Maggie Mills Guided Reading Lesson 3 rd grade Explain (Introduction): Students and Level: I will be working with three students for my guided reading lesson, Hairou, Raneem, and Joey. All three girls are transitional readers, which corresponds with the Guided Reading Levels H-M. Two girls in the group are English Language Learners. The girls have worked with each other in previous guided reading groups. They are all around the same reading level and have similar needs. Pre-assessments: running records and interest surveys Running Records: Based on the running records, I learned that Hairou and Joey are at the same instructional reading level. They read at a 94% accuracy rate for a Rigby level 22 book, which is about a level M in the Guided Reading leveling system. Raneem s instructional reading level is higher than the other girls levels. She read at a 96 % accuracy rate for a Rigby level book, which is also about a level M in the Guided Reading leveling system. However, I noticed that all three girls have similar goals to improve their reading. All three girls did not rely often on structural cues when they read. For example, they used structural cues 1-2 times during the running record. I noticed that all three girls seemed to struggle with self-monitoring for correct grammar, such as the tense, plural, or singular forms of a word. They also have comprehension goals of recalling information from the text and connecting the information together to create a bigger meaning. Both Raneem and Hairou have goals to work on vocabulary as English Language Learners. I feel that Joey could also benefit from using vocabulary to help make connections between information in the text. Interest survey: I asked the three students about the nonfiction topics they are interested in learning more about. All of the girls were interested in different animals. They also all had science interests ranging from rainbows, space, the sun, planets, or inventors. Book Choice:
Jungle Jack Hanna s Safari Adventure, by Jack Hanna and Rick A. Prebeg (Guided Reading Level M) I chose a nonfiction book, because the girls have just finished reading a fiction book in their guided reading group. My mentor teacher had a goal to also give their guided reading group experience with a nonfiction book. Jungle Jack Hanna s Safari Adventure is a nonfiction book that discusses many different animals in Uganda and Kenya. The girls are all interested in learning more about animals, so I think this book will motivate them to read. While this book is at Joey and Hairou s independent reading level, I feel it will also challenge Raneem because of the rich vocabulary. The pictures and text features in the book will help the girls understand new vocabulary and comprehend the information they are reading. Jungle Jack Hanna s Safari Adventure is also written in past tense, which will help the girls improve their use of structural cues. Additional Books: All of the additional books I chose are nonfiction books that are about animals or science, which relates to the students interests. Within the nonfiction books are a variety of text features, rich vocabulary, and different sentence structures that support the students two reading goals. Wild Animals, by Sarah Fecher and Deborah Kespert: This book is slightly easier than the book guided reading book I chose. Endangered Animals, by Lynn M. Stone: This book is at a level N, which is higher than the guided reading book I chose. Do Tornados Really Twist? By Melvin and Gilda Berger: This book is also at a level N, which is higher than the guided reading book I chose. Weather, by Julian Fleisher: This book is at a level P, which could be used if the other books are too easy for the children. Two Goals:
1. The girls will work on using structural cues as a reading strategy, with a particular focus on grammar. 2. The girls will develop comprehension strategies by studying new vocabulary and making relationships between the vocabulary and other information in the text to create a summative understanding of their reading. Demonstrate/Model (Introduction): What I say: Good Morning! Today we are going to work on two strategies good readers use that will help you when you are reading on your own. The first is thinking about important words in the book and thinking about what they mean. This will help you understand and recall what you read. Also, you should make sure the words you read sound right in English, so you know you are reading the right words. Reading the right words also helps you understand what you are reading. Why I said it: I am clearly stating the purpose of our work together and how the students can use the two strategies in their own reading. Today we are going to read a nonfiction book called, Jungle Jack Hanna s Safari Adventure, by Jack Hanna and Rick A. Prebeg. When I talked to you about what nonfiction books you were interested in reading, I noticed you were all interested in some kind of animal. Has anyone ever been to the zoo? I went to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo this summer and saw the new elephant exhibit. What have you seen at the zoo? Have you ever seen the animals in these pictures at the zoo? Well this book tells us about what it is like to go on a safari. A safari is when you go on a journey, usually in Eastern Africa, to look for animals. We can learn about the homes of some of the animals we see at the zoo and what it is like to travel or go on a safari to look for animals. Good readers think about important words in a book, like the word safari. This helps you understand what you are reading. I want to make a connection to the children s and my own life to get the children interested and thinking about the text.
As I was reading this book, I found a few words that could be tricky. Let s look at the map on page 7 I noticed some tricky vocabulary on the map that is also used throughout this book. Let s look at the word Kenya. If we read the caption next to the map, we can learn what the map is showing us (I ll read the caption). Oh! The map is showing us two countries in Africa where Jack Hanna goes on a safari. The caption and map helped me understand that the word Kenya is the name of a country. Do you see how I used the text features (the caption and map) to understand an important vocabulary word in the story? Now that I know what Kenya means, I can understand the story better, because Kenya is part of the setting. I give the children the gist of the story, to help them become familiar with the book. I model figuring out new vocabulary by using the rest of the sentence and picture. Next, let s turn to page 8 and look at the word Ahmed. Hmm I wonder what Ahmed means. Well, I notice that the A in Ahmed is capitalized, which means it is a proper noun. Let s also look to see how the text features help us understand the word Ahmed. The picture is showing us a man and the caption says, Our wonderful guide. Well, I know that a guide could be someone that leads the safari. I think that Ahmed is the name of their safari guide. Do you see how I used the information in the rest of the sentence, the picture, and my own background knowledge of guides to help me figure out the tricky word? Now that I understand the word Ahmed, I understand the book s characters better. Now let s turn to page 13 and look at the sentence that says, After drinking for about an hour, the buffalo turned and (I ll stop at the word disappeared. Hmm I recognize a part of the word disappear. Well, I think disappear would make sense in the sentence, because the picture is showing the buffalo walking away from the waterhole. Let s read the whole sentence to make sure disappear sounds I explain the importance of learning the new words, because they help me understand the setting and characters in the book.
right in English. After drinking for about an hour, the buffalo turned and disappear into the grassland. Hmm that doesn t sound right to me. I wouldn t say it that way when I m speaking, because I notice that the sentence is talking about the past. See the word turned, I know we use the ed ending to talk about the past. Oh! I also notice an ed at the end of disappear! The word must be disappeared! I ll read the whole sentence again to make sure disappeared sounds right. (I read the whole sentence). Yes, that does sound right. I would say it that way, because the buffalo left the waterhole in the past. Do you see how I made sure the sentence sounded right before I continued to read? This book is written in the past, because Jack Hanna is talking about a safari he already went on. I model the second strategy of looking and listening to see if the words I am reading sound right, or using structural cues. Good readers make sure what they read sounds right. If we read the right words, then we can understand what the author is telling us. They also use text features, like pictures, captions, and the other sentences, to help them understand new vocabulary. It is important to remember important vocabulary, because it helps you understand the book and retell what happened in the book. Now, you are going to get a chance to read this book and learn about Jack Hanna s safari. Make sure you are also reading the captions. When you get to page 19 that is where we ll stop reading for today. As you read, I want you to write down important vocabulary words that will help you retell the story on these cards. We will use the important vocabulary words you choose to help us retell the story. Maybe you want to write the words we learned now, like safari or Kenya. Safari tells me the whole point of the book, to go and look for animals! Kenya reminds me of the setting, such as the savanna and waterholes the animals live by. We will use these cards after you read to help us retell what we read. Remember, these words should help you remember important parts of the story. I restate the two strategies we are working on, so the children understand the purpose and are ready to try the strategies on their own. I give the children directions and expectations for our guided reading group.
Whisper read on your own, when I tap your shoulder, that means read a little louder, so I can hear you. I ll listen to each of you read and support you if you need it. If you finish early you may re-read the book, but please don t look ahead! Guide/Practice (During the Reading): The children will stay at the table and I will move from child to child. I plan to start with the child that is moving along the fastest, so I can get to them in time before they finish. As I listen to the children read, I will take notes on each child using the sheet I created. Prompts: How can you use the text features to learn about that word? Does that word help you recall important information about the book? You said. Does that sound right? Can we say it that way? Try that again and think about what would sound right. Would (model correct structure) sound right? Reflect (Discussion Questions and Connection to Real Reading): Discussion: Tell me about what happened in the book? What was your favorite part? I liked learning about how giraffes drink. Their legs look so funny! Extension: Let s put our vocabulary cards together and decide together how to sort them. (Help the children sort the cards into groups: character, setting, and events). We might have to decide if some words we chose are important or not. Let s see how choosing important vocabulary helps us retell what we read The children will practice retelling the story using the vocabulary cards.
Good Reader Strategies: Learning about important vocabulary can help us understand and retell the story. Good readers also look and listen to decide if the words they read sound right to help them understand the story. Closure: When you read on your own, remember to look and listen to decide if the words you are reading sound right. You can also use clues in the book to learn new vocabulary. Choosing important vocabulary from your book will help you understand and remember the story.