Ferguson-March/April Blog

Below is a section of a professionals goal paper I wrote for my graduate course at Converse. I used a part of Routman's book to guide my paper.

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In order to have continued success with balanced literacy and promote more learning during SRA, there are several possibilities for professional development. The first goal I would set for myself would be to have more knowledge for bettering instruction in my small groups that take place during balanced literacy. The first resource I would pull to enhance my small group reading instruction during balanced literacy would be chapter 10 from Regie Routman’s book Reading Essentials. The chapter would provide me with more knowledge on how to complete guided reading in a small group setting.  Routman defines guided reading as “…which the teacher guides one or more students through some aspect of the reading process: choosing books, making sense of a book, decoding and defining words, reading fluently, monitoring one’s comprehension, determining the author’s purpose, and so on. (Routman, p. 151).”  After reading her statement about guided reading I gathered more ideas on the ways I can conduct my small group instruction during balanced literacy. This concept of small groups falls back into all the success I have seen. For example, my balanced literacy allows student choice on independent reading text. Routman’s statement gave me a new idea on how to be sure my students are picking “just right” books for themselves. I can use time in my small groups or conferencing to meet with children about the books in their book basket. Another statement made by Routman that has encouraged me to change the way I do things is when she wrote this “Personally, I am no longer comfortable ability grouping beyond second grade. I worry about the message such grouping sends to students—a message they are somehow less capable.” (p. 153). This statement made me re-think the ways in which I group the students. If I want to continue to see success in my balanced literacy I need to group by ability, needs, and interest. I should keep my groups as always changing groups. Routaman also discusses how to choose books for guided reading. This section of the chapter allowed me to gain a lot of knowledge on how I can enhance my balanced literacy small groups.  I typically just grab a book, skim the book and decided if I want to use it or not. Routman states “Your guided reading lesson will only be as good as the text you use” (p. 153). This statement has encouraged me to think about my instruction and the books I am choosing. In the future I plan to do a better job at choosing books for guided reading. I am going to ask veteran teachers for advice on selecting guided reading text.  At the end of chapter 10, Routman provides a flexible guide for completing small group, guided reading. This chart has been very helpful as I find myself sometimes “lost” when I pull my small groups during my balanced literacy block.