About Scholastic Guided Reading

Scholastic Guided Reading Programs deliver high-quality leveled texts and instruction to help all students become strategic and independent readers who love to read. It supports a comprehensive reading program by integrating differentiated small–group instruction, assessment, and independent practice into your classroom.

With more research-based programs available than ever, Scholastic Guided Reading offers books leveled by the Fountas & Pinnell system, so you can effectively meet the needs of all your students. Teachers begin by grouping students, then prompt, encourage, and confirm how students apply problem-solving strategies as they read.

Guided Reading Programs by Scholastic

How Guided Reading Works in The Classroom

Guided reading is one component of the shared reading block during which the teacher provides support for small, flexible groups of beginning readers. The teacher helps students learn to use reading strategies, such as context clues, letter and sound knowledge, and syntax or word structure, as they read a text or book that is unfamiliar to them. The goal of guided reading is for students to use these strategies independently on their way to becoming fluent, skilled readers.

Model Guided Reading Classroom

Teacher works with one small group of students at a time while students rotate from one activity or literacy center to another.

Carefully leveled books in all Guided Reading Programs

Find the right books for your classroom using the A to Z Guided Reading Leveling System. Use this chart as a basis for average classrooms and add levels to meet the needs of your student population. The classroom layout can include a section where the teacher is able to work with one small group of students at a time while other students rotate from one activity or literacy center to another.

Steps For Guided Reading Success

Before reading: Set the purpose for reading, introduce vocabulary, make predictions, talk about the strategies good readers use.

During reading: Guide students as they read, provide wait time, give prompts or clues as needed by individual students, such as "Try that again. Does that make sense? Look at how the word begins."

After reading: Strengthen comprehension skills and provide praise for strategies used by students during the reading.

NOTE: The steps of a guided reading lesson will vary according to the needs of the students in the flexible group. As teachers become more comfortable planning and leading guided reading lessons, they will also become more skilled in structuring the lesson to best meet those students' needs.

Resources

Need some guidance on getting started with Guided Reading?

Let our experts help you through these video resources:

1. Setting Up Guided Reading in the Classroom: https://teacher.scholastic.com/products/guidedreading/resources.htm

Videos

1. Scholastic Guided Reading in the Classroom

2. Key Links: Guided Reading with Jill Eggleton

3. Guided Reading in Your Words: Addressing Concerns/ Teacher Testimonials

4. Tip 4: Small Group Guided Reading with Adria Klein

5. Next Step Guided Reading Assessment (Jan Richardson & Maria Walther)

About Fountas & Pinnell

About Irene Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, and Guided Reading

Dr. Irene Fountas is an expert on Guided Reading and has many years of classroom experience in the U.S. and abroad. She co-authored the Scholastic Guided Reading Content Areas Program. She is a professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is also the director of the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative, which offers Professional Development around the world.

Dr. Gay Su Pinnell is one of America’s leading authorities on Guided Reading. She created Scholastic’s

Guided Reading Fiction and Nonfiction programs, and co-authored the Guided Reading Content Areas Program. She is a Professor in the School of Teaching and Learning of Ohio State University College of Education. Dr. Pinnell has received the Ohio Governor’s Award for service to education and numerous other honors.

Guided Reading Research

Guided Reading Short Reads

What is Close Reading?

Close reading is the careful study of a short passage to build deep critical understanding of the text. It develops comprehension and higher-order thinking skills and is critical for analytical reading and writing used in higher education.*

* "A significant body of research links close reading of complex text—whether the student is a struggling reader or advanced—to significant gains in reading proficiency, and finds close reading to be a key component of college and career readiness."
(Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, 2012, p.7)

Choosing a Short Text

Students read texts for many different purposes within a classroom. The resources below can help teachers select the appropriate text for each purpose. Click on each hyperlink to download the resource.

• Quick Reference Tables – cards sorted by text types, genres, reading levels and Lexile levels
• Search-n-Sort Spreadsheet - search by keyword, themes and topics and sort and find cards with links to science, geography, CAPA, IT and Math
• Text Selection & General Resources - advice on choosing a text within or beyond a student’s reading age, scheduling advice and includes 6 printable worksheets to help students respond to non-fiction texts

EXTRA! For customers subscribed to Literacy Pro

The cards are designed as teacher-led, small group activities and should be an alternative to other group activities. Because the cards are short, your class should be able to read, re-read and discuss a card in one lesson of 20–30 minutes. Students may complete two independent writing activities, which should each take between 10 and 20 minutes.

• US Edition: 60 Student Cards (10 cards; 6 copies each)
• Commonwealth Edition: 240 Student Cards (40 cards; 6 copies each) + Title List
• 1 Teacher’s Guide with lessons for every text card
• Storage Box

• US Edition: 60 Student Cards (10 cards; 6 copies each)
• Commonwealth Edition: 240 Student Cards (40 cards; 6 copies each) + Title List
• 1 Teacher’s Guide with lessons for every text card
• Storage Box

• PDF Brochures 
• Sample Lessons for download - Short Reads Nonfiction
  • Box 1 – Day at the Airport
  • Box 2 – Draw a Cartoon Monkey 
  • Box 3 – Reef Predators 
  • Box 4 – Cyberbullying
  • Box 5 – Foods with a Difference

• Guided Reading Leveling Chart