The Next Step in Guided Reading {book study, Chapter 4}

Hi there, friends!  And a big WELCOME to anyone who might be new here!  I'm so thrilled to host this week's discussion of our book study!  Have you been reading along?  I would absolutely recommend this book to any of my teacher friends.  It is FILLED with resources for your guided reading time and covers every level of reader -- today we're talking about those sweet early readers!!  

Love them!

This chapter contained so much useful information that I will be able to apply DAY ONE of next school year.  Kindergarten is full of early readers, and while we see lots of them blossom in the winter and spring, there are always a few cuties that come into Kindergarten reading up a storm.  It is so important to me that I meet the needs of those students the same way I meet the needs of my emerging readers.  I LOVED all the concrete ideas Jan Richardson shared in this chapter for setting up and running my guided reading time with them.

Here are some of my thoughts on Chapter 4:

1.  What part of the reading caught your attention?  Maybe it's something you never thought about.  Maybe it's something that you've been trying to get a grip on.  Maybe it's something that you've never heard quite they way it was put.

I spent the most time in this chapter looking through the description of a sample guided reading lesson that was mapped out from pages 116-133.  It was so thorough and explained what a lesson might look like, sound like, and focus on.  I don't think a single detail was left out!  Reading through this really allowed me to picture clearly what my own guided reading times will look like next year.  Loved this!
OH!  And I LOVED on page 125 where she listed the target phonics skills by reading level -- major "AHA!" moment for me!!
AND the high frequency words based on reading level -- loved that too!
Ha!
See?  I told you there was lots of goodness in this chapter. ;)

2.  How do you already incorporate this into your guided reading routine?  There's probably at least some part of the chapter that you're already doing!  Tell us about it!

Truly, it was nice to read this chapter and know that I am doing so many of the activities she suggests already.  BUT...the way she lays it all out in such a clear and detailed way is so helpful!   

3.  What is something new you want to try next school year?  How do you want to make your guided reading time better or what new things do you want to try?

I want to be more organized when it comes to my guided reading time.  I always know what I want to focus on throughout the year, and I use formative assessments to guide my instruction, but sometimes I get distracted and don't stick to my original plans. :)  Next year, I'd like to stay more organized and keep record of what I cover throughout the year.

I created a document to help me achieve this goal and maybe you can use it too.

I think this sheet could have several uses (and I'll probably try them all next year to see which I like best).  I plan to fill this out each week for every group I work with and save it in a binder so that I have documentation of the things I've covered with my kidlets during guided reading.

I also plan to fill this out and send it home weekly with my students so that parents know exactly what we're working on.  This will help them know what they can do to support their child's learning at home!

CLICK HERE to grab this freebie from Google Drive!

4.  What are some resources that you ALREADY HAVE that you can use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I am fortunate at my school to have a great supply of resources for teaching reading.  We use the Scott Foresman reading curriculum, and we also have a large supply of resources for our RtI program.  There is not a shortage of leveled student texts, making words activities, phonics books, and more.  Definitely a plus when trying to plan for a productive guided reading time!

5.  What are some NEW resources that you want to get or try to use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I think I've said this before in other posts (possibly even in this post...Ha!), but I really want to implement a binder or some other system for organizing my guided reading time next year.  I feel like I'm a pretty organized teacher, but the more of this book I read, the more I realize that being organized and purposeful with every minute makes all the difference!  My wheels are spinning -- and I'm anxious to put something together that I can use to keep myself organized for guided reading.  And, once I do, I'll be happy to share it with you too!

Are you reading along with us???  We would love to have you link up so that we can hear what you are learning from the book too!   You can join our linky at the end of this post.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Monday!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Next Step in Guided Reading {book study, Chapter 3}

Whew!  This chapter was looooong (49 pages!) and it was jam-packed FULL of detailed resources for Pre-A and Emergent readers.  This was so applicable for me because this is exactly where most of my kinder-babies are for much of the school year. 

Here are some of my thoughts on Chapter 3:

1.  What part of the reading caught your attention?  Maybe it's something you never thought about.  Maybe it's something that you've been trying to get a grip on.  Maybe it's something that you've never heard quite they way it was put.

I loved the "Frequently Asked Questions" section at the end of the chapter.  What an awesome way to touch on a variety of topics, several of which I actually was thinking about as I read through the chapter.  Makes me wish I could watch Jan Richardson in action!  What a master teacher!!  

I had an AHA! moment when I read her answer of how she starts to teach fluency by framing two to three word phrases in the books her Level C students read.  Brilliant!  I highlighted, circled, and arrowed this in my book so that I don't forget to use it next year!!

2.  How do you already incorporate this into your guided reading routine?  There's probably at least some part of the chapter that you're already doing!  Tell us about it!

I already have a good grasp on the progression of skills that she talked about in this chapter.  I move through the concepts in the same order she presented.  BUT...reading this chapter have given me so much motivation to implement this 15-20 minute approach into my guided reading time.  I LOVE how she simplified each step and gave various, specific examples of what the time might look like.

3.  What is something new you want to try next school year?  How do you want to make your guided reading time better or what new things do you want to try?

I want to re-visit my list of sight words.  The order in which I teach sight words matches my reading curriculum, but doesn't match the Dolch sight word list that I use for assessment purposes.  This confuses me every year and I've known for a while that I wanted to organize it all, but reading this chapter has solidified for me that it is a MUST!  It's on my summer to-do list!!  

4.  What are some resources that you ALREADY HAVE that you can use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I have time in my day for pulling small groups.  This may seem obvious for some of you, but it took me several years to find a literacy station system that worked for me.  I now know that I HAVE the time I need to pull groups of students, and this book is helping to prepare me with the tools I need to lead them well!

5.  What are some NEW resources that you want to get or try to use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I'm pretty sure that I need to purchase or make an alphabet book for my littles who come in knowing less than 40 upper- and lowercase letters.  I LOVE how detailed Jan Richardson was as she walked us through exactly how to use the alphabet books to teach letters and sounds and WHY they are so important.  It's a must!  I need this for next year!

Are you reading along with us???  We would love to have you link up so that we can hear what you are learning from the book too!  Our book study host this week is Pam from Mrs. P's Specialties.  CLICK HERE to head over to her blog to read her thoughts on Chapter 3 and snag a great freebie!  You can join our linky there or at the end of this post.

Have a wonderful Monday!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Next Step in Guided Reading {book study, Chapter 2}

I just love having time to read during the summer.  I have three books going right now, one of them being this one, and I love being able to get in some professional reading while still having time for personal reading.

I love the way I am really able to envision my classroom and students as I read this book.  Jan Richardson paints such a clear picture of how to implement her strategies in your classroom.  Even better is when I realize that I am already doing so many of the things she recommends.  Makes it seem so doable to implement a few new things for next year!

Here are some of my thoughts on chapter 2:

1.  What part of the reading caught your attention?  Maybe it's something you never thought about.  Maybe it's something that you've been trying to get a grip on.  Maybe it's something that you've never heard quite they way it was put.

I was really challenged by the emphasis she puts on assessment.  I wasn't surprised by it, because I know that assessment is critical for really knowing your students academically and meeting them right where they are to focus on just what they need.  I do focus on regular assessment, but I know I can do more.  This chapter caused me to re-think how I spend the few spare moments I have each day, and to consider how I can make assessments more fluid in my classroom.

2.  How do you already incorporate this into your guided reading routine?  There's probably at least some part of the chapter that you're already doing!  Tell us about it!

I am so fortunate in my school to have a major emphasis placed on reading instruction.  To that end, we have reading specialists and para-professionals that work with teachers in a push-in program.  We are able to break our 50-ish Kindergarten students into 6 leveled groups to focus on specific, targeted reading instruction.  We meet for 25 minutes, 4 days per week.  This time is critical to our students' overall reading progress and I am so thankful for it!  Within this approach, our bottom 30% of students are assessed frequently and their growth is monitored closely.

3.  What is something new you want to try next school year?  How do you want to make your guided reading time better or what new things do you want to try?

I want to re-think my system of organizing assessment materials.  I used to use a binder with a section for each student.  The past few years I've used a file box with a file for each student.  I also have used an electronic file and spreadsheet system.  There are great things about each of these, but I'd like to find a way to record information so that I can easily test specific skills and measure growth for my students.  Please comment if you have a system that works great for you!!

4.  What are some resources that you ALREADY HAVE that you can use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I already use several of the assessments mentioned for emergent and early readers.

5.  What are some NEW resources that you want to get or try to use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

I've never done a dictated sentence assessment with my students.  Of course I look at my students' writing closely and am able to get a good idea of how comfortable they are with hearing the sounds they need for words and getting them onto paper, but this assessment is more specific with every child writing the same thing.  I like that it would give me an easy way to quickly see what I should be focusing on in my writing mini-lessons or what I could pull small groups to work on.  The sentences suggested in the book for Kindergarten seemed difficult and I would probably simplify them.  But, it's a great starting point and something I plan to implement next year.

Are you reading along with us???  We would love to have you link up so that we can hear what you are learning from the book too!  Our book study host this week is Jennifer from Rowdy in First Grade.  Click the link to head over to her blog to read her thoughts on Chapter 2 and snag a great freebie!  You can join our linky there or at the end of this post.

Have a wonderful Monday!!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Next Step in Guided Reading {book study, Chapter 1}

I am enjoying my first week of summer break and what better way to kick off summer than by diving right into a book that has been on my to-read list for months??  Guided reading has been one element that I feel I can improve in my classroom, so when Jennifer from Teaching with Grace announced this summer book study, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it.  I ordered the book right away, and have been patiently waiting to get started.

Each week as we read through the book, we'll be using these questions to guide our discussion:

1.  What part of the reading caught your attention?  Maybe it's something you never thought about.  Maybe it's something that you've been trying to get a grip on.  Maybe it's something that you've never heard quite they way it was put.

I really loved Jan Richardson's ideas for implementing literacy work stations at the start of the year.  I have used a similar approach the past two years, since beginning the Debbie Diller style of literacy work stations in my classroom...but I love the idea of introducing one new activity per week, in a small-group setting, and then snowballing from there.  One activity per week until all activities have been introduced.  I think I'll be trying that with my new group of Kindergarteners in the fall.

2.  How do you already incorporate this into your guided reading routine?  There's probably at least some part of the chapter that you're already doing!  Tell us about it!

I have a great system for literacy work stations.  It includes many of the components listed in this chapter.  I love, love, love it!  It produces independent thinkers and workers, and gets results!  My kids have been so successful with sight words and reading the past couple years, and I know that this system is part of the reason.  To read more about literacy work stations in my room, CLICK HERE or HERE.

3.  What is something new you want to try next school year?  How do you want to make your guided reading time better or what new things do you want to try?

This is such a simple thing, but I need to figure out a system for letting students know when they shouldn't bother me.  One of my colleagues wears a Hawaiian lei, and someone I used to work with wore a funny hat.  Over the summer, I have to figure out something that will work for me!

4.  What are some resources that you ALREADY HAVE that you can use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

Because I already run literacy work stations in my classroom, I have oodles of resources for the types of literacy stations that Jan Richardson writes about in this first chapter.  I'm looking forward to reorganizing my supplies before the fall, and adding in some new things as well.

5.  What are some NEW resources that you want to get or try to use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?

One work station that I would love to implement next year is an interactive poetry/song station.  I love the idea of my students manipulating the pieces/words, and working on fluency using repetitive text and patterns.

Are you reading along with us???  We would love to have you link up so that we can hear what you are learning from the book too!  Click the image to head over to Jennifer's blog to read her thoughts on chapter 1 and enter a great giveaway.  You can join the linky there or at the end of my post.

Have a fabulous Monday!!