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msat - anyone here teach 1st grade
Jane - Hi Gayle. I teach G.R. in 1st and 2nd grades. I am a reading specialist.
Gayle - nope,4th here
Paulie - did several years ago
Anne - I teach 1st grade in IL
Jane - I work with 1st graders in Wisconsin.
Gayle - Great, I am a brand newteacher and to be honest I dont know exactly what GR is
Lisa - I teach first grade in Maryland.
Gayle - I have the book but just dont have time to read it
msat - I teach first grade in Ohio
Reggie - I teach second gr in Cincinnati
Jane - GR is guided reading
Anne - I am hoping to find out about GR
Paulie - Is there gonna be a moderator for this chat?
Gayle - I know that,lol
Lisa - You should try to scan the book, there is some good stuff.
Gayle - I even have the book about it but havent had time to read it
Jane - the Fountas and Pinnell book is like the bible of GR. It has a wealth of information
Gayle - I have that book
Gayle - honestly I am barely staying afloat as a new teacher
Jane - There are also one day seminars which offer alot of practice advice
Gayle - my kids are really low,also
Lisa - Gayle, what kind of reading do you do?
msat - I thought that GR was taught in college level classes??
Gayle - where can I find out about seminars??
Jane - Gayle, it's the kind of thing you work your way into slowly. It takes time to organize and plan.
Gayle - no,not really,Msat
Kathleen - HI everyone, just dropped by to let you know this is open chat, unmoderated.
Gayle - Jane, so it might be a good idea to read up on it this summer,huh?
Jane - Gayle, BEREA is one of the groups that offer seminars. I think they have an 800 no.
Kathleen - The topic for this hour is guided reading.
Paulie - shucks I thought someone was here to guide us lol
msat - that's too bad. they should start doing this kind of preparing in college level classes. don't you think?
Gayle - Katheleen, we are talking about that very subject
Kathleen - You guide each other
TessaTL - thanks Kathleen
Jane - Gayle, absolutely. Like someone else said, you can scan the book and pick out things you think you'll need. I would suggest a couple of things
Gayle - yes,Msat
Lisa - The problem with teaching one method of teaching reading in college is that there is not one way.
Gayle - Jane, I do use the phonics working with words book
Jane - Gayle, that's great and Fountas & Pinnell would agree
Anne - Iike the ideas in the book, I can't get comfortable with centers.
Reggie - Does anyone do all of the 4 blocks and centers also?
Lisa - Anne, what problems are you having with centers?
TessaTL - I teach 2nd grade, and we are an LC school
msat - i've been using centers with my kids most of the year and I find that they rush through their work and most is not done right
Jane - Anne - it takes awhile to prepare kids for centers. One of the keys is to make centers easy so that you're not doing all the work,.
TessaTL - I have had success with the program
Anne - What is LC?
Lisa - I do the four blocks but the guided reading block is the Fountas and Pinnell model. I do centers during that time.
Gayle - ok,I do have a question
Reggie - I was able to find time for centers until I tried to implement 4 blocks. Now my minutes are taken up.
TessaTL - Literacy Collaborative it is out of Ohio State, and it implements the entire circle that P & F teach
Gayle - isnt guided reading about the whole class reading the same book?
Lisa - I had problems with kids rushing through work to get to centers so I changed to a rotation system. We rotate between seat work, centers, word study (a large word center), and guided reading group.
Jane - Gayle - got it. I'll email you some basic info later. I did some staff development last year and could mail you some stuff too if you like.
Reggie - Lisa, what do you include in your word center?
Lisa - Gayle, you are thinking of Four Blocks guided reading.
TessaTL - Gayle no Guided reading the P& F method is small at level instruction
Gayle - Jane, I would LOVE that
TessaTL - small group
Gayle - ok,Tessa
Mel - Hi all. I'm doing G.R. ala F&P in lst. Do you all use the workboard described in their book for centers?
TessaTL - Yes
Lisa - My word center is open ended and I add new things every once and a while. THe only rule is that they have to make words. I have magnetic letters, chalkboards, beans with letters written on them, letter tiles, extra laminating film with transparency pen, large whiteboard, poster and markers, paper, etc.
TessaTL - Lisa what grade do you teach?
Lisa - I teach first grade.
Katy - I'm a grad student doing research on GR. I'm looked for info on effectiveness with middle and high school students. Any input would be valuable.
Twiny - I am wondering if any of you are teachers here in Toronto....
Mel - Lisa, about how long does your G.R. block run in lst?
TessaTL - sorry Katy can't help you there
Lisa - Officially 40 minutes. Sometimes I run over to 50 minutes.
TessaTL - Mine runs for 1 1/2 hours
Jane - Katy, Fountas & Pinnell has a new book out on GR grades 3-6. Have you seen it? Lit Circles are part of what they include in those grades and no doubt they work in the middleshcool and h.s. too.
Lisa - I used to use the workboard from the book but I have changed since then. I let my kids choose but I only let 2 kids go to a center at a time. I have a velcro board where they put their names.
Mel - That is about what I run...I do 2 groups sometimes 3. Our L.A. supervisor wanted a 60 min. block but I find lst graders have a hard time sustaining themselves at centers for that long!
TessaTL - My literacy block- which is writer's workshop, guided reading, shared reading, independent reading
Jean - Can somebody tell me what the Fountas method is?
Lisa - Mel, what other language art time do you have?
TessaTL - it lasts about 3 hours
Kathy - Tessa, how many groups do you meet with durring the 1 1/2 hours for guided reading
Lisa - Tessa, you mean your literacy block is 11/2 hours or just the guided reading part?
Elaine - I do centers during the guided reading block. I have a teaching assistant doing one group, I do one group, and a rdg. specialist works with another group. So there are only 6 kids doing centers. It works really well.
Mel - Oh, TessaTL, that makes more sense. We have block scheduling too. 9 to 11 is our "lit block" which also includes all of those components of a balanced program.
Lisa - Jean, small group
TessaTL - I have 6 groups I meet with 4 a day
Mel - Did I answer your ? Lisa?
Gayle - so, you all that do small group instruction, do you group by ability?
TessaTL - The guided reading is 1 1/2 hours
Lisa - Tessa, do you have any kinds of words block?
Jean - How is it different from other GR?
TessaTL - My kids are in workstations for 1 15 minutes during that time
Jane - Gayle - yes and you reassess periodically to see if kids have progressed
Lisa - yes, you group by ability but the kids move as their abilities change.
TessaTL - No that is part of what we do during small group instruction
Gayle - ok, and do you reassess using running records?
TessaTL - yes gayle
Lisa - Mel I am not sure if you answered my question. I can't remember it because there are so many things going on.
Elaine - Gayle, we do running records every 9 days, and group the kids according to the instructional levels on the running records.
Jane - Katy - Guided Reading by GaySu Pinnell and Irene Fountas
Lisa - Yes, I do a running record at the beginning of every guided reading group on one of the children with the book we read the day before.
Gayle - ok,I got it,Elaine, I learned how to do running records in college
Jean - Lisa, thank you
Mel - This is my first year doing G.R. and I'm doing fine with but as they are moving up in the levels I'm wondering what to do with those kids..some of my kids are reading level L and M books pretty independently.
TessaTL - lisa no we do word block during small group instruction and at workstations
Jane - Lisa - here's a brief definition. Teacher works with a small group (4-6) of kids who use similar reading processes sna are able to read similar levels of text with support.
Lisa - When the kids are fluent you need to work more on comprehension. My fluent groups have to answer comprehension questions in writing.
Jane - Lisa - the teacher introduces the book to the group, has all kids reading independently but whisper reading at the same time.
Gayle - Lisa, I teach 4th grade so that is where most of my kids are
Katy - Is anyone out there using GR at middle or high school level?
Jane - Lisa - teacher works briefly with each of the kids as they read, helping them use reading strategies to figure out unknown words.
Gayle - I wish I could watch somebody do this
TessaTL - Do you have yours whisper? We don't have them do that.
Mel - Gayle is anyone in your building doing G.R.? Go observe them.
Lisa - I don't have mine whisper either. WHen they are getting fluent they start to whisper as a transition to reading in their heads.
Jane - Lisa, teacher may select a teacher point to cover afterwords or the next day. We include comprehension questions in our discussion afterwards. Sometimes there is an extension activity and this can be done in a center.
Gayle - no,Mel, you wouldnt beleive the school I am at
Mel - There is also a good teaching video out (forget by who) that our district used for staff development
Gayle - we dont even have picture books
TessaTL - Oh, ok that makes sense, Lisa. They do that naturally.
Elaine - When my kids first read the book, they spread out and I go to each of them to listen to them read. Then I call them back to the table for word work or comprehension work.
Mel - Gayle, do a professional visit at a school that is implementing G.R.
Trish - Is anyone a first grade teacher?
Gayle - I am going to go to a different school and observe
Gayle - I will for sure,Mel thanks
Mel - I teach first, Trish.
Lisa - It seems like many of us teach first grade
Elaine - I'm a first grade teacher. I loop with my class.
Trish - Mel, how many guided reading groups do you typically have?
Mel - 4
Trish - Do you see all 4 groups in one day?
Mel - No! usually 2 sometimes 3 if I can squeeze it in.
TessaTL - Trish how many kids do you have in your groups?
Trish - I try to keep my groups at 4, 5 at the most
Mel - You need to take the time after groups to assess kids. I like to "sweep" the room to see if kids are on task with centers too.
Trish - But I am constantly moving them in and out
Katy - Would anyone be willing to participate through interview in a research project? Need email addresses
Trish - I regroup every three or four weeks it seems
Mel - Presently I have 3 in my lowest group, and usually 5 to 7 in my middle groups.
Jean - Katy, what kind of project?
Lisa - I don't regroup all at one time. I just move a kid when he/she is ready.
Elaine - What centers do your kids like best?
Trish - How many students do you have in your class?
Jane - Mel - do you have sets of 7 copies of a book?
TessaTL - Is anyone teaching Guided reading in an LC school?
Mel - Yes, the kids are always moving in and out of the groups.
Trish - Yes, Lisa that is how it is with me.........
Lisa - My kids like computer the most.
Trish - I usually regroup one or two children
Mel - Some...we just bought a lot of books and have a pretty nice book closet. Everything is bagged with 6 copies and leveled.
Trish - Yes I am trying to get leveled sets.
Jane - Mel that's how ours is too which is why we limit our group size to 6
Trish - I found a great resource for getting book sets with teachers guides of trade books and are leveled in the catalog
Trish - I think it is called Learning Links
Mel - Where is everyone from? I'm in NJ.
TessaTL - Iowa
Lisa - Trish you should also check out the yellow Fountas and Pinnell books. It has levels on many books.
Kerry - Has anyone talked about students' favorite literacy centers yet?
Lisa - Maryland
Jane - I'm in Wisconsin on beautiful Lake Michigan
Trish - Our system is also in the process of adopting a new basal series
Kathy - How many centers do your children do each day
Elaine - I'm from PA
Jean - I'm in Massachusetts-Snow Country!
Mel - Lisa, that is another great resource. It really helped me in leveling my personal collection.
TessaTL - mine do 5
Trish - What is the yellow Fountas and Pinnell?
Trish - Is that matching books to kids?
Lisa - My kids go to one center and they go to a word center in addition every day.
TessaTL - Matching Books to Readers
Mel - I think that is it Trish.
Trish - Yes......... I need to get that one.
Trish - Do you rotate groups or just call reading groups and the others work at their centers?
Jean - Katy, what kind of research project?
Trish - How do you manage your center time?
Mel - My kids work independently at centers and I just gather up my kids.
Kerry - Where do your 'best
Kerry - cy center ideas originate?
Lisa - I rotate groups this year because my kids couldn't handle it. Last year they went to centers most of the time and I just called them as I was finished each group.
Michele - I'm from Kansas.
Kerry - cy center ideas originate?
TessaTL - Trish mine work at their workstations for 15 minutes unless I call them to the reading group
Mel - Hi Michele. What grade do you teach?
Elaine - I have a board with a frog for each group. I rotate these every 3 days. The workboard group is also on this chart.
Kerry - Trying again--Where do your best centers ideas originate?
TessaTL - 15 minute rotations
Michele - I teach third grade all ESL.
Lisa - There are four rotations: guided reading, seat work, word study (word center), and centers. Just last week we started singing a song at each time to help the kids clean up and rotate.
antell - The teachers that have been most successful in our school group their students separately for centers and Guided Reading groups. They arrange it so that when a G.R. group is called to the GR table, one child comes from a center. Not from each center, of course, but not more than one child from any center.
TessaTL - I just got a great book about workstations I think it is called What your other kids are doing while you are in reading group
Lisa - What do you mean where do the centers originate?
Katy - Jean, I'm doing a field-based qualitative study on effectiveness of GR with h.s. students. Would like some email addresses for future interviews of teachers using GR. For a master's thesis
antell - Central Wisconsin
Michele - Have any of you done Literature Circles and Reader's Theater using Guided Reading?
Kerry - I just mean do you get ideas from other teachers or from books or from reading articles....
Jean - Katy, Oh, I'm a second grade teacher.
Jane - So Antell - I'm from Wisconsin too, only northeast
Lisa - no literature circles for me, but some teachers in older grades at my school have and I think they like it.
Mel - antell - that is what I try to do. My center groupings are heterogeneously grouped. I also try to regroup these kids every couple of weeks.
antell - In grade 3 our teachers use a combination of G.R. and Literature circles basing this upon the needs of the students.
TessaTL - In the school that I work we are helping collect data on the P&F method. We are not allowed to use any seatwork during Guided reading time
Trish - I am in Franklin, Tennessee Not many teachers do guided reading where I teach
Lisa - Most of my centers are very open ended and the kids decide what they will do. Some of the easiest centers are read the room, writing, write the room, listening, read a book, big books. They change as their abilities change.
antell - our teachers do the same. I am the Reading Coordinator for our district, so I only get to teach G.R. groups when I am invited into the classrooms.
Kathy - In my school k-2 use guided reading and the upper grade use literature circles
Elaine - Kerry. I get ideas from books, and sometimes I incorporate something from our content area.
antell - I encourage the teachers to learn from each other. They are thrilled with the advancements they see in their students reading abilities.
Michele - If you can't do seatwork during guided reading how do they do it? Do they use a more direct instruction approach?
Trish - antell, which district are you in?
TessaTL - The kids are all doing workstations
Mel - We just had a workshop on "What are the other kids doing while I'm teaching G.R.?" for our staff development. Everyone who attended brought one center activity to share.
TessaTL - unless they are working with me
antell - Shawano-Gresham
antell - and you?
Kerry - I'm a Sp Ed Resource teacher so my kids are in grades 3 & 4 but read at levels Kinder-beginning 3rd. They are in GR levels E-M.
Trish - Do any of you have assistants and what do they do while you are doing guided reading?
Jane - Antell - how do your teachers decide which books to use to assess kids before they move them on to a higher level? Are they books from the book room or do you have a set specifically for assessment?
Michele - What kind of workstations do they do?
Trish - I am in the Franklin Special School District
Trish - What kind of assessment are you using in first and second grades?
Kerry - I like the idea of BYOC --bring your own center. That's a good way to share with others.
antell - We use the Rigby Benchmark books to level our studnets.
Jane - Antell- Two Rivers
Elaine - Jane, we use Joetta Beaver's DRA for our assessments.
Lisa - I have an assistant this year because I have 2 emotionally disturbed children who sometimes have tantrums or just can't cope. She just wanders to help kids so that she is available if they fall apart.
antell - We have assts. in Kindergarten only.
Michele - If you are doing GR, do you have to do Accelerated Reader too?
tort6 - hola every one!
TessaTL - Currently I have out Puppet theater, wipeoff board, listening center, writing center, math center, ABC , computers, library, games, and overhead
Trish - Yes we have to do accelerated reader too
antell - We have G. R. books in a book room collection as well as a collection in the classrooms.
antell - Never enough though.
Jane - Elaine, never heard of these. Are they levelled A - Z?
Kerry - My paraeducator helps me "teach" a GR group. She usually has the child at the lowest level and reads with him daily.
TessaTL - hi tort6
Jane - We have A.R. too
Trish - DRA is wonderful.........most of our teachers don't want to do that though
antell - We only have A.R. in grades 4 = 8
Trish - There are many lower level Rigby books that have AR tests also. I use a lot of those
TessaTL - I really like the Rigby books
Trish - We do Reading Renaissance and give the STAR test to get the ZPD
Mel - Rigby's my favorite too!
antell - Trish, I used to live in Manitowoc and Waitress in Two Rivers and hmmm. The Lighthouse it may have been called. Long long time ago. probably 14 years.
Michele - I wish we didn't have AR. Our 1-2 teachers really push it and so my kiddos don't like to read now. That's why I have really taken up Lit Circles and Reader's Theater.
Jane - One thing I've discovered about the Accelerated Reading Lists is that the levels are across the board.
antell - Trish, How do you like the STAR test?
Kathy - Those of you that do accelerted reader in first grade are they successful using this by theirself. Our district is thinking of purchasing this.
TessaTL - They lend themselves so easily to guided reading
antell - I've looked at this in the past simply because it sounds so easy to administer. and short time required?
Jane - Antell - I'm the one from Two Rivers. the Lighthouse is still here only newly improved. Guess you know Kurtz's too.
Elaine - Jane, the Beaver assessments are numbered - I forget how far they go!
Trish - Do you have to give grades on a report card or do you have a skills checklist to send home to parents?
Michele - Our kids are successful in AR in first, but they shouldn't push it so much for certification levels. We have some heavy duty rivalry going on there between teachers.
Jane - Accel. Reader might say level 1.2 but the books vary among Fountas & Pinnell reading levels.
antell - No, don't know Krutz's. Sorry for the confusion.
Trish - I think the Beavers assessments go to level 40 or 44
Lisa - We have a new report card this year with some skills and we have to mark if they are consistently demonstrating, developing, or needs improvement.
Trish - The STAR test give a pretty accurate level
Mel - Our report cards are sort of a checklist, but very vague! We are in the processing of re-evaluating them and hopefully they will reflect how we teach the kids!
Kathy - Michele, When do your students do the AR?
Trish - But the children have to have a sight vocabulary of 100 words before they can get into the test
antell - Jane, do you have Reading Recovery in Two Rivers?
Michele - I don't like the STAR test because it is not accurate. The kiddos can move over to a new test any time and so they are not being tested on the same test as they took at the beginning of the year.
Elaine - We still have to give letter grades for reading, which doesn't go well with our guided reading program. We need to change our report card.
Trish - We have Reading Recovery in Franklin....... it is wonderful!
Jane - Antell - used to but no longer. However one of the unique things about our district is the one on one tutoring that remedial kids get even though it's not Reading Recovery.
Michele - My kiddos do AR right after our Shurley method language arts lesson and journal writing.
Lisa - We have reading recovery in my school.
antell - Is this Franklin WI?
antell - near milwaukee area?
Trish - My understanding is that the test picks up where they left off and takes them further
Trish - that it isn't a different test, just a different level from where they left off
Lisa - I make it a point to observe a reading recovery lesson each year. It helps give me ideas and get me motivated for my guided reading groups.
Trish - Franklin, Tennessee just south of Nashville
Michele - Yes, sometimes. But since all of my kiddos are ESL it might throw them into a format of all science or social studies vocabulary which they have never had before depending on their percentage on the last test. This is where we have found it difficult.
TessaTL - What is one thing in Guided reading that you really think you do well, and why?
Jane - So tort6 who are you and what's your experience with G.R.
Lisa - Pacing, We keep moving during the group and during the transition so that I can get to all my groups on most days.
Mel - I think I have gotten really good at my book introductions and making a connection to their lives.
Elaine - I love guided reading! In my 22 years of teaching, I have never really known "how" the kids read. With the small guided reading groups, and the running records, I feel that I really know my kids better. It's been nice chatting with all of you! Bye!
Lisa - Mel, where do you teach again?
Michele - I use good prereading strategies. Using KWL, SQ3R, and DRTA.
Lisa - Tessa, what do you think you do well?
TessaTL - I think my learning centers are on target, but in my groups I think my comprehension work is good
TessaTL - I need to get better at identifing mini lessons on word solving
Lisa - Some quick things I do when the group had trouble with a word is have them write the word many times on a whiteboard or chalkboard and then read it to me, or race me in writing it fast, or make it with magnetic letters.
Lisa - WIth my emergent readers I also do cut-up sentence or interactive writing.
lindy - I know I'm late to this discussion, but would someone care to explain the terms "fountas" and "pinelle" methods?
T - What book would you recommend to use to find out more about guided reading>
Lisa - Fountas and Pinnell are the authors of Guided Reading in small groups.
lindy - Or have I just revealed my ignorance about guided reading?
TessaTL - I do that too. I was at a meeting tonight, and we were told that once our kids are independent readers we can group them according to their other skills
Lisa - What other skills do you mean? and what grade do you teach?
lindy - The two have written a respected guided reading book together, then, Lisa?
TessaTL - For example if you have a few really high readers, but low writing skills
TessaTL - 2nd
Jane - Grouping according to skills is an option even for lower level kids as long as they're all able to read the book.
Lisa - yes, it is good.
Jane - It's a great book
Lisa - It makes more sense to group according to other skills in second grade because probably more are at the independent reading level and you aren't working as much on decoding skills as comprehension.
Jane - Hope you're not letting comprehension slip in 1st grade either
TessaTL - Yep, it was one of those "duh" moments (another teacher corrected me- "aha moment"
T - As a fourth grade teacher using novels, how should I be using guided reading with literature circles.
Lisa - Oh don't worry about that. Plus we have a shared reading block where we work on comprehension as a whole class.
Lisa - Not sure T. but there is a Fountas and Pinnell book now for the intermediate grades.
Jane - Anyone heard of the six traits of reading
Lisa - What are the six traits?
Kath - The Fountas and Pinnell book for grades 3-6 is terrific. It has some many ideas and gives vignettes of classrooms. We are doing Literacy Collaborative in our city.
Jane - runs from decoding up to analysis/synthesis. apparently the idea comes out of Oregon where they've used these traits for about five years
Jane - Looks like things are winding down. Goodnight everybody
lindy - Jane, I know about six traits for writing, but not reading.
Kath - T, literature circles are part of literature study in grades 3-6. Get their book "Guidng Readers and Writers Grades 3-6" it's well worth the money.
T - Goodnight everyone.
