What is Guided Reading & Thinking?

During this reading strategy, students' comprehension of a selection is guided and developed by teacher questions. The focus is on the use of context to predict meaning. As students gain practice and confidence in using this strategy, the teacher will monitor or confer with small groups or individual readers.

What is its purpose?

• to enable students to establish and verbalize purposes for reading
• to develop students' story sense (story sequence or story grammar), and the practice of monitoring for meaning while reading
• to encourage students to use past experiences, their knowledge of language and context clues to aid comprehension
• to develop independent reading skills

How can I do it?

• Reading Narrative Text:
  • Have students predict story contents using the title and cover illustration or information.
  • List and display predictions (a story grid or outline as described in story grammar may be useful to organize ideas and story elements).
  • Read, or have students read, introductory pages.
  • Ask students for their perceptions of what has occurred and what will follow.
  • Continue to read portions of the text, stopping to compare and verify predictions.
  • Record students' inferences and predictions for the story conclusion. 
    Complete the selection.
  • Compare students' predictions to story events.
  • Relate the story to students' personal experiences and to other stories.

• Reading Expository Text:
  • Prior to reading, list or make a webbing of what students know about the topic.
  • Brainstorm and list questions students have about the topic.
  • Have students view the resource to identify possible clues to the content.
  • Focus students' attention on the table of contents, illustrations, headings and sub-headings.
  • Encourage students to predict the content.
  • Read, or have students read, portions of the text.
  • Have students recall significant details.
  • Compare students' predictions to the information contained in the text.
  • Add new ideas and understandings to students' initial list or webbing.

How can I adapt it?

• Students could write their own story endings using the list of predicted conclusions.
• Students could use a self-directed reading and thinking strategy during independent reading.
• Guided reading and thinking can be incorporated with:
  • Literature study
  • Story grammar
  • Story mapping
  • Storytelling

Assessment & Evaluation Considerations

• Use reading conferences to assess students' application of this strategy during independent reading.
• Assess students' abilities to comprehend narrative and expository text.
• Saskatoon Public Schools,

msrossbec.com/literacy_index.htmlUsing Literacy Centers with Guided Reading Here you will discover how I use Guided Reading and Literacy Centers in my classroom. I hope you find some useful