Guided Reading 2 Day Lesson Plans! I am following up on my previous posts on Guided Reading. This post will discuss to 2-day lesson plan… what is it? AND…what on earth do you do for 2 WHOLE DAYS!
As with most classrooms, students are not all at the same level at the same time. You will have readers in your classroom and you will have students who are stepping up to reading. So what is a Pre A reader?:
These students will have a slightly different focus during their 2 day guided reading lesson. We go into greater detail in our lesson leveled text units. The emphasis for these students will be on letter identification, phonemic awareness, and concepts about print. Naturally, we work with their names as well!
We also work on letter formation. I ask them to follow the correct path of motion… then circle their best one at the end of each row… simple!
So what happens on day one of a guided reading lesson.
High-frequency word work (3-5 mins): Using magnetic trays allows for a quick set up and clean up! We select one word to focus.
Strategy focus (1-2 min): Introduce or review reading strategies! This is a quick process!
Book intro (1 mins): Since instructional level text should be a text that they can read between 90%-95% accuracy, I want to select a text that is close to their independent level. I want to be sure I select a text that will offer some challenges, but I don’t want to be doing all of the work. So my book introduction might sound like this, “Today we are going to read about animals that swim. Let’s read to find out which animals swim.” I may do a picture walk if I feel that there are some images that might be confusing or if there is some unfamiliar vocabulary. But in general, I want students to use the strategies we just discussed to figure out unknown words (ie, look at the picture, get your mouth ready for the first sound).
Students read the text (5-6 mins): For PreA & A students. the first read may be a choral read. At this level, the students are dependent on the text pattern, so I might support them with a choral read or an echo read (I read the text, then they echo me). This should not be confused with round-robin reading (RRR) or popcorn reading. Research does not support round robin or popcorn reading… so please consider changing your practice if you are still doing it. If you want to see what the experts say, there are many, MANY resources that discuss the negative impacts of RRR, but you can start by reading this article or perhaps this article.
For B and beyond students: When my students are reading the text in my small group they are all reading at the same time… in a whisper voice. If I notice they all start to chorally read, I have them stop and start again. It is at this time that I nudge up next to the students and listen to them read the text. I can take a running record at this time. This would be a cold read since this is day 1 of the text. I am also able to reinforce the strategies the student is using well and prompt the student to try other strategies if they are stuck.
Book discussion (1-2 mins): We always take an opportunity to discuss the book that was read.
Word work (3-5 mins): This varies depending on the needs of the group.
Sentence work (5 mins): Students construct a sentence. This sentence complements the guided reading text they have just read.
At the close of day 1, the students add the book we just read to their book bag to practice at home.
On the next day that I meet with the guided reading group we continue our work with the book from Day 1… but first…
High-frequency word work (3-5 mins): We repeat the same word from day 1 of guided reading and we may add a review word from a previous lesson.
Students read the text (5-6 mins): Again the students read independently (even Pre A and A students). This book should be a familiar read for them, so I will be listening for fluency. This is another opportunity to take a running record. I can also reteach and support the reading strategies that were discussed on day 1. Questions I might be asking myself as I listen in to students reading: “What skills are they using? What do I need to reteach?”
Book Discussion (3-5 mins): This discussion varies depending on the text level.
Sentence Dictation (5-6 mins): Students now use the model sentence from day 1 to construct their own sentence on day 2. As students move up in levels this changes slightly.
Having your lesson plans prepared ahead of time is crucial. As you can tell from my timeline of the lessons, we are hustling! We don’t have a moment to waste, so I have to be prepared and focused. It is really EASY to turn a 20 minute guided reading lesson into a 30 minute wander down the random highway. I speak from experience. I can tell myself that I can wing it, but when my lessons are not planned and focused, they are not effective.
Deanna Jump and I have been actively running small groups using the guided reading approach for the last 20 years. Over the years, we have studied the work of Irene Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, Debbie Diller, Debbie Miller, Linda Dorn, Carla Saffos, Jan Richardson, and Marie Clay. This background knowledge, coupled with our combined 40 years experience (boy… I feel old), helped lead us towards the creation of these units.
Goodness! This was a huge post! I sure hope it helps you as you think about your Guided Reading 2 Day Lesson Plans!
Because this is a HUGE subject, I don’t think it can be tackled in one post. Here are a few additional posts that will give you more tips on Guided Reading:
Question: How do you organize your Guided Reading Groups? How often do you meet with students?
Question: Where do you get your materials? How can I start Guided Reading on a Budget?
Since other students are working at stations, you may wonder what that looks like. I have listed a few blog posts that will help explain how I run those activities for student independence:
We have created two sets of leveled texts. Each set has 6 books (3 fiction and 3 informational texts), 2 day text specific lesson plans, sight word work, word work, sentence work, and running records). You can see all of our leveled text resources:
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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42 Responses
Deedee,
LOVE your guided reading that I have started to use after 35 years of teaching! Wow!! Change is good!
Question?? If I have a struggling student in Level A, should I have them repeat Level A or keep moving through the levels?
Happy new year and thanks!
Marie
Yay for you and trying new things! The running record will help you to know when to move on and when to jump back. If the student is still in the “instructional range” of level A, then stay there. Sometimes students stay at A for a while.
Love this! Do you have a GR lesson plan template that you use ?
Yes! I sure do! You can find it at the bottom of this post:
Blank Lesson Plan
Would it be okay to buy just set 2 or should I get set 1 first?
Hi there!
Yes, you can start with set one or set two. By creating an additional set, we are giving teachers additional books they can use.
I am new to kindergarten after teaching 3rd, 4th and 5th for the past 11 year. I am so excited to see my students developing the necessary skills for reading. I bought Level A to start using but am unsure of what to do on days 3 – 5 since your lessons are only for days 1 & 2. Thanks for the help!!
Hi there! Yes… you use one book for 2 days… then you simply start a new book with that group. 🙂
I am a third grade teacher. I have been teaching for 24 years. I have been interested in guided reading for several years now, but Have never tried it. I just don’t know how to get started. I like your work, but don’t think it will work for 3rd grade since you are a kindergarten teacher. My students’ reading levels range from 1st -4th grade. Do you know of any good resources that I can look at to get me started?
I would to get more info on this. I’m a brand new kindergarten teacher and need more reading group ideas. Thank you!
[email protected]
Fantastic! I think the webinar will really explain a lot! 🙂
I love using your guided reading lessons. My district uses Reading 3D (by Amplified) as a progress monitoring and assessment program. Beginning with level F , written response questions are included as a major part of the assessment. I would be so thankful if you could include written response questions in your level F and above guided reading units.
Thank you so much!
Hi Deedee,
I bought levels A-C and I love them. My class size is 26. I have huge range of reading levels. From A-I , in Kindergarten. When I am working with my readers I am struggling keeping my other 22 kids busy. I have centers, but they never keep them busy the whole time. I get frustrated because I want to make the small group time meaningful. Any suggestions?
I think if you read a few of my tips (the links included in the blog post) you will find some suggestions that will work for you! 🙂
I am confused about guided readers units and guiding reading units. Are you using both?
Hi there!
Guiding Readers is our whole group lessons. Our focus is on reading comprehension and responding to literature. The teacher does the decoding work and the students do the thinking work.
Guided Reading is small group lessons. In these lessons, the students do the decoding and the teacher guides them through leveled text instruction and word work. These lessons are differentiated by the students’ ability.
SO YES! We use them both.
What do you do on day 5? I understand you do a book on day 1 and 2, the do new book on day 3 and 4. Just wondering what you do on the 5th day.
Hi there!
If I meet with a group 5 days a week, I may start a 3rd book on day 5 with that group. Or I might pull another activity that that group needs… like rhyming, sounds, or other phonemic awareness skill.
I just want to thank you for sharing “Gearing up for Guided Reading.” There are so many things to take and use. Twent-eight years teaching and still love learning new things!
Thank you!!!!! I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Thank you for the great info! For the leveled book bundles you and Deanna wrote:
1) Do you send home a B&W version in their book bag and keep the colored copy at school so the colored copies don’t get lost or damaged after the Day 1 and Day 2 lesson? (I’m trying to balance what the kids need with cost of replacing a damaged or lost colored copy).
2) Are the other books in the book bag (i.e. Fire from the Guided Reading video) ones they have already read to you? I hesitate sending home books (even if its the same level) if they have not read the majority to me before.
3) How long and how many books do you keep in their book bags before they are switched out for their nightly reading at home?
I loved your Gearing Up for Guided Reading video and can’t wait to change things up this Kinder school year using your strategies!!
Hi there! Your questions were so organized! Let me see if I can answer them in an organized fashion:
1) I usually sent the colored books home. We really practice responsibility and I have found that I usually only lose a small handful of books each year… like 4-5… TOPS! BUT we hammer it pretty hard. I will try to go into that in greater detail in a future blog post. (writing it down right now so I don’t forget!)
2) YES! I have leveled texts that are from Wilbooks, our weekly poem book, and their ABC fluency book. I don’t worry if they get home and can not read from one of the other books in their bag. Parent know to look for the group book and practice that first. Reading the pictures is still a pretty awesome skill to practice.
3) They usually have 3-4 books in their bag. I swap them the next time I meet with them, so several times a week.
Hello! I am trying to get organized to do guided reading in my classroom. I was wondering if you plan different activities according to each reading level for students to do when they are not with you for guided reading or do you have students do the same activities?
Some of my center activities are differentiated automatically… like the writing station, listening station, and sentence station. Otherwise, I try to offer options for each student.
DeeDee I would LOVE to see you in action in video during a guided reading group using these plans.
You bet! I have webinars that I offer that will show these videos. If you are on my email list, you will get the notification when they are offered again . 🙂
Thank you very much for this GR program. It is exactly what we have been looking for to enhance our current reading curriculum. I have a couple of readers in Level G and ready to move on. Do you happen to have bundles for Level H and above?
That would be ideal way to continue this GR plan as the children move up the levels.
Thank you!
Hi Dorian,
You are welcome!!! We do have level H and level I, but they are not in bundles.
That’s great news.
I’m sorry to bother you again, but I have looked on TPT for your GR program for those levels (H-I) and I am having trouble finding them. Can you please direct me to where I can purchase them?
Also, can you tell me, do you use any general comprehension questions on Running Records for levels A-C?
Thanks so much. With your GR addition to our current program, you have saved this’first year as a returning teacher’ a lot of time and energy….there’s too much to do! 🙂
No problem! Here are the links… they are in Deanna Jump’s store:
Level H
Level I
Love all of your info – thanks! Am I correct that you have 3 groups per day / 20-25 minutes each – so 1 hour of reading groups per day? If so, are the other students at the same station for the whole time or do they rotate? Also, I teach 1/2 day K where all academics are done by 12:00. Although I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it, I can’t spend an hour a morning just on reading groups. Thoughts? We do have 1 special class each morning, too. So we are HOPPING! 🙂
No, by students rotate stations. I think there is a link in this blog post that shows how I manage stations. Many have found it helpful to see how I set them up.
Yes, I know half-day kindergarten is a challenge. You certainly can’t do a full days worth of teaching in half the time.
I watched your webinars earlier this summer. Now I am looking at buying the guided reading set. I would like to see what a daily lesson plan looks like. I am new to teaching kindergarten and need very detailed lesson plans that I can understand.
Fantastic! You can download the free sample at the bottom of this blog post. Just add your email to the box provided and it will be sent to your inbox.
Hi. I am watching a replay of the guided reading webinar. Near the beginning, when you are talking about classroom management, right when you say that a student comes to the table to ask the teacher a question, it skips to talking about swapping materials out of centers. I’ve tried downloading google chrome. I’ve closed other windows. I feel like I am missing important info about management and creating centers. Any suggestions?
Hi Sharon,
YES! We had problems with the webinar platform. When the webinar was going on, I had no idea WHY we were having interference. Then the next day we reached out to the webinar service and they said they had a temporary outage. UM… RIGHT in the middle of my webinar. GOOD GRAVY! I about had a stroke!
SO… Yes, there was about 5-6 minutes of monkey business on that webinar.
I believe I said to not acknowledge interruptions at all. I also talked about an anchor chart that I tell my students to refer to when they have a problem. Let me know if you need to see a picture of that. [email protected]
Thank you for such a quick response. I was able to watch the rest of the webinar and could see that you were having tech difficulties. But, it worked fine for me except for that missing few minutes. I saw the anchor chart you are referring to, but I couldn’t see some of the things on the anchor chart. Number 2 and 3 on the chart say to “Look at” something, but I couldn’t tell what they were to look at.
Thanks for a great webinar. I taught self-contained special ed for 8 years from 1991-1999, then had kids and homeschooled until 2017. This is my first year back in a school in almost 20 years and my first year teaching 1st grade. I love my kiddos, but I’ve got a lot to learn. Your materials are very helpful.
No problem.
#2 says: Look at the “I Can” card (that is a visual directions card I have for all of my centers.) You can easily make your own by drawing a picture.
#3 says: See who was at the center before you were by looking at the station work board.
I’m excited for you, but I’m sure it is overwhelming. You may want to watch my webinar that is specific to managing centers. Here is a link to find that one.