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Quick Tips for Getting Started with
Nonfiction Guided Reading

by Cheryle Ferlita
from Exploring Informational Texts: From Theory to Practice, Hoyt, Mooney, Parkes, Heinemann, 2003.

It has been said that we do not know what our students will encounter as adults, but we do know that they will be expected to access information from many types of texts in an information seeking and information-sharing world.

Before Reading
How do I form groups for guided reading with nonfiction texts?

• Use reading levels of the students and select just right text that will not be too easy or too hard.
• Use an oral reading sample or an informal or formal reading inventory that provides you with an accuracy level, a fluency check and an oral or written retelling.
• Examine supports and challenges in texts and be sure to have both in a text planned for a guided reading session. Too many challenges and the text will be difficult for the students to understand. Too few and the text will not move students forward at the speed of their learning.
• Use a student conference form to determine reading strategies used, topic preferences and skills or strategy groups
• Model what is expected of students in a guided reading session during the other components of the readerís workshop.
• Group according to a specific skill or strategy students need to practice.
• Group to facilitate language acquisition and conversation possibilities. This conversation will be the bridge that leads to better comprehension and written communication.
• Observe carefully so students who are struggling get the support they need. Change the group if needed.
• Conduct guided reading lessons with struggling readers as often as possible, but also provide time for them to reread the text.

What nonfiction texts are good to use for guided reading?

• Get to know some of the titles, authors and publishers that will suit intermediate students.
• Select text that students can verify with other sources or texts.
• Select factual text.
• Select text that honors the reader and provides accurate clear information.
• Avoid text that allows for misinterpretation of information.
• Select interesting text.
• Select text with good nonfiction features such as charts and visual supports that will make the reading easier and more understandable.
• Use shorter texts and magazine articles.
• Use a series from a publisher that provides high interest leveled nonfiction text. Choose one that has texts that are short enough but also provide many nonfiction features that students will encounter as they read.

What does a good introduction to a nonfiction book include?

• Keep it short and focused on the content of the text.
• Think about the conversation students should have and develop some questioning or activities that will get and keep this conversation going.
• Include student conversation and listen to what students have to say this will help guide the introduction.
• When using teacher talk model good conversation starters and invite student responses that will keep the conversation going.
• Provide plenty of think time and cooperative learning structures so everyone can have a chance to provide input and a chance to think about the topic of discussion.
• Use graphic organizers that students can add to after the reading.
• Decide on a focus for the lesson based on student needs and develop the lesson so these strategies are practiced within a meaningful text.
• Use quick write and quick draw
• Make predictions
• Discuss necessary vocabulary

During Reading
What about the reading of the text? There is so much information in this type of text how do I know students understand what they are reading if they are reading silently during guided reading?

• Find a good stopping point and keep the group together. This will facilitate discussions that everyone can add to.
• Allow students to reread the text as a follow-up to the lesson.
• Pay careful attention to the amount of new information the students will be responsible for and chunk the text accordingly.
• Give faster finishers a reason to dip back into the text. They could be looking for specific teacher chosen information that will be relevant to the discussion, or they may be looking for information they found interesting or new. The information they locate may be written in a response log or students can identify it with a sticky or coded card by placing these next to or on the text.
• Circulate and assist with one-on-one strategy talk where needed. It is important to honor readers by not interrupting the reading too much. Too many interruptions may interfere with comprehension.
• While circulating listen in on a small portion of the studentsí reading and lead students to discover how to problem solve when their understanding is breaking down. Another option is to ask students how it is going, what they noticed about the reading, what they have learned or what they read they want to be sure everybody else in the group understands. Using some of these questions will help get and keep the after reading discussion going.
• The one-on-one during reading conversation is very important for those students who try to dominate the after reading conversation or for those that do not want to add to the conversation at all. The teacher can use very specific questions and invite the dominant or reluctant students to tell everyone about the talk after the reading.
  
  After Reading

How often do I have the students respond, and what form will these responses take?

• Have students respond to their reading daily in some format. This does not have to be lengthy or a formal assessment piece.
• A discussion is a great way to have students respond to their reading. The group discussion after the reading is so important to the success of the lesson. Use this time to assess, understanding and formulate teaching points for this or the next session.
• The students who locate new or interesting information may want to begin the discussion.
• The focus of the after reading discussion can be a specific skill or strategy.
• Students can write in response to their reading with a teacher-developed question or in an open response format. A teacher question checks strategy use, comprehension, skills or author style. An open response format simply asks students to respond to their reading, tell about it or comment on the journey through the text. A combination of these formats works very well.
• Responses can be kept in a response journal. This journal can take the form of a spiral notebook, a 3-prong folder or a 3-ring notebook. The possibilities are endless. Whatever works for the individual teacher.
• Other responses that come naturally out of reading nonfiction are responses to the entire text or a portion of the text. For example, research papers that can answer questions generated by the students during the reading.
• A response can be a project that shows understanding of the text, or an oral summary of the text.

How long should I spend on a nonfiction book or a lesson?

• A long lesson may mean the students are reading too much of the text during the session. Remember nonfiction texts are full of facts and information that students need time to revisit and reread.
• Take the time needed to make the students understand the text and practice the reading strategies important to reading and understanding nonfiction text.
• If you spend too much time it will limit the amount and type of text students will be exposed to during the year.
• One key is to not beat the text to death by pointing out all the skills possible within that one text. Some nonfiction texts are so full of information that the teacher may need to
• Choose the strategy the students need and guide them through the text with discussion and support. By choosing a focus you can help students work through the text in a reasonable amount of time.

Going too quickly may also cause problems because it does not allow students the time to practice the strategies that will help them become better readers. If you can go too fast then the book is probably too easy and does not provide the right amount of challenge for guided reading. In other words if a student can read the text easily and quickly and understand all the concepts in the text, perhaps it would be better suited as an independent or literature discussion text.