Guided Reading Lesson Plans

Hey everyone! I love love love my GR lesson plans and I have never shared them. So on my first official day of SpRiNg BrEaK! I am going to give you a glimpse into my GR lessons.

First off, I have my students grouped by colors. So, my lesson plans are colored to match the group. I make one lesson plan, laminate the pages and use a Vis-a-Vis marker on them all year!

Here are my laminated lesson plans. As you can see, I currently have 5 groups going on. 

They are double sided and 5 days total with day 1 and 2 on the front and 3-5 on the back.

My groups are also sorted depended on my spelling groups as well. You might notice that my students are reading different things each day. I am having them do a weather set with different articles on weather. 

Here is a picture of the plans from my computer.

Day 1: We do a complete study of the Words Their Way list for that group.

Day 2: The new book is introduced with a reading strategy.

Day 3: We continue reading the book and working on strategies.

Day 4: We review and do a more Guided Writing lesson.

Day 5: I meet with the students individually within their groups. The other students in the group book shop and read.

If you have read Jan Richardson's Guided Reading book, then you will recognize my lesson plans. I revised them to fit my needs though and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

Task Binders, Not Task Cards

I am not a task card fanatic. In fact, I only have a few task cards that I have actually cut out and can call cards. They get bent and misplaced. I am not a fan of cutting them all out just to have to do it all over again after a year. Yes, I know some teachers are able to have their task cards used for years, because they are super careful with them. I'm not one of those. If I have task cards, then we are going to use them! The kids will delve into them. Now that I have stood on my soap box :) let me show you how I use TASK BINDERS.

I simply print the task cards (front to back if possible), put them in a sheet protector and then into a binder. Done and done in 3 minutes. No laminating, no cutting. If more than one student needs the task cards then they either share or take a page out. As you can see in the above pic, there are eight task cards visible so the students can easily move on without bothering the other student. If a page happens to get ruined, I simply print a new one out in 5 seconds.

I have quite a few of these. I also use the folders with the clasps that hold sheet protectors. These are cheaper and work just as well. Using task cards this way definitely works for me! Let me know how you use them.

Go link up with Tara for Monday Made It!

Reading A-Z!

Hi everyone! I think Holly's Tried it Tuesday linky is my favorite. I LOVE seeing what other people are trying in their classrooms!


Okay, these past few weeks I have been trying Reading A-Z. I am using it and loving it more than I thought I would.

Now, here is the low down. Yes, it does cost $99. And yes it IS worth it! I talked to my principal about getting Reading A-Z for my students who need books at home, for benchmarking and to use for guided reading. My awesome principal purchased Reading A-Z for me using Title 1 money! You might want to approach your principal and see if there is any $ available. It is REALLY worth it.

Now for a review...

I did the trial period first and was loving the bench marking articles for each level. I downloaded as many as I could (you are only allowed so many downloads in a 24 hour period) and was able to put together the majority of my bench marking binder.

Each article comes with a running record sheet and comprehension questions (and answers). I've put the articles in a plastic sleeve and the questions and running records are just hole punched.

Below is a screenshot of two different levels and their articles.

There are two nonfiction passages and two fiction passages per level. So easy! All you need to do is print and use.

There are SO many resources and I can't wait to explore more!

Reading A-Z is VERY easy to navigate and find what you are looking for. I love all the check boxes they have in order to identify exactly what you need. Below is an example. If you would like level M books then you click on M. Then you can check nonfiction, fiction, etc. to find what you need.

Once you have narrowed your search the selections with pop up and you simply click to select the book you want. One thing I am planning on using on our next set of guided reading books are the multi-leveled books. The same topic but on different levels! Wouldn't that be great?

Here is a list of the different books they offer.

One of my groups is currently reading this selection. I print out the pocket books and the students LOVE them. They are 1/4 the size of a regular sheet of paper.

If you notice in the screenshot there are 3 different types of books and the option to project the book. Also you have:
-guided reading lesson plans (very detailed)
-multiple comprehension worksheets
-bolded vocabulary within the text
-glossary of vocab in the back of the book with definitions and page numbers

That is all I can think of, but I am sure I will find lots more as I explore! Go link up with Holly or click here to check out the other amazing Tried it Tuesday posts! Happy Tuesday!

Homework Binder, Tired Words, Guided Reading

No Homework Binder from Teach Bake Love

Students who don't bring their homework back document their name, date homework wasn't brought back and the reason why. Holds students accountable!


Rescue Tired Words! from Classroom Display

I love this idea!!


Guided Reading Ideas from Teaching with a Touch of Twang


I need to be this organized.

Guided Reading

http://whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com/2012/01/guided-reading-galore.html