the PaperWings

Chances are you've heard both terms. You may be tempted to toss guided reading and embrace the newest "most hip" reading group on the block. But hold your horses- there's room for both in a balanced literacy classroom. Here's some of the main differences: Guided Reading Group Strategy Group Teacher acts like a coach on game day, first setting the group up for the game to come, and then offering words of advice from the sidelines as the players tackle the job of reading the text beginning to end. Teacher acts like a coach during a practice, stating a discreet skill she notices the group needs to work on, teaching it, modeling it, then allowing time for practice of that skill. Teacher is like a safety net under a tightrope walker. She stays with student from the beginning to the end of the experience and coaches the whole time. Teacher teaches just one skill in isolation to tightrope walker and stud...

What is the single most FUN, action-packed part of your teaching day? That's what I thought! The strategy group. Think of a strategy group as one big P A R T Y ! The Invitation (or, Who Gets to Come) : To attend a strategy group, you need your very own special invitation.  Who's invited? Any child who is in need of a certain skill, as judged by you during your one-on-one conferences. While guided reading groups include children who read on the same reading level, strategy groups can have children from levels all over the map. A group on making mental images might include a child reading Biscuit books and a child reading A to Z Mysteries. Bringing Gifts (or, What to Bring to a Group Meeting) : When students attend a strategy group, everybody brings a different "gift" to the party. That is- since everyone is on a different level, it's BYOB. Bring Your Own Book. A typical strategy group routine is that when a student is invited, she brings her entire book box w...

Ever finish teaching a small reading group and wonder, "what did I actually teach just now"? You are right to reflect on that question (often!) since teachers get such a limited time with students working in small, focused groups each day. If you believe, as I do, that teaching in small groups and one-on-one is the most effective part of your teaching day, then you'll want to get the absolute biggest bang for your buck possible. By focusing on one strategy during a small group lesson (I mean it! Just ONE strategy at a time- no cheating!), you can maximize student understanding and the probability that they will remember and use what you've taught them. This is the whole idea of the strategy group. Instead of supporting a group of like-leveled readers as they read an entire on-level book, strategy groups pull together a group of heterogeneous students in order to explicitly teach one strategy that they all need. When a child leaves your group, you and each child n...