Groups are small and instruction includes foundational literacy concepts. These small groups are temporary and they change as you assess your students’ growth and needs.

Guided reading is small, homogeneous group instruction for students who read at the same instructional level as determined by district assessments and running records. The students demonstrate similar reading behaviors and share similar instructional needs. These small groups are temporary and change as the teacher assesses students’ growth and needs. In the small group, the teacher introduces a text that has been carefully selected from a variety of genres. Each student reads the entire text silently or softly to themselves with teacher support. While students read, the teacher listens to individual students read orally. The teacher provides instruction on strategies for processing text through effective questioning. Targeted teaching points are planned based on the readers’ needs. This may include oral and/or written responses, word study, fluency practice, or comprehension skills.

During Book Clubs , the teacher works with small heterogeneous groups of students who are interested in certain topics, authors, genres or specific books. Together, the teacher and students decide on a text, assign reading/writing tasks, and agree on meeting times. Students talk in depth about what they have read (or occasionally what you have read to them). The teacher is generally present for the discussion although students may take turns facilitating it. In consultation with the group, the teacher sometimes structures written responses or brief sharing projects. Book Clubs can take place in lieu of guided reading groups for some students at certain times during the year. Normally, Book Clubs are intended for students in the upper grade levels. (3-6)