Lyndsey Gantt- Blog Post #4 Examine Guided Reading-Routman

After reading Routman’s chapter 10, Examine Guided Reading I felt good about the things I am currently doing in the classroom this year as well as learning a few new things. I am currently conferencing with students and forming small strategy groups to meet student’s needs and help them grow as readers. Conferencing is what drives my guided reading. I have struggled with grouping students all year. I have implemented the daily 5 and CAFÉ model which allows me to plan for mixed-ability groups. I use my conferences and students needs to form my groups and I am always finding that my students for the most part need the same strategies. It is hard to not use leveled text to teach my first graders the strategies they need to become readers. Routman says that he makes an exception for developing readers with similar needs, those students who are learning to read and focusing on reading strategies as they make sense of the text. He also states that this is where leveled texts are very helpful. Yay, so it is okay to use level text with beginning readers. I still find it difficult to have access to the text I feel are high quality and that promote reading for understanding.

             I also found it very interesting that Routman suggest that in first grade it is important to see your readers as often as possible, which I agree but he also says that meeting with four guided reading groups in an hour is very doable and I just can’t see that yet. I am hoping that comes with experience. I love our schedule and we are able to see our students two-three times a week and our struggling readers a few extra times. I believe the key to guided reading is management. The framework/model that we chose to use allows students to spend most of their time in the reading block reading. I feel as though we do a great job with this. Our students are with a small group, reading independently, or with a partner the majority of the time. This helps save a lot of time planning busy work and additional activities for students that are not in the guided reading group.

             What I found most beneficial for my growth as a teacher in this chapter was the excerpts from guided reading groups. I love the “Framework for Thinking About Guided Reading” for planning and working with students. The examples helped me answer some questions I had about the process of teaching guided reading lessons. I hope to continue to grow and learn as I teach guided reading.