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Reflections

Guided writing, like guided reading, must reside within a rich culture of language and informational explorations. The teaching done in guided writing is based upon the broad range of experiences children have in modeled writing, shared writing, interactive writing, and personal writing. The groups are small and flexible. Teaching is targeted to explicit learner needs. The emphasis is on the craft of writing.

Core Understandings of Guided Reading and Guided Writing—

Small group instruction
Teacher leads
Focus on a specific teaching point
Match instruction to developmental level
Model, teach, link up to minilessons
Students individually interact with print
Students take responsibility to apply the learning
Guide reflection on the learning
Connect to personal use of the strategies
Teacher assesses

Guided Writing is a Time for—

small groups
minilessons
lots of writing
teaching the craft of writing
making connections to content area studies
making connections to guided reading selections
examining writing notebooks/writing folders with new eyes
rethinking leads, endings, descriptions, verbs
teaching the skills of writing
encouragement

Guided Reading is...

1. Guided silent reading
2. A time to teach good reader strategies
3. Observation and coaching
4. An opportunity to check on self monitoring behaviors such as:
   • multiple strategies for dealing with unknown words
   • rereading to confirm meaning
   • self-corrections when meaning has been distorted
   • reading rate
   • hesitations
   • checking for picture clues
   • use of bold face headings, captions
   • laughter or personal response to reading
5. A time to ask yourself questions...
   • Is the text too easy or too difficult?
   • Is the concept load too heavy?
   • Does this reader have a wide array of strategies
     for unknown words?
   • Is this interesting to these readers?
   • Is the student reading too fast or too slowly?
   • Are the readers making connections with the text?
   • Which teaching points would be most helpful to these
     readers at our next guided reading session?
6. A springboard for more independent reading