reading group assignments

• Grades 6-12
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23 Fun and Easy Guided Reading Activity Ideas

Boost reading skills in small groups.

Guided reading is small-group instruction that supports each reader’s progress with mini-lessons, practice, and feedback. Students read books at their level and engage in activities before and after that help them build core reading skills. Read on to learn how to teach a guided reading lesson, plus see our favorite guided reading activity ideas.

What is included in a guided reading lesson?

You’ll use the same text across multiple guided reading lessons. Depending on the skills you’re teaching and the text, you may plan guided reading lessons that span a few days or a week. The point is to really get into the text and practice reading skills with your feedback and guidance.

Each guided reading lesson is broken into parts:

Mini lesson

A mini lesson that focuses on phonemic awareness, phonics, word reading, fluency, or vocabulary. You can’t hit all of those in one mini lesson, so choose a skill that students will be using in the text they’re reading right after the mini lesson.

Read the book

Students read the decodable book independently. They may whisper-read while you listen, or they may read on their own and read aloud when you ask them to. During this time, you check in with students to make sure they are able to read and understand the text.

Comprehension activities

After students have finished reading, it’s time to talk about what they read. They’ll retell, answer questions, and engage in other comprehension-based activities.

The last part of a guided reading lesson is applying the skills they learned in writing. This could mean practicing writing words from the story, or writing sentences or responses to the story.

Preparing for Guided Reading

Guided reading takes planning—lots of planning. Doing this work on the front end will make guided reading an effective, fun time in your reading block. Here are the three steps you can take to make guided reading work:

Get students into groups

Ashleigh’s Education Journey/guided reading groups via Ashleigh-educationjourney.com

Use data from your school’s universal screening and other assessments to identify which students are working on the same thing for guided reading groups. Maybe you have a group of students who are working on long vowel patterns, while another group is working on reading multi-syllabic words. The text they read will give them a chance to practice what they’re learning, so it’s important to have the right groups.

Choose an appropriate text

Text selection is key during guided reading. Students should be working in text that they can just reach with support since they’re spending their reading time being closely monitored. Look for decodable texts, or texts that have words that students have learned. So, a short-“a” decodable reader would have words that only have the short “a” sound—it won’t include long “a” words or other vowels.

As students get older, finding books that they’re interested in reading continues to be important, but you’ll look for books that have features you want to teach, like text features or text structure.

Set the schedule

Ashleigh’s Education Journey/guided reading schedule

Set a schedule that ensures that each student gets what they need—students who are able to read and work more independently may need a different schedule than students who struggle to work on their own and need additional help with reading. A weekly schedule lets you make sure you’re hitting all the right skills and practice.

A guided reading schedule may also include intervention or Tier 2 groups. Read more about reading intervention .

Mini-Lesson Activities

Each guided reading lesson will start with a mini-lesson. You don’t have a lot of time, so focus on one aspect of reading that students are going to apply in the book that day.

Build and Write Words

Ashleigh’s Education Journey/guided reading activity via Ashleigh-educationjourney.com

Give students practice forming words with letter tiles or cut-out letter squares. Students choose the letters they need to sound out words that they’ll read in the book. Then, with the model they’ve created, they can write the word in the next column.

Pop and Write

Mrs. Winter’s Bliss/word mapping activity via mrswintersbliss.com

In this guided reading activity, have students use a Pop-It to break a word into sounds. Then, students use a whiteboard marker to write the word. (Could you include more fun things in one activity?!) Combining the Pop-It for phonemic awareness and writing to practice encoding letter sounds is a great way to reinforce two skills at once.

CVC Word Reading

Miss Kindergarten/CVC word reading via misskindergarten.com

Use cards like these from Miss Kindergarten to practice pointing to and blending each sound in a word. Choose words that will be in the book students are reading and point out when they use the same strategy they use during the practice in their actual book reading.

Pre-Teach Vocabulary

The Science Penguin/vocabulary concept building via thesciencepenguin.com

Help students start to organize and remember new vocabulary by having them work with words. In this example from The Science Penguin , students sort new words according to parts of speech to help commit them to memory.

Sight Word Sticker Book

First Grader … at Last/sight word sticker book via Firstgraderatlast.blogspot.com

As students master sight words, have them put stickers by each word. Then, as a warm-up in guided reading, they can review the words they know and practice words they don’t. Set a day as sticker day, when they can prove that they’ve mastered a new word and add more stickers to their book.

Learn more: First Grader … at Last

Fluency Strips

Mrs. Richardson’s Class/fluency Strips via mrsrichardsonsclass.com

In this guided reading activity, have students practice reading fluency with short, manageable strips of a phrase or a sentence or two. You can also print out sentences or short paragraphs from books they’re reading so you can build repeated reading practice into guided reading.

Learn more: Mrs. Richardson’s Class

Read more: Fluency Activities

Word Family Fluency

Miss Kindergarten/word family fluency via misskindergarten.com

Another way to work in some quick fluency practice is with word family sentence strips. Give students the strips for the word family they are working on and have them practice reading through the strips. If you organize them by color like Miss Kindergarten , you can also have a rainbow-sentence option with sentences from all the different word families.

Mrs. Richardson’s Class/phonics practice example via mrsrichardsonsclass.com

Practice making words that have the same spelling pattern—for example, writing all the words that end in -igh. Choose spelling patterns students will see in the book you’re going to read so students can get maximum practice with the spelling patterns.

Read more: Phonics Activities

Preview the Text

Previewing the text, or looking at the main features, is a habit that you’ll want students to have as they read on their own. Use time during guided reading to preview each text before you read it.

Here’s how to preview a text with students:

During reading activities

Teaching With Jennifer Findley/guided reading data tracker via jenniferfindley.com

During guided reading, the most important activity is reading. The teacher’s role is to listen as students read and then give them feedback on their reading. Correct a word here. Prompt them to use a strategy there.

Take notes on how students are reading each session so you have the data to track their progress.

Get it: Free printable guided reading note taker from Jennifer Findley

After reading activities

After students have read the text, it’s time to talk comprehension. They can practice retelling, answering questions, and discussing text with their small group. Their responses will show you how they’re doing in terms of understanding questions and pulling information out of the text.

Retelling Gloves

Buzzing With Ms. B/retelling gloves via buzzingwithmsb.com

Create a retelling glove and have students refer to each of the five fingers for each part of the story they should include in a retelling. This helps students who get lost in telling you all the details. You can have them put each finger down as they tell you that part of the story.

Learn more: Buzzing With Ms. B

Comprehension Fans

Runde’s Room/Comprehension Fans via rundesroom.com

Organize questions onto strips or cards, and put a collection of these questions on a ring to create a “fan” for this guided reading activity. Then have students select a question from the fan to ask a group, or write a response.

Learn more: Runde’s Room

Check out this list of printable questions for book discussions .

Fill In the Graphic Organizer

Courtney Schermerhorn/graphic organizer via teacherspayteachers.com

A graphic organizer is a great way to help students organize information they pull from a text. As students learn how to complete graphic organizers and use text structure to understand text, provide graphic organizers with some parts filled in to model a correct response (read: full sentences) and give students a scaffold to complete the entire organizer.

Buy it: Graphic organizer at Teachers Pay Teachers

Reading Dice

A Love 4 Teaching/reading dice via alove4teaching.blogspot.com

Write open-ended literature response questions on dice. Then, students roll the dice and answer the question that lands on top.

Learn more: A Love 4 Teaching

Comprehension Jenga

Counselor Clique/Questions on a Jenga game via counselorclique.com

Counselor Clique wrote questions for post-career goals in this example, but for guided reading, write questions on Jenga blocks that apply to your students’ age and reading goals. Then, play a game of Jenga—students pull a block from the stacked tower and answer the question they get.

Summarize Together

This Reading Mama/Summarizing Activity via thisreadingmama.com

Students practice summarizing using signal words by using sticky notes and papers that have the key features of a summary: who, what, when, where, why. After students write their signal words, they create a group summary by sticking them onto the paper. Over time, students can do this activity on their own or in a small group without direct supervision.

Read more: This Reading Mama

Bloom Balls

Coffee Cups & Lesson Plans/Bloom Ball activity via coffeecupslessonplans.com

Have older students create a Bloom Ball, a 12-sided ball with space to write on each side. Students write questions they can ask about any text, or projects they can do with any text, on each side. Then, they roll the ball to see which question they answer or which project they do.

Learn more at Coffee Cups & Lesson Plans .

Buy it: Bloom Ball template at Teachers Pay Teachers

Prediction Practice

Raise the Bar Reading/making predictions activity via teacherspayteachers.com

Making predictions using information from the text is an important skill students use to maintain comprehension. Use a template, like this one from Raise the Bar Reading , to help students identify the information from the text, then use that information to make predictions.

Buy it: Making Predictions printable at Teachers Pay Teachers

Student-Led Groups

The Mountain Teacher/student-led reading groups via themountainteacher.com

As students get older and learn how to discuss text on their own, put them into groups to discuss. Having roles in the group can help some students stay on task, and ensures that everyone has something to be accountable for.

Learn more: The Mountain Teacher

Guided Writing

The last part of guided reading is writing! This is when students are able to consolidate everything they learned, put it into their own words, and maybe add some more ideas.

Letter Writing

Whimsy Workshop Teaching/letter-writing examples via whimsyworkshopteaching.com

Letter writing is a great way to have students retell and engage with text. You can have students write a letter to a character (like the example from Whimsy Workshop Teaching ). Or have students put themselves in the mind of one character and write a letter to another character in the book from that point of view. This activity is good for after students read an especially dramatic part in the story and one character has a secret or new information they can’t wait to share.

Newspaper Article

Kirsten’s Kaboodle/newspaper template via kirstenskaboodle.com

Newspaper writing is retelling for older students. This activity has students retell what happened in the day’s or week’s reading in a newspaper article format. Use a graphic organizer to make sure that students include all the relevant sections.

Buy it: Kirsten’s Kaboodle newspaper template

Pitch a Sequel

In this guided reading activity, have students write an idea for a sequel to the book or story they just read. Where would they take the characters next? What conflict would these characters get into next?

Comic Strip Retell

Mrs. RM/comic strip retelling via Pinterest

Another way to retell for older students: Use a comic strip format to show the beginning, middle, and end of a story or scene. For longer texts, you could have students build out a comic strip across multiple guided reading lessons, or have students work collaboratively to turn the entire story into a comic.

Graph Character Arc

This one will really engage students’ creativity. Students choose a type of graph (pie graph, chart, etc.) and track the character’s emotions or level of conflict in a scene or book. Label the graph with information from the story.

What are your favorite guided reading activity ideas? Share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Check it out: 49 anchor charts all about reading comprehension ..

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13 Fun Reading Activities for Any Book

Whether you walk into a classroom in Asia, North America or Europe, you will almost certainly see teachers and students building their understanding of the world through a dedicated daily reading session full of great reading activities.

Books allow students an opportunity to be informed, entertained or escape as they comprehend fiction and non-fiction texts against their understanding of the world, their personal insights, and opinions and finally compare those texts to others.

Whilst you may have a wealth of books in your school library, developing fresh and engaging ways to study literature can often be challenging.  So today, we will explore 25 proven activities that can be applied to any book and at any age level.

These reading activities to improve reading comprehension are easy to follow and suitable for most age groups within an elementary/junior high school level.

125 Text Response ACTIVITIES, Games, Projects for ANY BOOK

This massive collection of ☀️ READING ACTIVITIES☀️ covers all essential reading skills for elementary/primary students. NO PREP REQUIRED! Works with all text and media types.

Thousands of teachers have adopted this as a GO-TO RESOURCE for independent and group tasks.

A COLLECTION OF FUN READING ACTIVITIES

A lifetime tale in pictures reading task.

Draw the main character from a book you have recently read.  Show them as a baby, middle-aged and an older person.

Underneath each picture, write what you think they might be doing at that point in their life, and explain why they may be doing so.

For example, if you drew Harry Potter as a baby, he might cast spells on his mum to feed him lots of yummy food.

Post-reading activities like this are accessible for all age groups to adapt their skill level and text style.

If you want to learn more about characters, read our complete guide here.

TEXT TO SELF-READING TASK

Based upon a book you have just read, share a  story about yourself related to an event or character in the book.

It is probably best done in the form of a written recount. Link your experience to no more than four situations that occurred within the text.

Text to self is an excellent opportunity for students to become introspective about the content they read and compare it to their own life experiences. 

This activity is appealing to teenagers more so than juniors .

IT’S IN THE INSTRUCTIONS READING TASK

From a book you have just read, select either a critical object or creature and create a user manual or a guide explaining how to care for it.

Ensure you use any vital information learnt from the book and any other information you consider essential.

If you are writing a user manual for an object, remember to focus on using it correctly and taking care of it.

If you are writing a user guide for an animal or creature, focus on keeping it alive and healthy as well as information that explains how to keep it happy and under control if necessary.

Dear Diary, READING TASK

Place yourself in the shoes of one of the characters you have just read about and write a diary entry of a critical moment from the story.

Try to choose a moment in the story where the character has plenty of interaction and emotion to share in a diary entry.

Your diary entry should be around a page long and contain information you learned from the book when the character was in that specific place and time.

Remember, when writing a diary entry, you are writing it from a first-person perspective. It is usually but not always written in the present tense.

Diary writing has been a very popular activity throughout time, but social media tools such as Facebook and blogging have in some ways changed this.

Mapping it all out, READING TASK

How do you make reading lessons fun? This reading activity answers that question confidently.

Have a go at drawing a map of one of the places from the text you have just read. See how much detail you can include, and be sure to discuss your map with another reader so you can compare and add more if necessary.

Take some time and effort to ensure your map appeals to the same audience the book aims at.

All good maps should contain the following BOLTS elements.

B – Bolts

O – Orientation

L – Legend

S – Scale

Express Yourself READING TASK

Using an iPad or a digital camera, make faces of the emotions the main characters would have gone through in your book and take photos of them. 

Put them together in a document on your computer or device and explain the emotion below the image and when the character would have felt this way.

This is an excellent opportunity to use some creative direction for this task.

Be sure to play around with the images, filters and graphical styling available.

Travel Agent READING TASK

Think of yourselves as a group of travel assistants whose job is to promote a  city of your choice from the text you have been reading.

As a group, you need to develop a concept map of all the exciting things that happen in your city and then present it to the class.

Don’t forget all of the exciting things such as theatres, restaurants, sports, adventure activities, entertainment and much more…

If you are a little short on details of the location of your story, do some research if it was an actual location or just get creative and make up some locations and tourist attractions based on what you read.

You’re Hired READING TASK

Select a character from a book and consider what might be an excellent job for them. You can choose something entirely suitable such as a security guard job for Superman or a more oddball approach, such as a pastry chef.

Either way, you will have to write a letter from this character’s perspective and apply for a position.

Be sure to explain why your character would be a great employee and what special skills they would possess to make them ideal for the role. Sell your character by explaining all the great attributes they possess.

What’s the Status? READING TASK

Create a Facebook page for your character with some status updates about what they have been up to.

Include some pictures and ensure your status updates are relevant to the character and the story.

Around 3 – 4 status updates with mages should give an overall picture of the character.

Use your status updates to explore what your character does for a job, leisure time, places they might go on vacation and the like.

Bubbles and Clouds READING TASK

Using speech bubbles and pictures of the characters, draw a conversation between two characters from the story you have read.

Remember, thought is drawn as a cloud, and a spoken statement is drawn as a  bubble.

Be sure to look at some comics or graphic novels for inspiration and insights.

This activity is usually best done on pen and paper, but numerous digital apps and tools will allow you to make this a reality through technology.

Amazing Artifacts READING TASK

An artifact is an object that has some significance or meaning behind it. Sometimes, an artefact might even have a very important story behind it.  I am sure you have a favorite toy, or your parents have a particular item in the house that they would consider an important artifact.

For today’s task, you will select five artifacts from the text you have been reading and explain what makes them significant or essential.

They don’t all have to be super important to the story, but I am sure that at least a couple played a significant role.

Be sure to draw a picture of the artifact and if necessary, label it.

FREE READING ACTIVITIES RESOURCE TO DOWNLOAD

Thinking Differently READING TASK

Choose three important events from the text and explain how you would have handled them differently from the characters in the story.

Explain how it may have changed the story’s outcome in either a minor or significant way.

Be insightful here and think of the cause and effect.  Sometimes your smallest action can have a significant impact on others.

Popplet Mind Mapping Task

Popplet is a mind mapping tool that allows you to connect ideas together using images, text and drawings.

From a text, you have recently read, create a family tree or network diagram that explains the relationship the characters have with each other.

Some may be father and son, husband and wife or even arch enemies.

Try and lay it out so it is easy to follow.

You Have Three Wishes READING TASK

A genie lands at the midpoint of the story you have just read and grants the two main characters three wishes.

What do they wish for and why?

Finally, would their wishes have changed anything about the story?  How so?

Again think about the cause and effect relationship and how this may have altered the path of the book you have been reading.

A COMPLETE DIGITAL READING UNIT FOR STUDENTS

Over 30 engaging activities for students to complete BEFORE, DURING and AFTER reading ANY BOOK

• Compatible with all devices and digital platforms, including GOOGLE CLASSROOM.
• Fun, Engaging, Open-Ended INDEPENDENT tasks.
• 20+ 5-Star Ratings ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

MORE GREAT ARTICLES WITH READING ACTIVITIES

Top 7 Reading Comprehension Strategies for Students and Teachers

How to teach Guided Reading: Teaching Strategies and Activities

Identifying the main idea of the story: A Guide for Students and Teachers

Teaching Cause and Effect in Reading and Writing

Graphic Organizers for Writing and Reading

Top 7 Tips for Teaching Guided Reading in Large Classes

5 Reasons You Need a Digital Reading Diary In 2023

How to Plan Guided Reading Groups that Actually Work

Structuring your guided reading groups can be a tricky feat, even for the most experienced teacher. Typically, teachers only have between 45 minutes to an hour to see 25-30 students. It quickly becomes difficult to maximize time. Read on for some tried and true tips that worked for me and helped all of my students achieve their end of year goals.

HOW MANY GROUPS:

To begin, you will have to make your groups. Depending on how many students you have, I tried to have NO MORE than 4 reading groups. This could mean having as many as 8-9 kids in my (higher) groups. For smaller class sizes, you can have as few as 3 groups. I would stick to having anywhere between 4-8 students in a group (ideally). By sticking to no more than 4 groups, you can best optimize your time.

HOW TO MAKE GROUPS:

Typically, I had 3 focus points for creating groups. The first were my students that struggled the most. They were my phonics centered group. Next, I had a fluency group. These are my students that have a stronger grasp on phonics, but need assistance with fluency skills. Next, I would separate my on-level and above-level students into two separate comprehension heavy groups. These groups tended to be bigger, but are also more independent.

I used a combination of DIBELS, NWEA MAP scores, a running record or guided reading level and other common assessment data to triangulate my groups. My groups were also flexible, and I most often would make changes at each quarter.

Timing is everything. No matter what, I like to see every group every day. Take whatever time you have allotted for guided reading, and divide that by 4. Ideally, you will have AT LEAST 15 minutes with each group, but it can also be accomplished in as little as 10 minutes. The most important thing is seeing each group each day. While it can be hard, setting a timer can help hold you and your students accountable for your time together. Even if you run out of time every day, you will eventually get to a point where you are making every minute worth it.

While this will vary based on grade level, here is a breakdown of what I would do each day.

1-2 minute: Phonics Warm Up : This would be the same each day. We would either play a game or do a center all together. Students would need instruction on this to start, but would quickly become independent at these activities as the year progressed.

1 minute: Preview/Comprehension Review : Whatever the WHOLE GROUP comprehension skill is is what the focus of your guided reading group should be. For example, if you are learning about main idea/key details in whole group, pick the SAME SKILL in small group. Review it quickly and talk about how you will be relating it to the text.

5-7 minutes: Fluency Practice/Cold Read : This is the bulk of your lesson. Students will practice various ways of reading the text that you are working with that week. Some options include: whisper reading to self, round robin reading, partner reading, reading in their heads, choral reading, echo reading, etc. During this time, you should be listening to each student read at least once a day. If a student is stuck on a word, be sure to refer to phonics strategies or reading strategies to help them tackle a word, rather than just providing the word to them. This is essential to build strong readers.

1-3 minutes: Comprehension : During the closing of your mini lesson, allow students to ORALLY discuss the comprehension skill that you have worked on. If you are using a graphic organizer in whole group, you can model how to fill it out using the small group text. If you want students to keep a paper trail, give this to them as work to do AFTER leaving your table. Do not use table time for them to be filling out graphic organizers.

OPTIONAL 3-5 minutes: Remediation/Extension : If you have identified an area that the whole group either needs to work on or can benefit from extending with, this is a great time to fill in those gaps. I usually do this using a fun game or center.

Remember, guided reading is still supposed to be GRADE LEVEL material. This means, no matter how much a group seems to be struggling, you need to be exposing them at minimum to the grade level text. If you are not exposing them to this text during guided reading, they are never learning to bridge the gap and read this text on their own. Even if it is a struggle, try echo reading, or other strategies to help bridge that gap for them. Lower level text should be reserved for intervention or special education service time only.

FLEXIBILITY:

While this worked great for my second graders, adjustments did need to be made throughout the year. Be sure to give students grace, and be flexible enough to move them up or down a group as needed.

Remember to also give yourself grace. Guided reading time can be difficult to establish, but is when many teachers will claim that “the magic happens!”

Hop over to my blog post on setting up your reading workshops to check out ideas for how to keep the rest of your class independent while you are working with a small group. Looking to switch it up for a more independent group? Read about student-led small groups or student led guided workshops here .

Drop any questions or suggestions below!

Emily - The Mountain Teacher

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Teaching with Jillian Starr

teaching little stars to shine brightly

Free Sub Plans (Grades 1-3)

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How I Introduce Literature Circles (Book Clubs)

In the second half of the year, students really start to find their groove. They have revisited the routines and expectations after their vacation, and most are starting to exhibit more independence. This has always been the PERFECT time for me to introduce Literature Circles (or Book Clubs) to my reading groups.

If you’re not familiar with Literature Circles, I like to think of them as a structured book group. It’s a great way of helping students engage in independent discussions around a shared text. There are multiple roles, and each student is given a specific role for the duration of a conversation. These roles include Discussion Director, Word Wizard, Passage Picker, Illustrator, Connector, and Summarizer.

Depending on the grade level I’m working with, my rollout may look different. For example, in first grade, I typically venture into Literature Circles with my group(s) that are reading beyond the end-of-year benchmark. That is not because I don’t feel like my other students can handle the responsibility of independent work, but rather, there are skills and strategies that I would prefer to be our focus within those groups. However, in third grade, I make it a point to include Book Clubs in all groups, but use their level of independence and engagement during our reading groups as an indicator of readiness.

Today I want to discuss HOW I introduce literature circles to my students to ensure that they can successfully run these groups independently during our reading block. If we are going to focus on a single word during all of this, it would be EXPLICIT!

Introducing Literature Circles with A Teaser

I start the introduction within my small group reading time. After a regular reading group meeting, I give them a little “teaser” at the end.

“Next time we get together, I am going to share something really exciting with you! Have you ever heard of grown-ups having a Book Club or a Book Group? It’s when a group of people get together and they get to talk about a book they’ve read. Often times one person helps run the conversation, and the rest of the group each take turns discussion different parts and it gets to be a really great conversation. The next time we meet, I’m going to teach you all about running your own book clubs (without the teacher). It’s a big responsibility, but I think this group is ready for the challenge!”

The level of excitement they show is SO worth this little preview! Then, they come to our next meeting BEYOND ready and willing to listen!

Introducing Literature Circles as Book Clubs

When I reconvene with my group, I like to start by revisiting my summary of Book Clubs from the day before, just to refresh their memories. Then, I move into explaining WHY I think Book Clubs will be a great choice for their group.

It usually includes language around how their ability to understand books, and the focus they’ve shown during independent reading time. I also make sure to mention that I’ve watched how they talk about books together in the group, and how much I want to give them MORE chances to do that outside of our reading group.

Literature Circles

One thing I steer clear of during this conversation is equating their readiness for Book Clubs with a love of reading. The reasoning behind this is that many of my students who are earlier on in their understanding of reading can have an equal love of reading. They just may need to be focusing on a different set of skills at this time. As a struggling reader myself, this is ALWAYS at the front of my mind.

I explain that Book Clubs are not just sitting around talking about a book! That can be really fun and helpful too, but our Book Clubs are different. With our Book Clubs, there is a structure, called Literature Circles. Everyone in the group will get a different job/role and each one gives a different way to share about the book. Every person will get a turn to share their work for that job during their group time, and your job will change each time (so don’t worry, you’ll get to try them ALL out!)

Then, it’s time to introduce the format of these different roles of that make up the Literature Circle.

Introducing Literature Circle Roles

The discussion director.

I explain that the Discussion Director acts as the leader of the group for the day. Their job is to run the group and make sure that the conversation goes smoothly. I make sure to let them know that EVERYTHING they need to do will be given to them, so they don’t have to worry about remembering. This usually alleviates ANY worry and helps them focus on the excitement of what’s to come.

I take the time to share possible questions the discussion director could ask to keep the conversation going during literature circles. I show them the page that they can use to support them, and that it includes the order of people the director asks to share. (e.g. After a few conversation starters, the Discussion director asks the Summarizer to share their work.)

The Summarizer

The summarizer can be a difficult role during literature circles. I like to model summarizing with a familiar story. I show the group the “Summarizer Page” and explicitly show how I can use the prompts and keywords to help me summarize that familiar story.

Then I sometimes pick a second familiar story and ask the students to do the summarizing (aloud). We go through each of the prompts and keywords, and I record their responses on the sheet to demonstrate. Together we come up with a cohesive summary and students can later reference that example when working independently.

The Illustrator

The illustrator is usually the favorite role of my students during literature circles. I introduce the idea that students can pick a favorite part or what they believe to be an important part of the book, and then illustrate that scene. I ask them to do it without the book in front of them (I always have perfectionists who understandably want their work to resemble the book…but I stress that we want to see THEIR interpretation).

I then explain that the illustrator does not tell the rest of the group what they have drawn. Instead, their group examines their work and it is the group’s job to try and uncover what part of the book was illustrated. Only after the members of the group have made their guess, does the illustrator confirm (or deny) the guesses, and then share WHY they picked that part of the text.

The Connector

The connector may be one that you need to give a little more time to as you introduce literature circles, depending on how much you have discussed text connections with your class. For students to be successful in this role, they need to have an understanding of text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections.

Once this understanding is established, I go through how the connector uses their role page to record the different types of connections they made throughout the text. Once they get the hang of it, it actually comes quite quickly for them! We then discuss how students can share out this work by describing some of the connections they made, and asking if their peers had any other connections they would like to add.

The Word Wizard

The role of the Word Wizard in Literature Circles is to draw our attention to the vocabulary within the text. I explain that students can choose words for a variety of reasons:

• They cannot read the word
• They don’t know what the word means
• They think it was a great word choice/juicy word

These words make for great conversations during the discussion. I love when their peers help them read an unfamiliar word, or listen to the definitions they provide. It’s a great way to naturally enhance and reinforce strong vocabulary.

The Passage Picker

The passage picker is the role that I give as an “extra” if I have more than 5 students participating in literature circles. It’s not because I don’t love this role, but because I think there are elements of it that can be covered in different roles. Nonetheless, I introduce it to my students.

I explain that the passage picker gets to choose ONE small section of writing, called a passage, from the text that stood out to them. This can be because it surprised them, they liked the imagery, it gave them a clue about what was coming next, it made them laugh…etc.

I love listening to the student’s reasoning behind their selection, and then listening to the reaction from their group. “That made me laugh too!” or “Yes! That’s when I KNEW he wasn’t going to give up without a fight!” It’s a great addition if you have enough students to fill the role.

Putting It All Together

After explicitly teaching each of the roles within Literature Circles, and modeling how the Discussion Director can end the meeting, I explain the next steps.

I tell students that during our next reading group, we are going to practice a round of literature circles. I let them know that I will be there to support them, but I will really just be watching and not interfering unless they need me. I have found this gradual release of responsibility the best way to ensure that students are successful with this model.

If all goes well during their first round, I give them the option to try it on their own later that week during a reading center rotation. If I think they might benefit from some additional support, we typically give it another go during our reading group time, where I can be there to help facilitate.

How Did it Go?

I like to finish literature circles by having students reflect on how they feel the group functioned that day. I give them a quick “group check-in” form that acts as a rubric. I have students complete them and turn them in privately.

I also let students write any additional information they wish to include on the back. This allows students a safe place to share their thoughts, as well as anything that may have come up that I should be aware of.

I use these reflections to guide future conversations with the group and try to help problem-solve any issues that may have come up.

Taking Literature Circles Digital

During remote learning, literature circles are a WONDERFUL answer to making reading groups work! I have included ALL of these role pages and reflections in a digital form . This way, students can complete these pages during asynchronous learning time, and then come together in small break-out rooms to have meaningful conversations around shared text!

What text should I use? While it’s difficult to put physical books in students’ hands during remote learning, you can definitely use apps and websites like Epic and Reading A-Z and others to offer shared texts to your students.

Tools For Literature Circles

I LOVE literature circles, but found that I needed to modify a lot of the content to make it accessible for younger students. I created these literature circle role pages to help my students stay on task and organize their thinking:

I also use these table tents to designate the different roles. This has two purposes:

• It helps all of the students in the group remember who is working through which role during that discussion.
• The back side of the table tent provides all of the necessary prompts and information for each role, so the student can use it as a helpful reference tool!

You can also find all of these resources HERE on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Still not sure? Check out this post sharing 5 Reasons to Try Literature Circles in Your Classroom!

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Reader Interactions

Do you run your reading time like your guided math time? Do you meet with every group every day? When do the students complete the work? I think I saw that it was one of your reading station rotations. I completed your Guided Math Academy this summer and with the help of my campus math specialist, I have jumped in and am loving it! I’m trying to now wrap my head around if I can do the same method with reading. Letting go of the whole group focus on one story for the week is hurting my brain! Lol! I have been teaching for 17 years and it can be hard to let go of old habits.

Thank you for your feedback and your blog. You push me to be a better teacher.

Hi Elizabeth! Thank you so much for your kind words and to let me know that Guided Math Academy has helped your teaching! I run my reading groups similarly to my Guided Math groups. I do not meet with each group every day, just like with Guided Math. However, my students are working on a combination of differentiated word work/phonics, literature circles, reading response (essentially letters back and forth with me), and independent reading. This is in second and third grade. My first grade centers looked different because their early reading skills benefitted from a different focus. I hope this helps!

Hi Jillian! I really liked reading how you introduced literature circles with your students! I teach 6th grade and wondered if you think that this format of guided reading would work well with upper elementary/middle school-aged students? Thank you!

Hi Sarah! I think Literature Circles can work very well in upper grades. However, the roles become more complex and there is more responsibility given. I would not replace direct, small-group instruction with literature circles. Instead, they can be a wonderful practice that students engage in *while* you are providing direct instruction to another group. Does that make sense?

Thank you for replying! I will have to look at more information to learn more about literature circles in upper elementary. I like that the students would have more responsibility and be able to take ownership while growing their love for reading. I also, thank you for noting to keep small group instruction while the students complete their tasks on their own. This gives me a lot to consider for the next school year. Thanks again!

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Science of Reading: Small-Group Instruction Strategies

Teachers can teach and increase students’ achievement efficiently and effectively by incorporating small-group instruction into their classroom routines. In fact, research tells us that small-group instruction is a teacher’s most effective tool. Instruction in small groups of three to five students has been found to be more effective than whole-class instruction or one-on-one instruction (Gersten et al., 2008; Vaughn et al., 2001) when teachers apply the following guiding principles of effective instruction.

What Is Small-Group Reading Instruction?

Small-group reading instruction focuses on differentiating instruction by teaching specific skills to support students who have been identified as needing targeted instruction. Small groups are appropriate in all tiers of instruction and are a foundational part of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and response to intervention (RTI).

Small-group reading instruction supports teaching new skills and allows supervised guided practice of the essential components of literacy: oral language , phonological sensitivity , phoneme awareness , phonics , spelling , fluency , vocabulary and morphology , comprehension , and written expression . Instructional content is guided by expectations of the grade level, reading curriculum, and/or state standards and should integrate science of reading strategies .

Benefits of Small-Group Reading Instruction

Teaching reading in small groups is beneficial for students in all tiers:

• Tier 1: Whole-class instruction
• Tier 2: When students need more targeted skill instruction
• Tier 3: The most intensive instruction and intervention

All students benefit from small-group instruction. For example, students who have accelerated reading skills could work on advanced phonics or comprehension skills. Students who need more practice and direct instruction on a fundamental skill can be grouped together to focus on a targeted skill. Students who are multilingual  benefit from support in small groups in which they have more opportunities to practice speaking and writing.

There are many other benefits of small-group instruction. Teaching in small groups provides more opportunities for each student to respond and be heard by the teacher. Increased practice, active participation and engagement, and immediate feedback are components of effective instruction and are successfully implemented in small groups. Teachers can better differentiate reading instruction  when working with a small group at times rather than the whole class all the time. Remember, small-group instruction  supplements but does not replace whole-class instruction.

How Does Teaching Reading in Small Groups Align with the Science of Reading?

The science of reading includes structured and systematic instruction in the essential components of literacy development, detailed below. Instruction on these essential skills, while applying the features of effective instruction in small groups, supports learning in all contexts and is essential for striving readers.

Phoneme Awareness

Reading instruction needs to begin in kindergarten and first grade at the phoneme level. Teachers screen students to determine their level of phoneme awareness, such as the ability to identify the initial, final, and medial phonemes (sounds) in words. By playing with words and sounds and using multisensory techniques, such as writing the graphemes (letters) while saying the phonemes, students develop the awareness required to read and spell. Learning to segment and blend individual phonemes in words is a prerequisite skill for becoming competent readers. (Honig, 2018; Hougen & Smartt, 2020; Smartt & Glaser, 2024) .

Decoding effortlessly is the goal of learning to read. Instruction begins with learning letter sounds and names and evolves to the alphabetic phase, when students can blend and segment phonemes and know the graphemes that represent the phonemes (Ehri, 2005).  Orthographic mapping refers to the automatic recognition of words, in which almost every word is a sight word, a word one can read accurately and quickly. The most important aspect of phonics is to teach the letters and sounds systematically and sequentially, from easier (consonants, frequently used vowels and patterns), to more challenging concepts (syllable types, high-frequency irregular words, morphemes). Most reading programs provide a systematic and sequential order to teach phonics.

Note: It is important that the teacher pronounces the grapheme sounds accurately and clearly. For example, there should be no schwa sound after any letter sounds: it is /b/, not /buh/. Several online resources model the correct pronunciation of the sounds, including Reading Rockets.

Vocabulary, Fluency, and Comprehension

Some students may require small-group instruction in vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. However, these areas also can be addressed effectively in larger groups or with partners. Vocabulary should be taught all day in all content areas, using effective strategies, such as direct instruction, using words often, attention to meanings, and deliberate practice. Fluency largely depends on developing basic phonics skills and orthographic awareness, and it addresses reading accurately and quickly, supporting reading comprehension. If a student does not reach a level of accurate and fluent reading, comprehension is compromised, and additional assessments should be administered to determine what specific skills the student needs to master.

Oral Language Development

Oral language development at the youngest ages supports comprehension skills. When beginning reading, students learn to determine if a passage makes sense, starting at the sentence level. More advanced skills include knowing who or what a passage is about and what is important about those key elements. Learning to summarize the content of a passage is a challenging and necessary skill. Listening and language skills generalize to reading comprehension skills when decoding skills are effortless.

Note: It is important to look closely at assessment data to understand if comprehension skills should be the focus of targeted instruction and interventions. Some assessments for students in the upper grades do not assess specific phonics skills. However, phonics instruction and word study may still be needed by older students. For example, when data suggest comprehension skill deficits, additional diagnostic data on phonics skill development is useful. The research evidence concludes that lack of proficiency in phonics and decoding hinders improvements in fluency and comprehension.

Most reading programs include myriad resources to teach these skills. Most importantly, teachers must know which students need what skills so that they can provide targeted, systematic instruction in small groups and thus address the individual needs of each student.

How Do You Group Students for Small-Group Reading Instruction?

One of the most important components of small-group instruction is grouping students based on assessment data. Students are grouped based on their need more intensive instruction on the same skills. Screening assessments, including curriculum-based measures (CBMs), are often sufficient to plan how to group students and to identify which students may need additional diagnostic assessments to determine exactly what skills to target. When creating small groups and planning for intensive instruction, a data-based individualization (DBI) process can be used (Lemons et al., 2014). Progress monitoring, collecting data every two to six weeks, depending on the instructional tier, is essential to determine if the instruction is effective for each student. As the students master the targeted skill(s), the group may be reconfigured, thus the term  flexible grouping (See Gersten, 2008 and Smartt & Glaser, 2024 for suggestions and examples of assessments).

Small-Group Reading Strategies: Features of Effective Instruction

Small-group instruction allows teachers to implement the features of effective instruction—strategies that improve the achievement of all students (Hougen & Smartt, 2020; Archer & Hughes, 2010; Hougen, 2020).

• Promote Active Student Engagement and Participation: Students give answers individually, as a group, or to a partner, and each student is heard by the teacher. The more active students are, the more they attend, participate, and learn.
• Explicit Instruction with Modeling: Teachers explicitly model the targeted skill. One common practice is “I do, we do, you do.” The teacher models the skill (I do), students join the teacher and practice the skill together (we do), and then the students practice the skill independently (you do).
• Systematic Instruction with Scaffolding: The teacher follows a sequence of instruction, providing scaffolding as needed. Examples of scaffolding include teaching skills in a specific order (e.g., easier to harder), breaking the task into smaller parts, and providing more examples and models.
• Multiple Opportunities for Students to Respond and Practice and Receive Feedback: The teacher provides multiple opportunities for students to respond and practice new skills. The teacher also provides immediate, corrective, and affirmative feedback. Students need to practice the new skill to make their learning permanent (Archer, 2010).
• Frequent Progress Monitoring: Teachers assess the students to determine the effectiveness of the skills instruction. The assessment should measure a targeted skill. Options for progress monitoring include informal assessments such as observation and formal, reliable, and valid progress monitoring tools (see Academic Progress Monitoring Tools Chart from the National Center on Intensive Intervention ), as well as curriculum-based measurement (CBMs). Some reliable progress monitoring assessments are completed in little time, such as listening to a student read for one minute to evaluate their rate, accuracy, and expression.

Download our resource “ From Good Teacher to Great Teacher ” to read more about the features of effective instruction.

Planning for Small-Group Reading

When incorporating small-group reading strategies into your classroom, remember to have patience with yourself and your students. In the primary grades, it could take several weeks to establish a routine that incorporates small-group instruction strategies. Students are taught how to work in pairs, small groups, and independently while the teacher is working with the small group. Each element of this independent time must be anticipated and taught. For example, students can be taught how to work in assigned centers, when and how to ask for help from another student or the teacher, and what to do when they finish a task. Every aspect of classroom management must be addressed.

Given what research tells us about the benefits, it is well worth the time to incorporate small-group instruction. We have included additional resources below to support small-group reading instruction and planning.

Suggested Websites for Research, Instructional Strategies, and Student Materials

Florida Center for Reading Research

https://fcrr.org

International Dyslexia Association Structured Literacy

https://dyslexiaida.org/structuredliteracy

The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk

https://meadowscenter.org

National Center on Intensive Intervention

https://intensiveintervention.org

Reading Rockets

https://www.readingrockets.org

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.

To experience the benefits of small-group instruction in reading, HMH Into Reading , our literacy program for Grades K–6 that provides everything teachers need to facilitate systematic small-group instruction.

Learn more about our science of reading curriculum , an evidence-based approach to teaching a child to read. Plus, ensure teachers have the tools they need to build proficient readers through our science of reading professional development .

Archer, A. L., & Hughes, C. A. (2010). Explicit instruction: Effective and efficient teaching . Guilford Publications.

Ehri, L. C. (2005). Learning to read words: Theory, findings, and issues. Scientific Studies of Reading, 9 (2) , 167–188 .

Elbaum, B., Vaughn, S., Hughes, M., & Moody, S. W. (1999). Grouping practices and reading outcomes for students with disabilities. Exceptional children , 65 (3), 399–415.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., Mathes, P. G., & Simmons, D. C. (1997). Peer-assisted learning strategies: Making classrooms more responsive to diversity. American Educational Research Journal , 34 (1), 174–206.

Gersten, R., Baker, S. K., Shanahan, T., Linan-Thompson, S., Collins, P., & Scarcella, R. (2007). Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades. IES Practice Guide. NCEE 2007–4011. What Works Clearinghouse .

Gersten, R., Compton, D., Connor, C. M., Dimino, J., Santoro, L., Linan-Thompson, S., & Tilly, W. D. (2009). Assisting students struggling with reading: Response to Intervention and multi-tier intervention for reading in the primary grades. A practice guide (NCEE 2009–4045). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education.

Gersten, R., Haymond, K., Newman-Gonchar, R., Dimino, J., & Jayanthi, M. (2020). Meta-analysis of the impact of reading interventions for students in the primary grades. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness , 13 (2), 401–427.

Honig, B., Diamond, L., & Gutlohn, L. (2018). Teaching Reading Sourcebook. Consortium on Reading Excellence. Novato, CA: Arena Press.

Hougen, M. (2020). From good teacher to great teacher. In HMH Into Reading’s Foundational Skills and Word Study Studio (xv–xvi). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Hougen, M. & Smartt, S. (2020). Critical Components of Teaching Structured Reading. In Hougen, M. & Smartt, S. Fundamentals of Literacy Instruction & Assessment, Pre-K–6 . 2nd Ed. (pp. 19–33). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Kosanovich, M., Ladinsky, K., Nelson, L., & Torgesen, J. (2007). Differentiated Reading Instruction: Small Group Alternative Lesson Structures for All Students. Guidance Document for Florida “Reading First” Schools. Florida Center for Reading Research .

Lebensburger, A. (2023). Understanding MTSS, PBIS, and RTI in education. Shaped . Retrieved April 12, 2024, from https://www.hmhco.com/blog/und...

Lemons, C. J., Kearns, D. M., & Davidson, K. A. (2014). Data-Based Individualization in Reading: Intensifying Interventions for Students with Significant Reading Disabilities. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 46 (4), 20–29.

Smartt, S. M., Glaser, D. R. (2024). Next STEPS in Literacy Instruction; Connecting Assessments to Effective Interventions, 2nd Edition. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Smith, H. H. & James, S. (2020). Moving Forward: The Role of Reflection in Planning Literacy Instruction. In Hougen, M. & Smartt, S. Fundamentals of Literacy Instruction & Assessment 2nd Ed., (pp. 332–349) . Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes Publishing Company.

Vaughn, S., Gersten, R., & Chard, D. J. (2000). The underlying message in LD intervention research: Findings from research syntheses. Exceptional children , 67 (1), 99–114.

Vaughn, S., Hughes, M. T., Moody, S. W., & Elbaum, B. (2001). Grouping students who struggle with reading. Reading Rockets . Retrieved March, 2024, from https://www.readingrockets.org...

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Literacy group activities for primary students.

• June 11, 2021

After publishing our widely popular blog post, ‘ Planning Reading Group Activities in Real Life ’, which was all about early years reading group activities, we received an influx of primary teachers asking, ‘What about us? We want activity ideas and inspiration too.’

Hence we decided to put this post together. If you are teaching Kindergarten-Grade 2, check out our original post written in collaboration with @misslearningbee.

The reality is you only need a few key things in order to run highly-effective literacy rotations. They should be evidence-based, have multiple uses, and be simple to prepare. Easier said than done? Read on, we have the answers right here to help you.

Ideas for Years 3 & 4:

• Segmenting – T his is a great way to build phonemic awareness (which is still needed as students get older). Students can segment words on a weekly spelling list or focus list, use ‘poppets’ to segment, record on mini-whiteboards or even use a device to record a word using both graphemes and phonemes.

• Summarising – T his is an important skill to develop as students move from ‘Learning to Read’ to ‘Reading to Learn’. It might mean summarising a text you have read in your small group, a text you have been working on as a class or even something of the students choice. It doesn’t always mean they need to write a paragraph, either. One of our favourite summarising activities is ‘Emoji Story Review’ (read about it here).

• Word of the Day – This is ideal for students to work on their vocabulary development and can easily be differentiated because every student can work on different words (increasing or decreasing in difficulty).

• Listening Post – Including listening activities can be hard; however, these days, it is so easy to access great content for students online. Kids podcasts, audio stories or even some author’s websites contain things your students can listen to. Grab our free list of listening ideas here.

Ideas for Years 5 & 6:

• Asking Questions – A s readers, we want students to be critical thinkers. Provide students with a set of sticky notes, and whilst they are reading a non-fiction text, ask them to record any questions that pop into their minds while reading the passage. Students then could use the opportunity to apply their researching skills to find the answer.

• Vocabulary development / Word of the Day – T his is ideal for students to work on their vocabulary development and easily link in with your spelling program. Vocabulary development might also include synonym or antonym activities.

• Listening Post – Kids podcasts, audio stories or even some author’s websites contain things your students can listen to. You could even get your students to create and record their own podcast episodes, and then they could consume their classmates’ work. Grab our free list of listening ideas here.

Integrating research tasks – Literacy groups don’t have to be limited purely to exclusive literacy activities. Integrate with other Key Learning Areas. Research skills involve reading, evaluating and summarising, all important skills to apply in the real world of reading. For an easy research option, we love flipbooks.

One final idea for students in Grades 3-6 is to integrate technology into your rotations. Click here to read our article: 5 Technology-based Activities Perfect for Reading Groups.

Before we wrap this up, we wanted to share our golden rules of thumb when planning any literacy group activities:

“Make your reading groups sustainable. Don’t make new activities every week for each rotation. New activities mean more of your time teaching the activity and more of their time learning the activity. Focus on activities that allow for simple roll overs and routine so the students can have routine and be successful. Otherwise, you waste time making and spend more time teaching” James (Year 3 teacher)

Before you leave us…

What if you could have your reading groups running smoothly and effortlessly, imagine….

• Running a reading group program that is uncomplicated, easy to implement, and stress-free.
• Having all your students settling quickly and calmly i nto reading group routines.
• Reading groups becoming a favourite part of the day for you and your students.
• Incorporating simple systems where students learn independently, allowing you to focus on the readers in your guided group.
• Other teachers walking into your classroom during reading groups wanting to know what’s your secret.

Introducing…

Transform your reading groups.

Transform your Reading Groups i s our 5-step process for setting up and running reading groups – the uncomplicated way!

What is included:

• Our no-fail step-by-step cycle to transform your reading groups

• Step-by-step instructions

• Suggested activities for reading rotations activities

• Suggested guided reading skill development teaching points

• Guided reading notes and observations template

• Guided reading planning sticky notes and group posters

So, what are you waiting for? Come join us and transform your READING GROUPS!

What to read next?

Common Mistakes teachers make when running reading groups

8 Strategies to efficiently run reading groups

Integrating Technology easily into your Reading Groups

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This is a conversation every educator needs to hear! Today, we dive deep into advocacy for neurodiverse learners in the classroom with Lydia. 

Lydia was formally in the medical field and is now a teacher. She is also a mother of 3 children. Her son has a diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD and one daughter has a diagnosis of ADHD. 

Lydia shares how she has advocated for her children over the years and how important it is for schools and parents to work together as a team. 

We also chat about the diverse needs in her own classroom, how tears are okay during your first year (in fact they are normal) and we also touch on the power of having a cheerleader who wholeheartedly believes in you. 

Save this conversation and then share it with a friend because it is gold.

You can access more teacher strategies, classroom inspiration and a wealth of resources by visiting our website  www.rainbowskycreations.com .

Rainbows ahead,

Ashleigh and Alisha

Resources mentioned in this episode

Connect with Lydia and learn more about supporting students with Tourette’s Syndrome through https://www.tourette.org.au/

Learn more about supporting students with ADHD:

https://www.adhdaustralia.org.au/

https://www.adhdwa.org/

Get support during your first years as a teacher inside Transform your First Years

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How to Quickly Assess for Small Group Reading Instruction

In this post, I want to talk about how you can take a handful of reading assessments and then group your students using those assessments quickly and easily. This will mean that you can get started with guided reading groups or small group reading instruction as fast as possible.

I hope that this will save you some time in planning and in classroom time so that you will see your readers accelerate, because that’s what we do here at Reading Simplified. So, let’s dive into this topic about quick assessments to help you group students with ease !

How Quick Assessment Tests Can Make Your Reading Groups

[01:28] – Quick assessments to help you group your students with ease

[05:26] – Tests that can help make your groups

[10:11] – How to use data to place students with 2 core activities – Switch It and Read It

[22:50] – How to place 1 st grade and above readers into the right groups

(To watch the video where I discuss how you can quickly assess for small group reading instruction for kindergarten and first-grade level readers, hit play below or read on for a detailed overview)

3 Core Activities – The Backbone of Our Reading Assessments

When we use the Reading Simplified approach, we choose to use just three core activities called Switch It, Read It and Sort It .

You’ve probably heard me talk about these activities before if you’re a regular here. But if you’re new, you can learn all about these three core activities here: readingsimplified.com/start-here

The grouping assessments I’m going to recommend to you are based on these three core activities. So, it’s worth taking some time to familiarize yourself with them before trying these quick and easy reading assessments with your students.

Knowing how these three core activities work will help you to group your students better while streamlining your reading instruction and saving you a lot of precious time!

Now, let’s get into how you can start grouping your students…

Quick Assessments to Help You Group Your Students with Ease.  

The first thing I want to do is break up the types of groupings into 2 categories:

• Kindergarten and 1st-grade level readers
• Mid 1st-grade and above

First, I’m going to talk about readers who are at the kindergarten or early 1st-grade level. The 2 tests that can help make grouping students simple are:

1. Phoneme segmentation

2. Nonsense word reading – informal

If you're working with kids who are 1st-grade readers and up, you need to think more about these tests:

1. Nonsense word reading – standardized

2. San Diego Quick Assessment (Word ID)

3. Reading Rate (fluency) that relates to Word ID above

Those are the two types of communities that we're thinking of and the types of tests for each of them. So, if we we’re thinking about those early first graders or kindergarten level readers, kids who are reading at that level, this is what I'd recommend….

Quick assessments for K – early 1st-grade readers

If you’re teaching students within this reading level, this is what I recommend:

A phoneme segmentation assessment is a test where you call out a word orally and ask the students to tell you the sounds that they hear .

For example, you might call out the word “sit” and see if the student can segment or separate the sounds they heard in the word ‘sit.’  If they group two sounds into one, point that out once and let the student correct the answer.

To begin, start with the three sound level and gradually increase the difficulty as you go. So, you start at the CVC or three sound level, and then you get harder, like a four sound word or a CVCC word like “fast.” Can they hear the sounds /f/ /a/ /s/ /t/? Can they segment each of those?

You need to be one-to-one with the student to carry out a phoneme segmentation test. It won’t take very long. In fact, I don’t recommend you continue with this type of test if the student can’t segment any sounds in a given level.

This phoneme segmentation test is also a great way to test your student's letter-sound knowledge, so pay close attention!

Give a Nonsense Word Reading Test

When students tackle nonsense words, they have to rely on their sound-based decoding skills and knowledge of the alphabetic principle to decode the word.

Kids of all ages have a knack for tricking us with their reading ability. Yes, they might be able to recognize lots of high-frequency sight words, but they may not have the underlying strong sound-based decoding skills they need to progress and read fluently.

A nonsense word reading test gets around this problem because if a child tries to read a word he has never seen before, he can’t rely on his visual memory. Instead, the student must tap into his ability to decode phonologically.

When you’re giving a student a nonsense word reading test, you’ll show him a list of words while making sure to cover up lower rows. Keep score as you go, and when a student can’t read any ‘words’ in a given level, that’s when you stop.

If you would like to grab a free list of nonsense words for this type of reading test, go to readingsimplified.com/reading-test to access the free download.

How to use Data to Place Students with 2 Core Activities 

After completing the tests, take the data to place the students with two core activities that are relevant for kindergarten readers or early 1st-grade reading level students.

Using data from the tests, Phonemic Segmentation and Nonsense Word Reading, we then place students based on that information and we place them into two activities .

These two activities will form most of our groups for kids who are reading at the kindergarten or early 1st-grade level.

TOP TIP: To accelerate readers faster, move them up at least one level above their assessment data. For example, if a student functions at the CVC level, move them to the CVCC level when it comes to doing the phonemic segmentation test.

It’s a good idea to do this because there’s no point working on something that the student is already a pro at. You want to keep challenging your students so that they can continue to develop and progress!

Grouping for Switch It

To quickly group students for small group reading instruction using the Build It and Switch It activities, let’s refer back to the results you got from the phonemic segmentation test.

To find out where your students should begin, take a look at the section on the left (see image below) to help decide which level on the right to place them.

Once you’ve placed your students, you’ll be able to put them into small reading groups where all of the children in the same group are at the same reading level . For example, if a group of students recognize over five letter-sounds but can’t segment CVC, they should start with the Build It activity (see above).

Build It requires students to build one word on the board at a time. The student would build the word, “mat,” and they just have an “m” and “a” and “t” in a scramble order to choose from. That's easier than Switch It, where they have to change “mat,” to “Pat” and “Pat” to “pot” and so on. If a student knows more than five letters sounds, which is great, but they can't segment CVC, that’s another reason to do Build It.

Keep in mind that if a student can segment CVC words, you can move them up to the next level. If they can segment CVC, you can move them to CVCC words like “help” or “fast.” However, you might have more advanced students who can segment five or six sound words such as CCVCC or CCCVCC, which means you can move them to Switch It and incorporate more nonsense words to challenge phonemic manipulation.

Grouping for Read It

Next, take the data from the nonsense word reading test and use it to ​ place and group students for the Read It activity ​ , which is another very important core activity for beginning, kindergarten and early 1st-grade level readers. This process works in the same way as grouping for Switch It.

Find where your student should be placed on the left column and follow the instructions on the right to identify what Read It word lists you need to use for each student.

If kids can recognize zero to five letter-sounds, it can pretty hard for them to read a new word if they can't recognize any letter sounds whatsoever. In this case, you want to wait a week and continue to focus on Build It. If some students can recognize 5+ letter sounds, they can start Read It.

For kids who can read nonsense words at the CVC or three sound level, you would start them with Read It at the four sound word level. Remember the principle that you move students up to a reading level that's higher than their current level of independence.

When kids can read CCVCC, it’s time to move onto Sort It, which adds the layer of teaching the advanced phonics, which covers the long vowels and all those other crazy vowel combinations that as reliable as the short vowels are.

Place each group along the Reading Simplified Streamlined Pathway

You can also place each group along the Reading Simplified Streamlined Pathway . The Streamlined Pathway is a one-page view of how any reader becomes fluent moving from not knowing many letters sounds to knowing advanced phonics, like long vowels and becoming fluent. It's a 12-step process (see below).

Basically, you take the Letter Sound Knowledge, the Phonemic Awareness, Phonemic Segmentation, and the Nonsense word, reading to place kids into two main activities, (mostly Switch It or Read It).

Then you group those children who are similarly able into clusters , and then you put those clusters at each level on the Streamlined Pathway.

Quick assessments for Mid 1 st grade and above readers

Now, let’s take a look at the tests you can use to group Mid 1 st grade and above readers. For most  mid 1 st -grade readers and above, turn to these 3 tests:

3. Reading Rate that relates to Word ID above

Here's an example of a Nonsense word and a word identification test:

Based on their word identification, you choose a graded passage to give the students to read aloud and you time them. This is to help you see how many words they read correctly in one minute, and then you can compare that to national norms.

If you want to access these tests for free, go too: ReadingSimplified.com/reading-tests

Grouping advanced readers is very similar to how you group less advanced readers. You can then take that Nonsense word reading test data, which again is helpful because it focuses on whether or not they're using a sound-symbol matching approach, or sound-based decoding approach. Or, if they're just memorizing based on the beginning letter sound, or maybe parts of the letter-sounds in the word, but not really a full left to right blending of the word properties. That’s why the nonsense word test is so important!

You then group the kids for Switch It and Sort It in the same way as you would group less advanced readers. When you’re grouping for Sort It, you need to consider if students can read CVC nonsense words for the most part. If they can, you can begin Sort It with them. Students who read at higher grade levels can use harder word lists.

You can then use the data from the tests to place students into groups using the Reading Simplified Streamlined Pathway. The 1st-grade Streamlined Pathway is similar to the kindergarten version. You then pick a Switch It level that's applicable for those students, but you move quickly, if not immediately at the beginning of the year into advanced phonics and start with Sort It. So, some kids will be doing Switch It with five sound words and Sort It with fairly easy words, like “go” and “show,” while other kids will be doing Switch It with maybe three or four sound words.

One group may move within two or three days to level three, if they're just flying through this, but another group may take a whole week to do the /oa/ sound. You then must start to stagger your groups as they're shifting on their progression of the Streamlined Pathway.

If you would like to get your hands on the FREE reading assessment tests for small group reading instruction that I talk about in this post and video, just leave your name and email address below and your free downloadable PDF of the Snapshot Informal Reading Assessment will be delivered straight to your inbox!

Have you tried using any of these reading tests to assess your students for small group reading instruction? Let me know how you got on in the comments and if you have any questions, post them below!

4 thoughts on “ How to Quickly Assess for Small Group Reading Instruction ”

May I have a free PDF of the snapshot informal reading assessment?

Hi Caroline! Keep an eye on your email for that!

Thanks, this is very helpful.

Great!! Good to hear Pamela.

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Organized instruction yields organized young minds..

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility —a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel

With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. Readers and critics were enchanted; as NPR commented, “Towles writes with grace and verve about the mores and manners of a society on the cusp of radical change.”

A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov.

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A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

• September 2016
• 9780670026197

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Discussion Questions

About amor towles.

Amor Towles was born and raised just outside Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University and received an MA in English from Stanford University, where he was a Scowcroft Fellow. After working more than twenty years as an investment professional, Towles now writes full time. He is also the author of the novella Eve in Hollywood , available as an e-book. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.

“ The book moves briskly from one crisp scene to the next, and ultimately casts a spell as captivating as Rules of Civility, a book that inhales you into its seductively Gatsby-esque universe .” —Town & Country

“ In his remarkable first novel, the bestselling Rules of Civility, Towles etched 1930s New York in crystalline relief . . . His latest polished literary foray into a bygone era is just as impressive . . . an imaginative and unforgettable historical portrait .” — ALA Booklist

“ House arrest has never been so charming as in Towles’s second novel, an engaging 30-year saga set almost entirely inside the Metropol, Moscow’s most luxurious hotel. . .empathetic, and entertaining .” — Publishers Weekly

“ In all ways a great novel, a nonstop pleasure brimming with charm, personal wisdom, and philosophic insight . . .This is a book in which the cruelties of the age can’t begin to erase the glories of real human connection and the memories it leaves behind. A masterly encapsulation of modern Russian history, this book more than fulfills the promise of Towles’ stylish debut, Rules of Civility.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred)

1. In the transcript at the opening of A Gentleman in Moscow , the head of the tribunal and Count Rostov have the following exchange:

“Secretary Ignatov: I have no doubt, Count Rostov, that some in the galley are surprised to find you charming; but I am not surprised to find you so. History has shown charm to be the last ambition of the leisure class. What I do find surprising is that the author of the poem in question could have become a man so obviously without purpose.

Rostov: I have lived under the impression that a man’s purpose is known only to God.

Secretary Ignatov: Indeed. How convenient that must have been for you.”

To what extent is A Gentleman in Moscow a novel of purpose? How does the Count’s sense of purpose manifest itself initially, and how does it evolve as the story unfolds?

2. Over the course of Book Two, why does the Count decide to throw himself from the roof of the Metropol? On the verge of doing so, why does the encounter with the old handyman lead him to change his plans?

3. The Count’s life under house arrest is greatly influenced by his relationship with four women: Nina, Marina, Anna, and Sofia. What is the nature of the Count’s relationship with each of these women? How do those relationships differ from his relationship with the members of the Triumvirate—Andrey and Emile?

4. The majority of A Gentleman in Moscow is told in the third person from the Count’s point of view. There is, however, an overarching narrator with a perspective different from the Count’s. Initially, this narrator appears in footnotes, then in the “Addendums,” then in the historical introductions of “1930,” “1938,” and “1946.” How would you characterize this narrator? How does he differ from the Count in terms of his point of view and tone of voice? What is his role in the narrative?

5. In the “1946” chapter, Mishka, Osip, and Richard each share with the Count his perspective on the meaning of the revolutionary era. What are these three perspectives? Are you inclined to agree with one of them; or do you find there is some merit to each?

6. One of the pleasures of writing fiction is discovering upon completion of a project that some thread of imagery has run through the work without your complete awareness—forming, in essence, an unintentional motif. While I was very conscious of the recurrence of tolling bells, keys, and concentric circles in the book, here are a few motifs that I only recognized after the fact: Packages wrapped in brown paper, such as the Maltese Falcon, Mishka’s book of quotations, the Russian nesting dolls discovered in the Italians’ closet, and the Count’s copy of Montaigne (in Paris). The likeness of stars, such as the freckles on Anna’s back and the beacon on the top of the Shukhov radio tower. Sailors (often in peril), such as Robinson Crusoe, Odysseus, Admiral Makarov, and Arion in the myth of Delphinus. What role do any of these motifs play in the thematic composition of the book? And if you see me in an airport, can you explain them to me?

7. How does the narrative incorporate the passage of time, and does it do so effectively? Thematically speaking, how does the Count’s experience of Time change over the course of the novel and how does it relate to his father’s views as embodied by the twice-tolling clock? What does the novel suggest about the influence of individuals on history and vice versa?

8. At the opening of Book Five, the Count has already decided to get Sofia out of Russia. What occurs over the course of Book Four to lead him to this decision? Why does he choose to remain behind?

9. Near the novel’s conclusion, what is the significance of the toppled cocktail glass in Casablanca ?

10. This is a novel with a somewhat fantastical premise set half a century ago in a country very different from our own. Nonetheless, do you think the book is relevant today? If so, in what way?

11. Bonus Question: Who in the novel also appears in Rules of Civility ?

Court rejects parents’ attempt to opt kids out of LGBTQ-inclusive reading assignments

( The Hill ) — A federal appeals court rejected a bid from a group of Maryland parents to require Montgomery County Public Schools to allow them to opt their children out of lessons that involve LGBTQ-inclusive material.

A divided three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a  lower court decision  denying a preliminary injunction on the basis that the parents had not yet demonstrated how the country’s board of education book policy would infringe on their right to free expression of religion.

Three sets of parents – who are Muslim, Jewish and Christian – along with a parental rights organization, sued the Maryland school district after it said it would no longer allow parents to opt their children out of lessons that used a slate of newly approved LGBTQ-inclusive books.

The parents argued that the books “contradict their sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage, human sexuality, and gender” and that the lack of an opt-out policy violates their children’s First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.

U.S. Circuit Judge G. Steven Agee, writing for the majority in the opinion, said there was not enough evidence on the record to assess how the books were being used in the classroom and, therefore, to assess the likelihood of the case succeeding.

“We take no view on whether the Parents will be able to present evidence sufficient to support any of their various theories once they have the opportunity to develop a record as to the circumstances surrounding the Board’s decision and how the challenged texts are actually being used in schools,” Agee, appointed by former President George W. Bush, wrote.

“At this early stage, however, given the Parents’ broad claims, the very high burden required to obtain a preliminary injunction, and the scant record before us, we are constrained to affirm the district court’s order denying a preliminary injunction,” he continued, in the opinion, which was joined by U.S. Circuit Judge DeAndrea Benjamin, an appointee of President Biden’s.

U.S. Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr., an appointee of former President Trump’s, dissented, arguing the board violated parents’ right to influence their children’s religious upbringing.

Eric Baxter – vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the parents – pledged to appeal the ruling on Wednesday, in an emailed statement to The Hill.

“The court just told thousands of Maryland parents they have no say in what their children are taught in public schools,” Baxter said in his statement. “That runs contrary to the First Amendment, Maryland law, the School Board’s own policies, and basic human decency.”

“Parents should have the right to receive notice and opt their children out of classroom material that violates their faith. We will appeal this ruling,” he added.

In August 2023, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman found that the parents were unlikely to succeed on the merits and denied their request to keep the policy in place while the case proceeds. She found that they failed to show that the lack of an opt-out policy would result in the “indoctrination of their children” or “coerce their children to violate or change their religious beliefs.”

“The parents still may instruct their children on their religious beliefs regarding sexuality, marriage, and gender, and each family may place contrary views in its religious context,” Boardman wrote in the order last year.

“No government action prevents the parents from freely discussing the topics raised in the storybooks with their children or teaching their children as they wish,” she added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRIC ABC 8News.

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Girl Group Suspends Activities After All Members Get Pregnant 

While they are a blessing for those who want them, babies usually slow down celebrities’ activities. For members of music groups, this can also be the end of their time as idols as they focus on motherhood, though many have returned to the spotlight after, like Afterschool ‘s Kahi .

A girl group recently discussed their baby-related hiatus, revealing a surprising bit of information!

The girl band Hump Back was created in 2009. Around 2015, the group underwent line-up changes to reach its current three-piece lineup. The group signed to a label in 2016 and released its first full album in 2019.

In July 2023, the group announced they would take a hiatus as one member was pregnant but did not mention which member it was. They asked for understanding during the “unstable” time, which implied they would eventually return.

On May 16, 2024, the Hump Back announced they would be making a return, revealing that not just one member was pregnant but all three! During the ten-month hiatus, each member gave birth to healthy babies, partially shown in the announcement.

All members have safely given birth and are concentrating on raising children. We are trying to move forward with our lives as a ‘married women’s band.’ — Humpback’s announcement

In May 2023, the group held a concert titled Our Wedding Ceremony , where they used to opportunity to announce all of their marriages.

Congratulations to each of the members on their healthy pregnancies and births, as well as making a return!

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There’s a New Covid Variant. What Will That Mean for Spring and Summer?

Experts are closely watching KP.2, now the leading variant.

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By Dani Blum

For most of this year, the JN.1 variant of the coronavirus accounted for an overwhelming majority of Covid cases . But now, an offshoot variant called KP.2 is taking off. The variant, which made up just one percent of cases in the United States in mid-March, now makes up over a quarter.

KP.2 belongs to a subset of Covid variants that scientists have cheekily nicknamed “FLiRT,” drawn from the letters in the names of their mutations. They are descendants of JN.1, and KP.2 is “very, very close” to JN.1, said Dr. David Ho, a virologist at Columbia University. But Dr. Ho has conducted early lab tests in cells that suggest that slight differences in KP.2’s spike protein might make it better at evading our immune defenses and slightly more infectious than JN.1.

While cases currently don’t appear to be on the rise, researchers and physicians are closely watching whether the variant will drive a summer surge.

“I don’t think anybody’s expecting things to change abruptly, necessarily,” said Dr. Marc Sala, co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Covid-19 Center in Chicago. But KP.2 will most likely “be our new norm,’” he said. Here’s what to know.

The current spread of Covid

Experts said it would take several weeks to see whether KP.2 might lead to a rise in Covid cases, and noted that we have only a limited understanding of how the virus is spreading. Since the public health emergency ended , there is less robust data available on cases, and doctors said fewer people were using Covid tests.

But what we do know is reassuring: Despite the shift in variants, data from the C.D.C. suggests there are only “minimal ” levels of the virus circulating in wastewater nationally, and emergency department visits and hospitalizations fell between early March and late April.

“I don’t want to say that we already know everything about KP.2,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, the chief of research and development at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Healthcare System. “But at this time, I’m not seeing any major indications of anything ominous.”

Protection from vaccines and past infections

Experts said that even if you had JN.1, you may still get reinfected with KP.2 — particularly if it’s been several months or longer since your last bout of Covid.

KP.2 could infect even people who got the most updated vaccine, Dr. Ho said, since that shot targets XBB.1.5, a variant that is notably different from JN.1 and its descendants. An early version of a paper released in April by researchers in Japan suggested that KP.2 might be more adept than JN.1 at infecting people who received the most recent Covid vaccine. (The research has not yet been peer-reviewed or published.) A spokesperson for the C.D.C. said the agency was continuing to monitor how vaccines perform against KP.2.

Still, the shot does provide some protection, especially against severe disease, doctors said, as do previous infections. At this point, there isn’t reason to believe that KP.2 would cause more severe illness than other strains, the C.D.C. spokesperson said. But people who are 65 and older, pregnant or immunocompromised remain at higher risk of serious complications from Covid.

Those groups, in particular, may want to get the updated vaccine if they haven’t yet, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. The C.D.C. has recommended t hat people 65 and older who already received one dose of the updated vaccine get an additional shot at least four months later.

“Even though it’s the lowest level of deaths and hospitalizations we’ve seen, I’m still taking care of sick people with Covid,” he said. “And they all have one unifying theme, which is that they’re older and they didn’t get the latest shot.”

The latest on symptoms and long Covid

Doctors said that the symptoms of both KP.2 and JN.1 — which now makes up around 16 percent of cases — are most likely similar to those seen with other variants . These include sore throat, runny nose, coughing, head and body aches, fever, congestion, fatigue and in severe cases, shortness of breath. Fewer people lose their sense of taste and smell now than did at the start of the pandemic, but some people will still experience those symptoms.

Dr. Chin-Hong said that patients were often surprised that diarrhea, nausea and vomiting could be Covid symptoms as well, and that they sometimes confused those issues as signs that they had norovirus .

For many people who’ve already had Covid, a reinfection is often as mild or milder than their first case. While new cases of long Covid are less common now than they were at the start of the pandemic, repeat infections do raise the risk of developing long Covid, said Fikadu Tafesse, a virologist at Oregon Health & Science University. But researchers are still trying to determine by how much — one of many issues scientists are trying to untangle as the pandemic continues to evolve.

“That’s the nature of the virus,” Dr. Tafesse said. “It keeps mutating.”

Dani Blum is a health reporter for The Times. More about Dani Blum