Guided Reading Basics: Organizing, Managing, and Implementing a Balanced Literary Program in K-3

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Guided Reading Basics presents a blueprint for establishing a guided
reading program to meet the needs of students in kindergarten to Grade
3.

The organization of such a program is obviously the key to its success.
Therefore, the book begins with ideas for scheduling and timetabling, as
well as the important task of establishing routines.

The guided reading lesson itself receives close scrutiny. An entire
chapter is devoted to each type of reader—emergent, early, developing,
and fluent—describing the characteristics of each, pointing out the
areas of focus for each, selecting appropriate materials, and, using
actual text, outlining the lesson itself.

Topics such as phonics instruction, vocabulary and comprehension
strategies, and the use of non-fiction books for guided reading are
covered in subsequent chapters. Numerous examples and practical
suggestions for each are included.

Concrete examples of actual strategies employed by classroom teachers
are boxed for easy identification. Similarly, important “teacher
tips” are printed in italics. Many useful and reproducible checklists,
lesson plans, student activities, charts, and bookmarks, as well as a
variety of assessment techniques, are provided throughout the book.

Whether for experienced teachers wanting to improve their skills or for
beginning teachers wanting to take advantage of the latest research on
the best practices in reading instruction, this book is an excellent
resource.