Creative ideas to get kids excited about reading deeper.
When I started at my new school last year, I came into a new reading program. I was used to doing almost all of my reading instruction WHOLE CLASS, but my school uses a guided reading model all the way up to 5th grade. I definitely had to rethink my reading block! I had done centers in the past, but wanted a really clear way to maximize the time and make the transitions clear for the students. Here's how I do my guided reading block! ROTATIONS We have Guided Reading/Centers Monday-Thursday from about 1:10-2:00 and I rotate through four groups. This means each center is 12 minutes long, with about 30 seconds for a transition. 12 minutes can fly by, so the students have to work on getting those transitions DOWN. I found a FANTASTIC resource by my friend Kristen of Chalk & Apples, and it has made centers SO easy. There are tons of different icons that can be easily swapped out on different days or weeks. I change mine up all the time! In a typical week, I do guided reading with leveled passages on Monday and Wednesday, and we do literature circles on Tuesdays and Thursdays. GROUPS My students are grouped according to DRA levels, because that is what my school uses. You might use AR, Lexile, or another measure. I have four groups: Low, Low-Mid, High-Mid, and High. Each group has a number, but I assign the number randomly so it doesn't match up to skill level in any way. I have 24 students in my class this year, so there will be 6 kids in each group. If you have a larger class, you can still make it work by having your higher groups work on their own while you work with a lower group and just check in! GUIDED READING I LOVE this close reading resource from Fifth in the Middle. I bought the entire bundle so I have TONS of options. Each reading comes in four reading levels, but they are on the same topic and look the same so students don't notice. There is also a paired text that I try to use for morning work toward the end of the week. There are several pages of activities for each passage, and I often have the students start these at the table with me after we've read the passage out loud. When it is their turn for guided reading, the students come to me at our back table with a pencil and a highlighter. I give them their sheets for that day and discuss what we will be looking for while we read (unfamiliar words usually) and we begin reading. I like to make sure each child reads, so however I have to break it up to make that happen. After reading through, I ask them to scan through again to find specific information. This changes week to week, so one time it might be looking for transition phrases, and another it might be looking for dates to create a timeline. Then, we talk about what everyone found and work on putting together the information on the worksheet. I, of course, provide a lot more scaffolding and support to my lower readers, while my high readers are able to do the activity on their own. LIT CIRCLES On the days that we have literature circles, the students still come to the back table with me, but this time they bring their lit circle book (which varies) and their lit circle binder. In their binder, they keep all of their jobs and their reading schedule. I have used about a GAZILLION resources for lit circles (including online blogs), but this one from Pocketful of Primary is my absolute FAVORITE: It is SOO easy to adapt to groups of different sizes and I found it very user-friendly for both the kiddos and for myself! I organize the jobs using a hanging file I found on Amazon. You can find it here: THE OTHER CENTERS So what do the kiddos do during their other blocks of time? Here's some options I cycle through: STAPLES: Partner Reading Each student has a partner from their reading group that they meet up with for this activity. I typically use "I Survived" books or similar short chapter books. I stock up through Scholastic! I have 6 shared books for the entire class, and I place a sheet inside the front cover so the students can write their names and where they ended each day they read. I always have new books ready to go for the students who finish. I do this strictly for fluency, so I don't do quizzes or worksheets. Silent Reading (KBAR) In my class, we call silent reading KBAR- Kick Back and Read. When we do a whole class KBAR, I sometimes take it outside. Spelling (Spelling City) I typically use Spelling City for centers, but sometimes do a worksheet instead. Vocabulary (Quizlet)Quizlet is AMAZING. I love using this for vocabulary! The students really enjoy it as well. Keyboarding (KWT) This is a tough one since monitoring the students' finger placement is so important. I don't do this OFTEN as a center, but throw it in now and again. Writing If we are working on a longer project (such as the state report), I have the students use this chunk of time for that. Otherwise, I sometimes provide a prompt or allow them to free write. Here's one of the resources I use: NoRedInk If you've never used this site, CHECK IT OUT! It's one of the best ways to get some extra grammar practice into your day! Be aware that the initial set up takes a bit of time because the students have to select a bunch of their favorites from different categories: books, tv shows, movies. What's neat is the site uses their preferences and their name + their friends' names when building the practice sentences. The kids get a kick out of it! Task Cards (small group) Students work with their reading group and record their answers on individual answer sheets. I have a huge selection of task cards that I keep in one of these bad boys from Michael's: Cursive (Can Do) I love that my school teaches cursive, but in fifth grade, we don't have a lot of specific time for it. To keep the kid's practicing, I assign pages from our cursive book during centers. Reading Comprehension (Reading Plus) We use Reading Plus, but there are many online reading comprehension sites. Use whatever your district provides or what works for your class! Games I will occasionally throw in a review game for the kids to play with their small group. The key is they have to be short and not too loud! Comment below if you have other questions or want to add some advice on running smooth ELA centers with Guided Reading!
I wanted to talk with you all today about getting started with guided reading. It is that time in the school year when we all are finished assessing students and are ready to pull small groups for guided reading instruction. If you are like me, you may struggle with exactly what is the best way to
This is a rubric you can use to assess your students' guided reading skills. You can use it weekly, monthly, or quarterly. ...
Adding some fun games for reading in the classroom schedule will instantly get your kids excited to read! These 5 fun reading games are...
Reader's Workshop is an important part of elementary school! Learn how to organize the first week of reader's workshop for year long success!
Adding some fun games for reading in the classroom schedule will instantly get your kids excited to read! These 5 fun reading games are...
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
This Must Do May Do System is the HACK to your rotating reading centers! Have smooth-running groups and effective independent work time.
In today's post, I'll share 10 quick, meaningful “follow-up” activities that you can use in your guided reading lessons - all materials are FREE!
Learn how to use decodable passages in guided reading in kindergarten and first grade. Then, use the FREE decodable passages to get started.
Repeated reading is a research-based instructional strategy with the goal of increasing decoding automaticity skills. The goal of repeated reading is not for students to become “fast readers”. Rather, we want students to read the words accurately, with intonation, and at a rate that is comparable to the speed of oral language. This resource was created to provide a rereading routine for students who would benefit from increasing accurate and automatic fluency skills. It is designed to be led by older students or volunteers, who assist younger students in the rereading routine. While it can be implemented as often as desired, we used this rereading routine three times a week for 6 weeks. Each student who participated in the fluency friends rereading routine was paired with a fifth-grade student who volunteered the first 10 minutes of their recess time. The older students used the assembled toolkits to walk their readers through the day’s rereading routine by following the instructions on the card. Each toolkit contained all of the materials needed for the lessons. This resource is designed to be used with passages or texts that you, the teacher, supply each week, based on the student’s decoding skills and needs. Please note, that no texts or passages are included with this resource. It can be used in conjunction with whatever word recognition curriculum, program, or texts you use. What does the rereading routine look like? (We chose the routine to take place every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can edit and choose the days of the week that work best for your classroom.) Monday: Modeling Day. Volunteers led the student through a series of modeling exercises. They first read the passage to the student, modeling fluent reading. Next, they did a choral reading with the student. Last, they scooped the sentences in the passage for the student, and practiced fluent phrasing with the student. If time allowed, the student reread the passage an additional time. Wednesday: Fluency Fun Day. During Day 2, peers and students used novelty reading tools to reread the passage in engaging ways! Flashlights, microphones, mini cards, and reading pointer wands are used throughout the lesson. This rereading day is designed to be motivating and encourage as much rereading practice of the week’s passage as possible. The card for Day 2 acts as a "choice menu" to practice rereading the passage or text several times. Friday: The final day of each week is called “Beat Your Time Day”. A highlighter or pencil, and a sand timer is used on day 3. The student reads the passage. At the end of one minute, the peer leader draws a line after the last word read. The routine above is repeated, and the student tries to read farther than he or she did the first time. If time allows, the reader tries to read even more than his or her second reading. When can this routine take place? Fluency Friends is a perfect routine to fit into a center time, intervention block, before school, during a designated "no new teaching time", or during small group time. It's also a great way for parents to help their children with rereading practice at home! What grade(s) is this resource designed for? You can use this resource and rereading routine for ANY student who is reading connected text! Kindergarteners who are reading short decodable passages, first and second grade students, and upper elementary students who could benefit from increased rereading practice will love this routine! Thank you so much for learning more about Fluency Friends! -Christina DeCarbo Miss DeCarbo, Inc. Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.
Okay teacher friend. It’s finally here. And I’m so excited! I’ve had this resource collecting dust on my computer for years now. I’ve been using this strategy in my classroom for the last few years, but haven’t had the energy or time (teacher life + mom life is exhausting, am I right?) to put it all together so that it’s ready to go for busy teachers like you! Well, it’s finally finished and I finally get to unveil it to you! Did you know I have a FREE downloadable reading response menu board that you can print now and use in your
How I implement and run guided reading and small group in my middle school and upper elementary ELA classrooms
Learn how to use decodable passages in guided reading in kindergarten and first grade. Then, use the FREE decodable passages to get started.
What are Bossy R Words? R-Controlled Vowels are often referred to as the "Bossy R" because the r bosses the vowel to change its sound. The vowel and the
Don't have time in your day to reach every student? My 10 Minute Reading Intervention resource can help you squeeze in lessons that are fast & effective!
Reading strategies useful in every content area include Questioning the text, Visualization, and using Context Clues to infer meaning.
What if you are being constantly interrupted during guided reading? Here are 5 different strategies to try when your students are struggling to work independently!
Make planning reading small groups easy by following these 8 teaching tips! Learn how to support reading skills using the science of reading to help you plan reading small groups for early elementary. Get ideas to teach high frequency words, phonics, and more! Plus, get a FREE guide to teaching reading small groups for kindergarten, first, and 2nd grade. Read more here!
Activities that boost fluency all year long…and that you only have to prep once!
We also use this fun matching game to review comprehension skills. After reading the short stories a few times, we match them with the picture cards.
The Giggly Guide to Grammar is the life's work of a dedicated language arts teacher with a life-sized sense of humor and the hand of an artist. Cathy Campbell has both illustrated and long tested the exercises in this guide with her 9th grade students in The Woodlands, Texas. It's a lighthearted and ludicrous guide to the essential elements of language and grammar (with a few writing tips tossed into the mix). It's Shel Silverstein meets Strunk and White and the results are both hilarious and instructive. Tried and true, and everyone a delight, there isn't a serious sentence in the group. But this is a dead-serious grammar book with the heart of a clown. Lessons include: parts of speech, subject-verb agreement, parts of the sentence, clauses of all kinds, quotation marks and italics and much more. The Deluxe Teacher's Guide has a CD-Rom that includes a full answer set, posters for the classroom and a set of transparency-ready exercises for each of the chapters. | Author: Cathy Campbell | Publisher: Discover Writing Press | Publication Date: Jul 17, 2023 | Number of Pages: 304 pages | Language: English | Binding: Paperback | ISBN-10: 1931492220 | ISBN-13: 9781931492225
It's hard to fit it all into your schedule! Here's my 3-step process that makes it easier to create your K-2 structured literacy schedule.
This is a visual for how students work their way up the Reading Ladder. Kindergarten is working within the levels 1 and 2 throughout the year. When working with your child, please focus on these skills so that they have a solid reading foundation. Success is earned and needs to be worked for. Thank you to Katelyn's Learning Studio for this amazing resource.
Use this color-coded schedule to help your five groups navigate through Daily 5 Rotations. The "meet with teacher" time is built in to facilitate guided reading.
A LOOK AT LEXILES and Text Complexity While delivering PD yesterday, a teacher asked me, "What's a Lexile?" I wanted to say, "where have you been?" But the reality is--I commend her for not being afraid to ask what we think is such a basic question. We forget that some people have been so busy working in the trenches that they haven't been able to keep up. (They've been too busy administering tests, Student Learning Objective assessments, state exams and more.) So, listed below are the basics of LEXILES 101. Essential understandings: The Common Core has defined where "college and career ready" (CCR) students should be reading and it's a 1450 Lexile. Therefore, they scaffolded in reverse levels to graduate students at the appropriate level. These Lexile levels are more difficult than where typical students are reading. Lexile is an algorithm. It is a mathematical assessment of a linguistic product. Lexiles (and other readability statistics) are fallible. (For instance, it is not valid for prose or drama and is less valid for fiction in 1000+ Lexile range.) The parent organization to the CCSS, (CCSSO formally called the Governor’s convention) recently released a white paper verifying the validity of text complexity. Therefore, we have to pay attention to this essential shift to embrace "rigor" in reading. To read the recent white paper from the Council of Chief State School Officers click here. This article compares a number of algorithms and the summarizes text complexity for the CCSS. Text complexity formulas were meant for instructional purposes. Pleasure reading should be allowed at any level and this is validated in the Common Core, Appendix A, page 9, paragraph 1: It is very interesting, to compare the variables used among the six different "approved" complexity measures. Metametrics (Lexile) uses the simplest measure of only word count and sentence length. (Lexile.com provides a search tool for books, but many are missing.) Other companies including Accelerated Reader (ATOS) and Pearson, DRP, etc... add additional measures of review such as punctuation, a 100,000-word vocabulary match, and more. Therefore, we would conclude that the ratings of the latter companies would be more accurate picture of complexity and appropriateness. This quote from page 17 of the white paper puts it diplomatically: "There is no clear "gold standard" measure of text difficulty against which to compare the various metrics. Instead, we compared each metric against various reference measures based on grade level and student comprehension data for five sets of passages gathered for the study. These are defined and discussed in the sections following. Although there are limitations in the validity of these indicators as measures of text difficulty, the variety in their construction allows us to observe the robustness of the metrics and consider how different reference measures might affect their performance." Be sure to note that Microsoft Word's Flesch-Kincaid measure has also been proven valid. This picture shows how to "turn on" readability statistics within Word: Readability statistics, is only one characteristic to examine for instructional materials. Please see the charts below to identify correct grade levels and Lexiles - or level of complexity. The Common Core has asked teachers to evaluate classroom materials for quality as well as quantity. Complexity is only one piece of the puzzle. In addition, a teacher, librarian, or educator, has to pay attention to: • Complexity - Lexile, vocabulary • Qualitative measures -value • Reader and the task -is there enough in the text to foster good discussion, value -added assignments, and begin a knowledge exploration. How can I use this novel or passage to foster critical thinking skills? Every reading program (F and P, AR, Reading Counts, etc.) uses as its baseline, some metric to measure difficulty or "readability". Here is a chart by Perma-bound, which correlates the different reading measures:
Make guided reading time effective and stress-free. Read about my solution to making guided reading groups and independent reading time rigorous.
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
Use this editable guided reading binder to organize the essentials like running records, forms, and lesson plans to keep small groups running smoothly.
Cute ending punctuation activities for first week of school! Print worksheets, cut into pencil strips. Add marks to punctuation exercises.
This level L kit is teacher-friendly, research-based, easily organized, and sure to engage students! It was created for the teacher who wants to get started but doesn’t know how, is overwhelmed by the thought of planning for each lesson, and maybe just isn’t sure where to begin.
Here's a list of Accelerated Reader levels by color. Find AR books according to your child's reading level and purchase them for less here too!
