Closer Look

As I'm wrapping up this year & looking towards next, I'm reflecting on what went well & what didn't..specifically with Guided Reading.

My school uses Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessments 4 times per yr (Aug, Dec, March, June) to determine reading levels and groupings. We start small flexible groupings around October and then adjust as necessary as the students' levels progress. As a special educator, I provide service hours to my caseload throughout the day/week, so I am assigned to specific reading intervention groups.

This past year I worked with first graders on Level AA-C (well below-level). Along with another teacher, we rotated 15 students between 3 groups: Guided Reading, PA/Phonics, and learning centers (i.e.: the computer lab). With only 15 students, we were able to provide intensive instruction in small groups. We are just starting our last round of assessments, yet we've already seen students "graduate" from our group - reading at Level E and beyond! Not quite where they should be yet by our schools' standards/expectations,  but incredible progress none-the-less!

I also had the opportunity to work with 2nd graders reading between Level K-M and then M-P. This was my very first time working with students who were reading on-level! I learned so much from this experience and throughout the school year found many excellent resources to support their comprehension and reading growth. I relied heavily on Reading A-Z, Fountas and Pinnell's Guided Reading , and, of course, TPT !

Now I'm looking towards next year...I will have a little guy who requires significant visual supports. I'm already looking into learning how to enlarge his "paper & pencil" work, such as homework & interim assessments. I'm sure this will involve me spending some quality time with the copier (which hates me)...if anyone knows of a better solution that doesn't involve that dreaded machine - please pass it on! Thanks!

As I'm going through my endless supply of graphic organizers (so many duplicates!), I'm keeping this student in mind & questioning if he will be able to access the material visually. I'm looking at the use of white space, writing lines, cute-yet-distracting graphics...and starting to create some "simplified" organizers.

Here's a set of story element organizers I made - there's 3 formats. Pick them up here!

My next TPT project involves creating a more extensive set of graphic organizers & Guided Reading materials. Please pass on any suggestions of what you would like to see in it! Thank you!