefully they'd say, "It's an aquarium!" But our newcomers don't know what a big fish tank place is called in English, so it's important for us to support our students by saying the names of each vocabulary word. Step 3 - Choral reading! Newcomers feel more comfortable in a choral reading setting. They need help pronouncing the words. They need to hear YOU pronounce the words. Choral reading helps to keep anxiety levels low. (In a few weeks, the choral reading decreases and I will start focusing on decoding.) Step 4 - After reading, review the animal names. Point to an animal and see if they can remember the name. Perhaps make a matching activity with animal pictures and names. Support as needed. Encourage a LOT! Step 5 - I always provide a guided writing activity based off of the book we just read. I use sentence frames to support their thinking and writing. Sometimes I create my own, like the picture below, and other times I'll use a graphic organizer as a follow up activity. On this day I wanted them to understand the meaning of "big," so their writing supported this goal. As they finish their writing activity, I'll ask each student to read some of their writing to me. Then they'll draw a quick picture, which I always ask them to label. I know that my newcomers don't understand every word in the book, and that's OK! They are being exposed to new words and ideas in a repeating format. I want them to get used to the structure of our lessons so that they know what's expected. So, here is what a typical week of small group work entails for my newcomers. Knowing what the focus is each day helps me to zone in on their learning goals. The variety keeps it fun and interesting, yet it's consistent so they know what's expected. As you can see, on Tuesdays I include direct vocabulary instruction, either using the vocabulary from the book, like the animals, monthly themed vocabulary, or content area vocabulary. October Themed Vocabulary (along with sight words and phonics review) One vocabulary activity I have my students do is called the K.I.M. Strategy. In their notebook they write the key word (K), important information (I), sketch a memory clue (M) and write a sentence (S). For my newcomers, I leave out the (I) portion. They are not ready for adding "information." Right now the goal is for them to learn the names of things and simple sentence structure. My higher ELLS definitely include all components of the K.I.M. Strategy in their notebooks. This is what the K.I.M. Strategy looks like. And this is how it looks modified for my newcomers... On Thursdays, I focus on building sight words. When teaching sight words, it's important to teach them in context. Your beginning ELs need context in order to make meaning of the words. I pull a sight word from our books and I include an extension activity with that word. (A link to this resource is provided at the bottom of this post.) I do teach sight words throughout the week, but on Thursdays we always have an extension activity for one of them. As an "exit ticket" I have them orally use the sight word. Today, I asked each student, "What can you do?" And they responded with "I can _____." Then they get a high five, a sticker (big kids like stickers too!), or some encouraging praise. I also include Word Study activities in my small group work. I like using the sorts from Words Their Way. Each Monday they receive a new spelling pattern. Remember, I assessed my students to see what they already knew. Most already knew initial sounds, so I started them with word families. If they did not know initial sounds, I would've started there. I do have one student in this group who does not know many initials sounds, so I spend a little extra focus with him on initial sounds. This resource is from "Words Their Way." My newcomers use this activity to learn spelling patterns AND vocabulary. They are introduced to their new word list on Mondays, then they have independent activities to do with their word list throughout the week in their gen ed classrooms. (It's so important to set newcomers up with meaningful activities that they can work on independently during Reader's Workshop.) Below is their Word Study Activities list. It gets glued into their Reading Notebook. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays they work on their independent activities. Friday is Word Study Quiz day! FREEBIE - Click Here And that's what small group instruction looks like with my newcomers. To recap, assess what students can do to evaluate your starting point. Focus on building vocabulary, sight words in context, word spelling patterns and choral reading to start. My guided reading lessons usually looks like... preview the book, front load main vocabulary, choral read, and end with a guided writing activity with sentence frames. Here's a TIP: Many times I make my own guided writing activity based on what I want the students to learn from the book. I'll write the activity in my notebook, make copies, cut them to size, then have students glue it into their notebook. Keep this notebook! You may get a newcomer next year, and when you do, many of your guided writing activities will already be made. You'll just need to find the book that goes with the activity. My notebook where I write out the guided writing activities. I know that many school districts lack ESL resources and often times the classroom teacher is the only one providing instruction. Knowing where to start with beginning English learners is probably the biggest challenge. I hope that this post gives you some ideas about where to start and what to focus on with your new students. To read more about the K.I.M. Strategy, click here. Affiliate links below for Sight Words and Word Study.

These easy reading response activities make fiction and nonfiction reading meaningful. Learn how these reading graphic organizers can work for you.