Guided Reading: Resources

Guided Reading, a part of reading workshop, is being used by a large number of schools to provide a balanced and differentiated reading structure to students.  There are a lot of resources out there that a teacher can use.  Here are some of my favorites that I think are worth using!

If you are new to guided reading or just want to tweak your structure of guided reading then The Next Step in Guided Reading is something you will want to check out.  Jan Richardson provides the structure of how to run your groups in this book, plus ideas on what skills are needed for each level of reading.  She even provides lesson plan forms if you want to use them.  This is not a program, but a method of teaching guided reading which makes it great!  You decide based on what your students need on what to be teaching.

After I purchased The Next Step in Guided Reading, I decided that I needed this resource of guided reading in action.  This companion to The Next Step in Guided Reading has videos you can watch to see Jan Richardson teach in guided reading groups.  If you are like me, getting to see it in action is so helpful!

When Readers Struggle is a must have resource, especially if you are just starting out with guided reading or as a reading specialist.  This is a BIG book and is not a weekend read.  It is more of a go-to resource for specific teaching ideas on what to do when you have students struggling in reading or writing.  It isn't a cheap resource, so your school may want you to share it with other teachers.  But it is so valuable!

The Continuum of Literacy Learning is a good resource to have as you plan so you know what behaviors and understandings students will need at each level.

This is an example of what you would find in this resource.  They have recently updated this resource and now you can get it for grades K-8.

Our school has decided to implement The Daily 5 into our literacy block.  We are using this book for our book study.  It is a good book and shows you how to structure The Daily 5 so students develop independence and lifelong reading and writing habits.

My last resource that I have to share with you today is The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo.  This is another big book that is a bit more expensive than the others.  But this is a book FULL of strategies- 300 strategies, in fact!  Each strategy in the book has been cross-linked to genres, skills and reading levels.

This is an example of what you can find in this resource.  I love the fact that Jennifer Serravallo included visuals.  Anchor charts, diagrams, photographs, etc...   Having the visuals are a huge help to being able to see how you could teach that strategy.

I hope you have found some guided reading resources that will help you as you teach your groups!  

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