Across the county, we have round tables in our classrooms, we have leveled book rooms full of sets of books, and we call kids for a small group lesson we call Guided Reading. What I've come to figure out however, is that this just LOOKS like Guided Reading, it doesn't mean it IS Guided Reading.
The difference? What is the teacher DOING with kids at the table? It's true right? Giving teachers a table and a selection of texts does not mean they know what to DO with the kids when they come to the table. And the teachers I have trained welcome the opportunity to actually find out what is expected in a Guided Reading lesson.
One tool that helps teachers at the Guided Reading table has been developed by Fountas and Pinnell (actually almost all tools we use at the Guided Reading table were originally designed by Fountas and Pinnell) is a document that outlines possible teaching points (lessons) at the table for readers depending on the text level.
Sometimes teachers don't know what to teach- and they don't have a method of tracking and determining the next step/needs of the readers in their Guided Reading lessons.
So... thank you to F&P for your books...
Working in DC, we compiled from books above and created this document that will allow teachers to know what students should be learning/doing with text at different levels. A teacher could reference it as they plan instruction with a text. A teacher could also use it for a group to check off behaviors they see students demonstrate- almost like anecdotal notes.
Sadly it's not as easy as check off all the boxes and move to another reading level- but it does help a teacher know how to increase the rigor of instruction according to text level!
What I appreciate most about this document is that it focuses more on the reading behaviors students need to learn and internalize- and less on other elements of text that many programs, textbooks, etc. see to focus on.
So thanks be to Fountas and Pinnell! Get your copy from my dropbox here! Please download before the New Year!
