I
realize I’m getting ahead of myself a little bit by blogging about guided
reading before we have gotten there in class but I went a little guided reading
crazy in the past few weeks. I think
that guided reading was definitely my biggest downfall in my first year of
teaching. People kept telling me that I
was doing it right, but I just did not feel comfortable doing it. It never felt natural…. So this year I
decided to combat that.
I posted on the kindergarten curriculum
outlook folder to ask for guided reading lesson plan templates that people
use. I was amazed at how many people
responded (people in MCPS really are amazing).
Naturally, I looked at what everyone had, I looked at the outline my
reading specialist had given me last year (posted on Erin’s blog under comments
if you want to see that….) and I looked at the Jan Richardson template that I
had been given the previous year a well.
Well, true to my nature… none of what I had was exactly what I wanted….
so I created my own. I used the Jan
Richardson template mostly, but split my plans into three days not two. I hate that now I can’t complete two books in
one week with my groups, but I think part of the problem for me last year was
that I never felt like I had enough time in my small groups. I’ve been using the templates for two weeks
now and they do seem to be helping me a lot.
I hate that blogger won’t let me add an attachment… I’m linking them on
Google docs… let me know if you have trouble opening them.
While I
am on the subject of guided reading… I have 6 groups this year… YIKES! Luckily I have been able to switch a few kids
with the teacher next to me and across the hall so that I am down to four
groups in my room (at least for now… the amazing thing about Kindergarten is
how fast some of them pick up on things and move through the levels). If I really buckle down and make sure I end
my shared reading lesson on time I can meet with all four groups during my
literacy center time (we are supposed to have “mandated” guided reading time
from 9:45 to 10:45 but a lot of the time my whole group lesson creeps past
9:45). I would like to pull my lowest
group (working on print concepts… there is only two in that group) in the
afternoon during writing because writing is a challenge for them anyway, and it
is quiter in the room so they are able to focus better. Unfortunately, one of the kids in that group
gets pulled for ESOL during that time so for now I am pulling them in the
morning with my other groups.
I am also using Jan Richardson, and have been since last year. I appreciate the activities that she has in the book. One thing that I have been doing that seems to be working well so far is alternating using the guided reading books we have at school and Jan Richardson, with books from reading a-z. The books from reading a-z come with lesson plans and activity sheets that help the groups move efficiently. They are not the guided reading books of choice for our school so it's not something I can use exclusively.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest hurdles I think with guided reading, aside for there not being enough time to get all the groups in, is finding something that works for you. It seems like your templates are giving you what you need.