How to teach guided reading

Teaching guided reading

Guided reading benefits the students because they can increase their reading level and comprehension skills by reading easier books on or below their reading level that you provide for their groups.

The book pictured on the left is an example of a book that teachers could use in a guided reading group, but it depends on the age of the students and their reading level.

In addition to the books and reading them, you can also provide flashcards with words they should know or learn, worksheets, or other activities to help them increase their reading and comprehension skills.

Instructions

Step 1

What is guided reading?

Guided reading is when teachers divide their classrooms into small groups of students so they can work with them on developing their reading skills. These groups will learn how to read the books and how to understand what they read. They will also have some worksheets or other activities they work on during the group or at their seats when another reading group is working with the teacher.

Step 2

Starting the guided reading group

To start the guided reading group, you will give each student a copy of the book that you want to read with the group. You can start by talking about titles, authors, and illustrators. You can also ask the students questions about the title and what they think the book might be about. Students need to become familiar with titles, authors, and illustrators.

Step 3

Starting to read the book

When you start having the students read the book, you might have each student read one page, and as that student reads, you might help them to pronounce a word they don't know instead of other students blurting out with the word.

By helping a student pronounce a new word, they are more apt to remember the word. Then, you can have the next student read the next page, and then you can continue with the others until the book is finished.

Step 4

What to do after they have read the book

When you have finished reading the book you assigned for the group, you can ask the students specific questions about what they read because it will help them develop their reading comprehension skills. Once children can read and understand what they read, they will want to read more because they won't have as much trouble reading.

You can also provide a worksheet for them to do during the group if there is time, or at their seats while you work with another group of students.

Step 5

Worksheets or other activities

Besides giving the students worksheets that would cover the contents of the book they read, you can also ask them questions orally about the book.

Another activity would be flash cards. You can write words on flash cards that are in the book or words that they should learn for their grade level. Each student should have a set of flash cards that they can take home and learn.

The students can work together in pairs helping each other learn the words, or they might want to play the memory game if you had two copies of the words.

Another activity would be to write words in two columns on a worksheet and have the students match the words. That would help them recognize the same words.

These activities will help students learn words and encourage them to read better.

Things Needed

Worksheets

Pencils

Erasers

Guided reading books for each group

Tips & Warnings

Books should be in plastic bags for each group

Prepare activity sheets for each group

Divide the students in each group on or below their reading level

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