Sample Lessons by Level

 
Introduction to Guided Reading Modules
 
Guided Reading is at the heart of teaching children to read in primary classrooms. It is situated within a balanced literacy agenda, where children are read to consistently, are exploring all different kinds of books on their own, and are reading, writing, and talking for many purposes. Guided Reading allows the classroom teacher to support each child in developing effective strategies for processing text at gradually increasing levels of difficulty. In a small group setting, children are immersed in meaningful reading as they learn how it works. Writing and short, focused word work are often included in Guided Reading, helping children benefit from the reciprocity between reading and writing and the immediate application of skills to connected text.

Teaching Guided Reading is challenging, even for experienced teachers. Although the children in a group are reading at about the same book level, their strengths and needs and rates of growth differ. Providing the right support for each child takes knowledge, skill, preparation, close observation and instantaneous decision-making. The Guided Reading modules are intended to support teachers in meeting these challenges.

In The Reading Process module, basic principles underlying guided reading were discussed. The modules that follow show how our focus in teaching guided reading shifts as beginning readers grow in their understanding and application of the reading process. In each module, you will view video clips of each segment of a sample guided reading lesson taught by an expert teacher. Guiding questions are provided for reflection on these clips. For many of the lesson segments, the teachers have also provided commentary on the goals and intentions of their teaching moves and language. If you are leading a collegial discussion using a Guided Reading module, first read the Facilitator Notes. If you are viewing the module on your own, use the chart provided for each sample lesson in the following order:

• read the question for the segment;
• view the lesson clip, possibly taking notes about your responses to the question;
• hyperlink from the question to view our suggested responses;
• view the teacher commentary if one is included for the clip.

Please note that the book levels listed are Reading Recovery® (RR) levels. Consult “Book and Reader Characteristics” under each module for correlations of these levels with Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading (F&P) and Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).

We would like to thank the following teachers from Anderson School District 5 who are featured in the videos:

• Patsy McGregor at Homeland Park Primary (Levels 1-2)
• Amy Sanderson at Centerville Elementary School (Levels 3-5 and 10-12)
• Karen Branch at McLees Elementary School (Levels 6-9 and 13-16)
• Angela Rardon at Nevitt Forest Elementary School (Levels 17-20)

We would also like to acknowledge the support of Cindy Martin, Director of Elementary and Early Childhood Programs for Anderson 5; and Jean Ridley, Reading Recovery Teacher Leader in Anderson 5. And most of all, we thank the children in the guided reading groups and their parents whose support made their participation in this project possible.