 The Learning Zone  Planning a guided reading lesson

 Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. What the learner can do independently Learning Zone What the learner can do with the support of an expert other

 makes it possible to teach at the cutting edge of students’ understanding  teacher support is light  students assume responsibility for problem solving  teaching helps students read more productively and more intensively  Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

 provide very specific and focused instruction to small groups of students  address students’ needs at one particular point on the developmental continuum in order to expand and refine their reading ability  Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

 Read the entire text.  Review the Fountas and Pinnell Continuum (selecting text section) and identify the focus of the lesson.  Think about how you will address the focus of the lesson in the introduction of the lesson.

 With your students in mind, think through the shape of a guided reading lesson for a fiction text. Consider:  What will you address in the introduction?  How will you invite students to access background information?  What text organization characteristics will you point out to the students?  Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

 Which concepts/vocabulary will you cover in advance, and which will you leave for students to discover?  How will you break up the reading? What are the natural dividing points?  Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

 Determine some possible discussion points to introduce when you revisit the text after reading. Consider:  How can you help students relate ideas in the text to their personal, world and literacy knowledge?  How can you help students summarize and synthesize information from the text?  How can you help students think about the text?  How can you help students think beyond the text?  Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

 With a partner, discuss the lesson you planned. Be sure to explain the decisions you made for each section of the lesson. Consider:  What is the key purpose of the lesson?  How might the students respond to the lesson?

 Summarize what you have learned by doing this work.  How will your teaching in guided reading change as a result of this work?  How will the changes support students becoming independent readers?

 With your students in mind, think through the shape of a guided reading lesson for a nonfiction text. Consider:  What will you address in the introduction?  How will you invite students to access background information?  What text organization characteristics will you point out to the students?  Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

 Which concepts/vocabulary will you cover in advance, and which will you leave for students to discover?  How does the author organize and present ideas?  Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

 Determine some possible discussion points to introduce when you revisit the text after reading. Consider:  How can you help students relate ideas in the text to their personal, world and literacy knowledge?  How can you help students summarize and synthesize information from the text?  How can you help students think about the text?  How can you help students think beyond the text?  Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

 With your building grade level partners set goals for guided reading for the next couple of weeks.  Brainstorm ways you can help one another achieve your goals.