Guided Reading Analysis

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Scholastic (2017) best describes guided reading as a small group instructional approach to teaching reading, where teachers focusses on the specific needs of the students and then guides the students to be able to reach the next level of text proficiency in their reading. Students are placed in a group of about five students with similar reading behaviours to partake in a guided reading session of about ten to twenty minutes while the rest of the class engages in other predetermined activities (Northern Ireland Curriculum, n.d., p. 12). Since the students are grouped together as per their particular reading phase, guided reading offers intimate lessons that focusses on the areas where the students' specific needs are addressed (Winch, Johnston, …show more content…

20). The teacher selects a suitable book, not only based on the difficulty of the text with regards to reading level, but also takes into consideration the students' interest, relatability and familiarity in the topic of the text (Winch et al., 2014, p. 119). The First Steps Reading Resource Book states that a guided reading text should "provide a challenge to the student without it being so difficult that the students become discouraged" (Department of Education WA, 2013a, p. 20). It is therefore essential that the teacher selects a book that is simple enough for the student to read most of the words unaided in order to find meaning within in the text, but that there are also some unfamiliar words that the student can develop confidence in their ability to decode the text, subsequently learning new words (Winch et al., 2014, p. 119). Mallett (2016) states that when a child has the opportunity to read individually an "even richer and more exciting set of choices open up" in the child's imagination (p. 4); it is therefore imperative and beneficial that students are engaged in guided reading sessions at least once a week, and three lessons for students with reading difficulties (Winch et al., p. 157) as to ensure that all students receive a fair chance at becoming proficient

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