I like what Routman says in Chapter 10 of Reading Essentials: Examine Guided Reading. She reminds us at the very beginning that
Guided Reading can take place at many different times during the day – not just
during Guided Reading Group time. She
reminds us that Guided Reading is intended to be a time where students are in
flexible groups and are “practicing what has already been demonstrated by the
teacher.” It is important that everyone
know this definition. I have recently observed a few guided reading
groups where the teacher is just listening to the students read . . . there is
no guided practice going on. We need to
remember to group our students in a way that allows us to get the most out of
our time and to be sure they are practicing a skill or a strategy that has
already been taught.
What I liked most about this chapter centered around what
Routman had to say about classroom management during a Reading Workshop
model. I, too, hear this question over
and over! “What do the other students do
while I am meeting with a Guided Reading Group?” And, “Creating these centers took me all
weekend.” I truly believe, and have
experienced myself as a classroom teacher, that if students are engaged in what
they are reading (because they are given choice) and are taught expectations,
management will not be an issue. Of
course there will always be outliers, but overall, students pick up a routine
very quickly and respond well when they know what the expectation is and are
engaged in what they are doing/learning.
In response to “creating centers,” I think this speaks mostly
to teachers who think center work is worksheet work. In reality, it should be the exact
opposite. I will admit that I have used
games as center time . . . a figurative language sort or something of that
nature. I don’t think this scarred
students for life, but I am not sure it was the best use of time either. Maybe
if I had asked them to watch for examples of figurative language in a book they
are reading and recording it in their notebook, they would have gotten more out
of their time. In that scenario, the
student is doing the work . . . not the teacher. It is definitely a paradigm shift and will
probably be harder for those of us who have been teaching longer, but it is
important that we give students the opportunity to think for themselves EVERY
DAY! Centers full of worksheets won’t do
that.
I also have been wondering a lot about what effective guided reading actually looks like! In my K class, I tried to do a guided reading time (in addition to PRIDE) as part of a 3-center rotation (guided reading, guided writing, and computers), and I found that I wasn't able to make truly flexible, student-centered groups. I'm still searching for what this would look like in my utopian world. Great ideas and questions!
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