Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Simple System #1- Reading Groups


I use the Guided Reading model for my reading groups. It took me several years to get organized. There are many more simple systems I have regarding guided reading, but for today, I’m just focusing on how I organize my plans. Keep an eye out for more to come! Remember, this is just what helped me. I’m not encouraging you to do it my way. I’m hoping that my way will spark your imagination to develop, if you haven’t already, your own way.

I keep all my plans in a crate right next to my reading table. Even though I move kids frequently and rearrange groups quarterly, I always have the same reading groups- red, yellow, and blue. In my crate, I have 3 red folders, 3 blue, and 3 yellow. I put them in order according to the order they come to the table (i.e. if yellow group comes 1st this quarter, I put the yellow folders first.). The first folder for a group is always the seatwork folder. I keep general seatwork that would work for that group in there, as well as seatwork that’s specific to the book we’re reading. In the next folder, I keep their current book, plans, and running record notebook (that’s another entry waiting to be written). The last folder for each group is a folder for assessment records. I also put any plans that I’ve already completed in this folder. In the back of my crate, I keep books that I frequently use and like to keep on hand. Typically they include: seatwork worksheet books that are tied to the current needs of my students, a dictionary, a rhyming dictionary, and my cumulative records for student reading scores.

Do you already have a great system for organizing your lessons? I’d love to hear about it!

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