1. What part of the reading caught your attention? Maybe it's something you never thought about. Maybe it's something that you've been trying to get a grip on. Maybe it's something that you've never heard quite they way it was put.
I loved this chapter because it felt like the authors were really starting to get into the meat of what a guided reading lesson looks like. I love the structure of the lesson plans that they suggest. Even though most students are beyond the Pre-A level in first grade, some years I always get at least a couple that fall into that category. It's really helpful to have a guide on what to do with those students. I also love the Interactive Writing segment. I honestly have never done much writing in guided reading because I always focus so much on the reading. This is something I definitely want to incorporate this coming year.
I also noticed that the author mentioned not doing 1:1 matching once you get to Level C. Oops! I've definitely done 1:1 matching with almost every group. I can see why she wants to discourage it because it kind of gets in the way of fluency. It makes their reading more choppy!
Did anyone else notice that it said NOT to read the book chorally? That's how I've always done it! As I think about it, I like the idea of having them read it independently first so that they can practice those strategies and figure things out on their own (since that's how they'll usually read anyways!).
2. How do you already incorporate this into your guided reading routine? There's probably at least some part of the chapter that you're already doing! Tell us about it!
I have already been doing the Introduction of the New Book, Text Reading with Prompting, Teaching Points After Reading, and a short phonics practice. I've never really liked what I've done with phonics during guided reading, so I'll definitely be changing that up as well.
3. What is something new you want to try next school year? How do you want to make your guided reading time better or what new things do you want to try?
Next year I want to be more intentional with the text I select for the students. In Chapter 3 it talked about choosing books with sight words that the students know. It also said to have a new sight word in the book to teach. I normally just pick a book at their level and go with it. Time to get a little more selective!
I've honestly never done much with cross-checking, either. Sure, I talk about it here and there when appropriate. But she really emphasizes being able to cross-check before they get to Level D.
4. What are some resources that you ALREADY HAVE that you can use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?
Our school is starting to build a guided reading library, which is fabulous! I hope they continue to add more books to it in the future. I also have plenty of whiteboards, pointers, and magnetic letters.
5. What are some NEW resources that you want to get or try to use to teach what you read about in this chapter/section?
I need to make some little guided writing books for the end of each lesson. Fortunately, all I need to do is staple some paper together OR grab some little cheap notebooks when the Back to School Sales appear! ;)
