Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G.S. (2001) Guiding Reading.Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

The teacher works with the learners in a small group setting who use similar reading processes and can read at similar levels of texts. The teacher selects and introduces new books at students’ Instructional Level and supports and observes children as they read the texts to themselves. Based on this observation the teacher decides on ways to make teaching points following the reading and to determine appropriate texts for the next time. The teacher assesses children regularly while others revisit familiar texts.

Teacher Introduces Book The children notice things about the book and make predictions about what they think the book will be about based on the illustrations and title. The children get books and do a “Picture Walk” Teacher and children discuss Key Vocabulary and use language from the book in conversation. The teacher may point out some key vocabulary and “debugs” the book by directing attention to features of the book that they will need to use as readers.

Children read softly to themselves or silently. Teacher observes and assists problem solving as needed. Teacher decides on a teaching point he might address right after the reading. For more advanced students or when using texts that are more extended the students may read designated segments as decided by the teacher.

Students respond to the story. The teacher may talk about the meaning of the story. He may address a teaching point by returning to a particular part of of the text to reinforce a particular strategy. (such as rereading to see if the word sounds like the way we talk, self correcting because the word did not look right, or did not make sense etc). Teacher may take a running record of a child while the rest of the group independently or with partners read books from their Book Bins

Reading AloudLanguage Experience Shared ReadingInteractive Writing Guided ReadingWriting Workshop Independent Reading Independent Writing