POSTED AT 10:49 AM
How do you facilitate guided reading groups in your classroom? What are some things that work well for your students? What hang-ups do your students have during this time? Do you use any "unique" management ideas?
I have three groups of between 6 and 8 students. I meet with each group for 22 minutes each. As I am meeting with each group, the other students are either working independently or at one of the five weekly stations that I change every week which are non-fiction, fluency, making connections, vocabulary, and art. I only have between 2 and 3 students at a station at a time so that the noise level isn't too high.
I Have 6 groups with 3-4 students in each group. I have 30 minutes of whole group instruction, and then two centers aday with each center being 25-30 minutes each. I meet with two groups a day. I would like to have more leveled small group books. Currently, I only have the "average" and "below average" books. I find that I can not challenge my "higher" thinkers as much as I would like. Right now, I have them working on an independent project after they complete their centers.
How I facilitate my groups varies for each grade level. For K and 1st we do a lot of choral reading and or partner reading. My second graders focus more on retelling and fix up startegies during guided reading. In my upper grade groups we usually begin with vocabulary words and use predictograms. It works well for these students when we stop every few pages to summaraize, clarify, question, predict etc.. Why students seem to have "hang ups" when asked how they used stategies. Metacognition is more challenging for them.
We need to focus on purposeful activities and also hold students accountable for a product and also behaviors. Debriefing rubrics could help.
To facilitate guided reading groups I model what is expected and closely monitor behaviors. I use manipulatives like sentence strips for vocabulary and fish magnets for identifying phonics.
I begin each lesson with a whole group focusing activity. We activate the brain, recall previous learning, and introduce new concepts. Then, my class breaks into groups and works on an independent application of the lesson. As they are doing this, I am meeting with 3 small groups each day. As they complete their independent work, they move into literacy centers that are mixed ability grouped. This allowe me to meet with each group at least 15 min. each day and still work with center groups, too. My assistant is floating in the room and meeting any needs.
I have found that 'echo-reading' is very successful in my guided reading, no matter the group. I am still working on encouraging independent reading.
I meet with all students in a guided reading group each day....3 groups of 6-8 students, for 30 minutes a piece. While I am meeting with the guided reading groups, other students are either working in independent stations or working in groups of 2-3 at either a vocabulary center, computer station, nonfiction station or an arts extension (project based) center. All students go to guided reading, independent and one station a day.
One way that we manage the movement and schedules of groups is by having individual schedules for each student laminated in their folders. This way, students can look at their own schedule and move quietly, rather than all having to go look at the same workboard chart.
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How do you facilitate guided reading groups in your classroom? What are some things that work well for your students? What hang-ups do your students have during this time? Do you use any "unique" management ideas?