A guided reading lesson provides students with needed support from the teacher so that they will be successful with a text.
The teacher chooses a small group of children (4-6) who are able to read about the same level of text and have similar needs. These needs determine the focus of the lesson. Selecting an appropriate text is essential to the success of a guided reading lesson. The teacher makes this decision based on a number of things including students' instructional levels and interests along with the content he/she is responsible to teach.
The teacher provides whatever support the students need in the form of "picture/text walks," explanations, questioning, vocabulary instruction, predictions or patterns in the text. Once students have a feel for the text, the teacher directs the children to read the story as he/she listens, encourages strategic reading and corrects any difficulties or misunderstandings.
Intermediate guided reading provides the opportunity for students to read many texts and a wide variety of texts. Students are offered the opportunity to use strategies and problem-solving skills while reading for meaning.
Before the reading, the teacher has assessed the students' strengths and needs in order to select the appropriate text. He gives an introduction for the students that is informative and conversational. He uses words they will encounter that may not be in their vocabulary. He focuses attention on details that will help students learn how to cope with the challenges they may meet.
Good choices for resources in the classroom
The Bader Reading and Language Inventory
Gail Tomkins, Literacy for the 21 Century
Mary Clay, An Observation Survey of Early Literacy
Nelson Thomson Learning
