Kinder Tribe Book Study: The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading Chapter 1

Hello KinderTribe friends! Heather here from Learning with Mrs. Langley and I am thrilled to introduce a new opportunity for some summer reading and professional development. The Kinder Tribe authors have come together to review The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson. Over the next few weeks we will review a chapter and spark some conversation about what steps to take to start or improve guided reading in your classroom.  Here is the schedule: 

June 5: Chapter 1-Guided Reading Essentials

June 12: Chapter 2- The Pre A Reader

June 19:  Chapter 3- The Emergent Reader

June 26:  Chapter 4 -The Early Reader

July 3:  Chapter 5- The Transitional Reader

July 10:  Chapter 6- The Fluent Reader
July 17:  Chapter 7- Comprehension

I am going to get the ball rolling with Chapter One: Guided Reading Essentials. Even if you feel like you have a good handle on what guided reading is and you are just looking for ways to revamp your existing routine, don't skip this chapter. It really lays out the ground work for the rest of the book.

What is guided reading?  "Guiding reading is small-group differentiated instruction that supports students in developing reading proficiency" (pg. 13 Jan Richardson)

The main components of guided reading are pretty simple. They include:

• small group instruction
• slightly challenging text
• targeted teaching

There is always room for improvement but I think I have a pretty good handle on the small group instruction (see how I group HERE) and targeted teaching. However, I never really feel confident in picking the right leveled readers so I am excited to expand my knowledge in that area...and like I said, there is always room for improvement! 

Richardson also points out that guided reading is just part of a balanced reading program. In addition to meeting with small groups students should be experiencing literacy in many different ways. Read-alouds, shared reading, and independent reading are all important pieces to the puzzle. 

Teaching independence "As you prepare your students for guided reading, you will need to establish firm routines for working independently or in small groups." (pg. 16 Richardson). 

Amen! It's all about independence in our classroom from the very first minute we walk through the door. Procedures, procedures, procedures is my mantra for the first few (actually about 6) weeks of school. Richardson has a great layout of how she teaches routines on page 17 of the book. I love how it is broken down!  

So many ideas! There are so many amazing ideas in this chapter to get you going with literacy activities like buddy reading, writing, word work, and listening to reading. There are some (new to me) ideas listed that I am going to try and add to our Daily 5 choices.

Common Questions Each chapter has a section at the end for common questions asked by teachers. I love when authors add these in because I usually have had one or two of the same questions while reading. It's like instant gratification straight from the author! 

Videos Probably the BEST part of this book if you are a visual learner like I am. There are links to videos throughout the book that show Richardson in action modeling the teaching techniques. Amazing right?

So here are a few questions that I have after reading this chapter: 

What elements of guided reading do you already have established in your classroom?  Do you have small groups already working effectively? What do you want to work on? 

Interested in reading this book? Get it HERE and read along with us. We will follow up on a new chapter every Monday. Here is the schedule: 

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Thanks for stopping by Kinder Tribe today. Here is a little planning page FREEBIE for you if you are wanting to get started with guided reading in the coming year! I made it editable so you can type the names right in. Thanks friends! 

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