Reading in First Grade

Guided Reading:books

Guided reading is conducted with a smaller number of students and focuses more on the individual reading needs of each child.  During guided reading, teachers work with students at their instructional level to guide them in using the context, visual, and structure cues within stories to generate meaning.  By using instructional level texts that gradually increase in difficulty, students apply strategies in context and feel successful! During guided reading students work on higher level questions, where they are having to go back in the text to find infromation that supports their answer. They are working on their witten responses to thes types of question as well. The end goal, is for students to become confident, proficient readers who know how to use a text for enjoyment or learnig new enfromation!

What is Teacher Directed Reading?

Teacher Directed Reading is exactly what it sounds like - It is a time for sharing a story and reading together! During this time the whole class will be reading out of the same text. Each child will have a copy of the text.  "TDR" reading in our classroom may include echo reading (students echoing the words after the teacher), choral reading (students reading at the same time as the teacher), or partner reading.  All of these ways of reading are ways to encourage early reading enjoyment and success with a high level of teacher support.

During teacher directed reading, students focus on both the pictures and the text to make predictions and to generate meaning. The book is revisited among several days along with a new text each day.  Further comprehension of the story takes place through questioning and discussion of each story (the author's choice of words and the illustrator's pictures),  reviewing elements of the story (setting, characters, problem, solution),  and putting pictures of events of the story in order.

Once students are familiar with the story, we also look more closely at the text. Looking at new vocabulary in each text and concentrating on essential questions (what features in the text help you find important information, what is the main idea of the text, comparing characters...).

There are many learning opportunities during Teacher Directed Reading!