I have taught guided reading for three years now & would glad to share any
knowledge I have learned. Our school district does the benchmark testing (a
notebook with different levels of difficulty with books & test questions).
We get an idea of what level the students can read 92-95% and then put them
in groups (3-4 is what I manage best). We then divide up our classroom
(half go to groups of pe, art, music & computers) and teach them how to do
work stations. Once they can do the stations on their own, we start guided
reading. I start out with lots of sight words and blends/digraphs. I pull
them to my desk to see what they know & write down what they don't know & on
what level they are on (pp, p, 1, 2, 3). We spend a week or two on just
learning sight words. I check out lots of books on their different levels
and after going over the sight words we start reading in the leveled books.
Here is a sample of my guided reading lesson plan once I have taught the
strategies they need to know. I teach probably one strategy a week and
review it all week long & praise them whenever they use that strategy.



INTRODUCING THE BOOK:

Today we are going to read a story called_______

Let's look at the cover of the story. What do you think this story is
about? What makes you think that? (Sometimes we take a picture walk & look
at the pictures to see what the book is about, and sometimes we just look at
a few pages.)

We have been working on some strategies to help make you a better reader.
Can you remember some of them that we9ve worked on?

* Look for blends

* Look at the ending of the word- s, es, ing, ed

* Pause at the period or comma

* Thank about what you are reading. Stop at the end of a paragraph or page
and ask yourself these questions...
Do I understand what I9ve read?
Do I need to reread it?
Do I have any questions about it?
What do I think will happen next?
Today we are going to add another strategy...I want you to visualize what
you are reading. The word visualize just means to use your mind to see what
you are reading. You are making pictures in your mind about what you are
reading.

The last thing I want you to do as you read is to think about the story you
are reading:

* Who are the main characters in the story?

* What did they do?

* Where did the story take place?

* Is there a problem?

* How did they try to solve it?

There's a few words I thought we might go over before you read the story.
_________ ___________ __________ _______



READING THE STORY:

Now read the story and remember all the strategies we9ve been working on.
(Have them read in a soft voice & whenever you tap their book they have to
read out loud. You will soon notice the strategies they need & what they
understand.)

AFTER READING THE STORY:

Did you enjoy the story? Why? What was the part you liked best? If you
were going to tell a friend about this story, what would you tell him or
her?

Did you have problems with any other words?

How will what you learned today help you read other books?



Some Strategy Lessons:

* If you don't know a word, here are some strategies that might help you.
If I Don't Understand a Word, I Can:
1. Look at the word -are there blends, prefixes, or suffixes?
2. Can you find a small word within the word?
3. Can you break the word down and sound it out?
4. Skip the word, continue reading, then go back.
5. Read the sentence and/or paragraph again.
6. Guess what the word could be.
7. Can the pictures or what the story's about help me?
8. Does my word make sense?