Guided Reading

What is Guided Reading?

Guided reading is an integral part of our kindergarten literacy program. In guided reading groups the teacher supports each reader’s development of effective reading strategies in a small group setting. Guided reading groups provide the opportunity for students to:

• Develop reading strategies using increasingly difficult texts
• Develop abilities needed for independent reading
• Enjoy reading, raise questions, notice information in the text, and request help in problem solving

During each group students are lead through a picture walk and discussion before they read the text. They then whisper read it to themselves with teacher support. Finally there is word work, where sight words are practiced and phonics skills are either practiced or introduced. Groups are determined through on-going student assessments of reading called running records. For this reason groups often change, depending on changing reading levels. It has already happened and is happening again this week, so your child may have new reading partners. Sometimes books will be read twice when groups change. Please return reading books each day, even if you have not read them. New books are not sent home unless books from the previous day have been returned. If you did not get to listen to your child read (we all have nights like that) just jot that down on the reading form and I can send it back with the new book. It is a great pleasure for me to read with your child J