Definition of Guided Reading - Literacy 2000
"Guided Reading is a technique with specific diagnostic, instructional and evaluative intent. It supports and encourages the development of strategies for independence in reading within a small cluster or group. Each child is in the role of reader with his or her own copy of the book. The teacher acts as a facilitator to set the scene and, through skillful questioning, engages the children in a discussion that enables them to unfold the story and confidently read the text themselves. Approximations are encouraged and the teacher observes and monitors the reading strategies that children use and wasy in which they process print. Guided Reading is readying by children. It is just one approach teachers use when working with small groups of children." (from Literacy 2000 - OHT18).
Guided Reading Teaching Sequence for Emergent and Early Readers
- Select an Appropriate Text
- Children should have a high level of success and be sufficiently challenged.
- The text should be interesting and appealing.
- Features of the text should provide needed practice.
- Set the Scene
- Initiate discussion that arouses children's interest and encourages them to draw on their personal experiences.
- Talk about the cover using the illustration to encourage predictions.
- Read the title, author, and illustrator.
- Read the Rext
- Reread the title and talk about the illustration.
- "Talk" children through the book, page-by-page, using what they see in the illustrations to sample and predict.
- Highlight vocabulary through discussion. Use questions and prompts to check for graphophonic match, and semantic and syntactic sense.
- Have students read samplings of text to confirm predictions. Focus attention on details that help children learn to cope with challenges they meet while reading.
- After the children have been guided through the book, have them read independently within the group while the teacher observes and supports as necessary.
- Return to the Text
- Discuss the story with the children. Relate it to other stories they know. Ask what if...questions.
- Invite individual comments and opinions.
- Have children reread the story in pairs, independently within the group.
- Take advantage of the possibilities for teaching reading skills and strategies in the context of the story.
- Respond to the Text
- Lisen to the spontaneous responses children make.
- Reread all or parts of the book once more. Rereading deepens and extends the children's understanding.
- Demonstrate and facilitate creative responses that enrich and complement reading such as writing, dramatization, arts and crats. Encourage children to suggest their own responses.
Three Strategies of Reading
- Select a book that is challenging and interesting, but not too difficult.
- Have a purpose for reading.
- Make enjoyment the top priority.
- Select a book that can be read many times.
- Teacher should provide oral closure.
- Small group of children who share a common need meet with teacher.
- Select a book at the instructional level of the children measured by a reading record (90%-95% known words).
- Place emphasis on questions that help children self-reflect, self-evaluate, and integrate their cueing systems independently.
Text Support for Guided Reading
- Text is carefully matched to the reader to provide a scaffolding that supports the child and promotes success and enjoyment.