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January 28, 2015

Organized Guided Reading

I’ll never forget my first year of teaching when I had no idea what to do during that time of the day.  I was blessed with an amazing principal who saw my need for some help in that area.  Our district had a lady who came into my classroom once a week for 6 weeks and modeled all of the elements of balanced literacy for me.  I learned SO much!! Guided Reading quickly became my favorite, though. 

When I moved to a new school and had the opportunity to teach next door to a teacher who previously taught Reading Recovery and also had been a Reading Specialist, I learned more than I could have ever imagined! She was just a wealth of knowledge when it came to all things reading!! I have just been blessed to have several wonderful teachers in my life to teach me about organizing my Guided Reading time.  I wanted to share with you some tips on organizing your Guided Reading groups.

Organizing your guided reading material can be overwhelming. Come see how this teacher keeps it all together and organized in her classroom!
Let’s start with books.  Some schools are blessed with a guided reading library.  I have always worked somewhere that has had some sort of guided reading library.  Even with that available, I used printable readers A LOT the last 3 years.  They were easy to replace if lost or torn or spilled on. Here is how I organized them in my classroom.

Something else I always try to do at the beginning of the week is plan ahead with my groups and materials as much as possible.  I know that can’t always happen because sometimes you are just in the moment and you realize you have to change teaching points or a book is WAY to hard or easy, but I did the best I could.
I keep everything I need to know about my students and their progress inside my guided reading binder. It’s the heart beat of my groups.  It’s a MUST HAVE for me to stay organized.

Guided reading organization made simple with these tips!

Here is a little peek at some of the pages inside my binder.
Guided reading organization made simple with these tips!
Everyone loves freebies, so here are a few pages for you to use with your guided reading groups!
Click HERE to download them.
Organizing your guided reading materials can be overwhelming. Come see how this teacher keeps it all together and organized in her classroom! Don't forget to grab the FREEBIES! #GuidedReading #ClassroomOrganization
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Ready for another great organizational tip, hop over to Nicole of Today, in Second Grade for another fun tip!
Opt In Image@2x Free Guided Reading Resource Cards to help you plan your time and teach each group on their instructional level

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Happy teaching! - Amanda

Comments

  1. Haley O'Connor says

    January 28, 2015 at 2:19 pm

    I LOVE that Running Records tracking sheet!! 🙂 Thanks!!

    Reply
  2. Deirdre says

    January 28, 2015 at 8:26 pm

    Such great tips! Thanks Amanda!
    Deirdre
    A Burst of First

    Reply
  3. Mrs. Reinartz says

    January 28, 2015 at 11:52 pm

    Where did you find your printable books? I love your grouping strategy– I struggle with who to meet with on each day EVERY year! lol

    Reply
    • Mrs. Richardson says

      January 29, 2015 at 2:15 am

      I’m glad you like it! Reading A-Z.com is where I get the printable books. Our school had a subscription.

      Reply
  4. Mrs. Richardson says

    January 29, 2015 at 2:15 am

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    Reply
  5. Angela Griffith says

    January 29, 2015 at 11:37 pm

    You’re so organized!! If only I could keep my guided reading materials neat!!!

    Angela
    The Daily Alphabet

    Reply
  6. Saddle Up For 2nd Grade says

    January 30, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    I need you to come teach me! I’m struggling with it this year.

    Marcy
    Saddle Up For 2nd Grade

    Reply
  7. Amanda Harbison says

    July 6, 2017 at 10:31 pm

    I notice the covers to the reading reference cards is different in this post than the one I downloaded. Is there a way to get that one that is pictured in this post without buying the binder set?

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      July 7, 2017 at 1:17 pm

      Hi Amanda! The cards are the same, but the little covers got an update. They are no included with the binder. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Teacher says

    May 5, 2018 at 7:02 am

    Love all your information and tips – thanks. Just a quick query regarding guided reading groups – when you make your groups do you have all children at the table on the same book. What I mean is if you have very diverse needs in the group do you give them a book at their instructional level or give the whole group a book that is somewhere in the middle. Many thanks. Susan

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      May 6, 2018 at 1:25 pm

      Hi Susan! Yes! All children at my table are working on the same book. If the needs are so diverse that they need different groups, then I would make them separate groups. Each group always is working on their instructional level. The only time I would level them down is if they needed to work on a skill that required them to not worry a bit about decoding and it was best for them to level down. 🙂

      Reply
      • Teacher says

        May 7, 2018 at 4:47 pm

        Thanks a lot for quick response

        Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Guided Reading with Non-Readers - Mrs. Richardson's Class says:
    June 19, 2017 at 8:11 pm

    […] them read it independently.  This is when you will listen in to a few of them, take notes in your guided reading binder, and identify teaching points you want to make after they have all read it 2-3 times […]

    Reply
  2. Top 10 Blog Posts About Guided Reading - Mrs. Richardson's Class says:
    February 4, 2018 at 2:36 pm

    […] supplies that can be used for guided reading time! From elkonin boxes, to letter tiles, to books! HERE I shared ideas and photos of how I organized all of my guided reading materials. The more organized […]

    Reply
  3. Finding Leveled Readers for Guided Reading - Mrs. Richardson's Class says:
    January 6, 2019 at 10:50 pm

    […] keep it organized so you can use your time efficiently. I’ve got a few tips for you in this post HERE on how to keep guided reading materials […]

    Reply

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