I’ll never forget my first year of teaching when I had no idea what to do during that time of the day. I was blessed with an amazing principal who saw my need for some help in that area. Our district had a lady who came into my classroom once a week for 6 weeks and modeled all of the elements of balanced literacy for me. I learned SO much!! Guided Reading quickly became my favorite, though.
When I moved to a new school and had the opportunity to teach next door to a teacher who previously taught Reading Recovery and also had been a Reading Specialist, I learned more than I could have ever imagined! She was just a wealth of knowledge when it came to all things reading!! I have just been blessed to have several wonderful teachers in my life to teach me about organizing my Guided Reading time. I wanted to share with you some tips on organizing your Guided Reading groups.
Let’s start with books. Some schools are blessed with a guided reading library. I have always worked somewhere that has had some sort of guided reading library. Even with that available, I used printable readers A LOT the last 3 years. They were easy to replace if lost or torn or spilled on. Here is how I organized them in my classroom.
Want to use the latest research to boost your readers during small groups? This FREE guide is packed with engaging ideas to help them grow!
I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your students love and that are easy to implement for teachers. Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, you’ll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!
15 Responses
I LOVE that Running Records tracking sheet!! 🙂 Thanks!!
Where did you find your printable books? I love your grouping strategy– I struggle with who to meet with on each day EVERY year! lol
I’m glad you like it! Reading A-Z.com is where I get the printable books. Our school had a subscription.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Such great tips! Thanks Amanda!
Deirdre
A Burst of First
You’re so organized!! If only I could keep my guided reading materials neat!!!
I need you to come teach me! I’m struggling with it this year.
Marcy
Saddle Up For 2nd Grade
I notice the covers to the reading reference cards is different in this post than the one I downloaded. Is there a way to get that one that is pictured in this post without buying the binder set?
Hi Amanda! The cards are the same, but the little covers got an update. They are no included with the binder. 🙂
Love all your information and tips – thanks. Just a quick query regarding guided reading groups – when you make your groups do you have all children at the table on the same book. What I mean is if you have very diverse needs in the group do you give them a book at their instructional level or give the whole group a book that is somewhere in the middle. Many thanks. Susan
Hi Susan! Yes! All children at my table are working on the same book. If the needs are so diverse that they need different groups, then I would make them separate groups. Each group always is working on their instructional level. The only time I would level them down is if they needed to work on a skill that required them to not worry a bit about decoding and it was best for them to level down. 🙂
Thanks a lot for quick response