I read an article called Guided Reading in Inclusive Middle Years Classrooms. It was an interesting read and I have seen a lot of the things discussed actually successfully played out in a classroom. It first discussed how all children should learn together and be provided with instruction that accommodates different styles and rates of learning. The article then goes in to discuss how guided reading is not some distinct, explicit program; however, it is part of a literacy program that contains different balanced components in order to be successful. Typically, those balanced components are modeled reading, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading. For effective guided reading strategies the article discusses teaching before, during, and after reading strategies. Before reading strategies activate prior knowledge, during creates connections to personal experiences, and after allows the students to question and analyze what they have just read. Guided reading is important because, well, reading is the most important thing we do. It isn't just for reading, but it is cross-curricular, so we are constantly reading at all ages in all subject areas. Guided reading also accommodates a range of readng levels. To help make guided reading successful in classrooms, persons responsible for teaching this should be identified, start and finish dates for the readings should also be identified, resources needed and data collection procedures should also be identified. The article identifies important features of guided reading: small group instruction, use of leveled readers, prompting, and independent activities. Small group instruction is what I think is most important because it allows the students to get the other students perspectives and it allows the teacher to get to know the students better. The teacher can see what level they are on, teach at that level, provide feedback to them, more individualized instruction, and sometimes even effective behavior management.
This article was pretty beneficial in explaining guided reading and how to successfully implement it in the classroom. Also, as mentioned above, it helps when I have actually seen much of this, especially leveled readers and small group readings implemented in the classroom. Have you seen any of this in place in a classroom? Some people disagree with leveled readers, do you have an opinion?
I love how you point out the importance of reading- how it isn't just one subject, it is for all subjects, grades, and ages! I think that guided reading seems like a great way to supply that demand. I agree that small group instruction is important because it allows teachers to identify particular needs among students, and also allows students to learn from each other.
ReplyDeleteYou summed up this article nicely. I really like how you broke it all down for me. I have seen guided reading in kindergarten at two different schools and for the most part they implemented it in similar ways. Like we learned today in class, many teachers shy away from guided reading because they do not know what to do with their other students, but in both cases the students rotated in groups of similar ability and generally stayed on task!
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