In this presentation, I summarized and analyzed the effectiveness of guided reading groups.

1. Effectiveness of Guided
Reading
Jannette Gonzalez
SOE 115 B-1 Psychology of Teaching and
Learning
Kendall College

2. Overview of the Strategy
Guided reading is a teaching approach that can be used with all readers for the following
purposes: “to meet the varying instructional needs of all students in the classroom; to teach
students to read increasingly difficult texts with understanding and fluency; to construct
meaning while using problem-solving strategies to figure out unfamiliar words that deal
with complex sentence structure, and understand concepts or idea not previously
encountered” (Iaquinta, 2006, p. 414).
I decided to learn more about guided reading because I have always been intrigued to
learn more about things that I am being asked to do. This is the second year that I do
guided reading with kindergarten students and I was never really given resources to
follow, so I took it upon myself to research what was expected of me to during this time..
As a bilingual student myself, reading was always something I struggled with and I want
to be able to set my students up to success by giving them the correct amount of help and
strategies that will enhance their reading level and comprehension.

3. Credible Source #1
The first source I used was from the Early Childhood Education Journal. Guided
Reading: A Research-Based Response to the Challenges of Early Reading Instruction by
Anita Iaquinta. Iaquinta (2006) explains that “guided reading usually involves small
groups of students who are at a similar place in their reading development” (p. 414).
Small groups allow the teacher to focus on what students need to work on to be able to
move forward and that is what makes this so effective. Guided reading groups allow
teachers to educate students at their own independent levels while explicitly teaching
reading strategies. “Guided reading reinforces problem, solving, comprehension, and
decoding. And, it provides opportunities for establishing good reading habits and
strategies” (Iaquinta, 2006, p. 414).

4. Credible Source #2
My second article was published by Scholastic, Research Base for Guided Reading as an
Instructional Approach. Authors Gay Su Pinnell and Irene C Fountas, provide a definition
for what guided reading is and what it should look like. The authors go into explicit detail
on eight reasons why guided reading groups promote students achievement: teaches
reading comprehension; “teacher provides a sequence of high-quality, engaging texts that
support individual progress on a scale of text difficulty” (Pinnel and Fountas, p.6); increases
independent reading; provides explicit instruction in fluency; provides opportunities to
expand vocabulary through reading, conversation, and explicit instruction; “includes
teaching that expands student’s ability to apply phonemic awareness and phonics
understandings to the processing of print” (Pinnel and Fountas, p.8); provides opportunities
to write about reading; and “guided reading lessons create engagement in and motivation
for reading” (Pinnel and Fountas, p.10).

5. Credible Source #3
My third and last article, The Guided Reading Approach by Jeanne Biddulph, went into
great detail about the positive outcomes that guided reading brings to students reading
experiences. This article also highlights the importance of teachers becoming knowledgeable
with the way guided reading should work in order to fully support their students.
According to his article, some of the benefits that come with guided reading are: it allows
teachers to provide effective support for students’ literacy learning; “readers are able to build
their own understanding of the author’s message” (Biddulph, p. 3); allows teacher monitor
and see students growth and gives them the opportunity to know what they need to adjust
to continue growth; “guided reading enables teachers to become aware of and cater
effectively for the diversity of understanding that students bring to their readings”
(Biddulph, p. 4); enhances socialization; helps students understand difficult text and use those
strategies learned to understand other readings and many other great benefits!

6. Analysis of Information
All three articles provided very detailed information on what guided reading
is, what it should look like, and what teachers should do in order to be
proactive during guided reading. The first and second articles talked greatly
on how guided reading groups came to be and the effectiveness they have
shown thus far. The third article gives you a lot more research based data on
the positive effects guided reading groups has on children and importance of
teachers knowing the theoretical approach of guided reading. All three
articles gave similar positive outcomes of using this approach for to improve
reading skills and comprehension.

7. Connections
While reading these articles, I kept thinking about the importance of emergent literacy and
language development. Emergent literacy in our textbook is defined as “the skills and
knowledge, usually developed in the preschool years, that are the foundation for the
development of reading and writing” (Woolfolk, 2013, p.175). I think that the importance of
attending preschool can have a great impact on a child’s development and in this case it will
help with emergent reading skills to prepare them for kindergarten. Iaquinta, author of my
first source, shares that “a child who is a poor reader in first grade is 88% more likely to
remain a poor reader in fourth grade. Not surprisingly, the early years are the focus for the
prevention of reading difficulties” (Iaquinta, 2006, p. 413). As much as it is important for
children to start working on their reading skills at such young age, language development is
as crucial as well. Through guided reading, especially ESL students, students are able to
enhance their communication and language skills while working on their reading
comprehension skills.

8. Conclusion
Through reading multiple articles, it is clear that guided reading is a very
effective method for developing reading proficiency. I think that children are
able to enhance their reading skills through small guided reading groups
because more profound attention can be given to a group of children who are
in the same reading level. Iaquinta (2006) shares that “small-group
instruction is effective because teaching is focused precisely on what the
students need to learn next to move forward” (p.414). Small groups also allow
children to expand and enhance their language and communication skills
which is a great benefit for bilingual students.

9. Communication with Families
If I had a parent ask me about guided reading, I would respond with:
“Guided reading is a great way for teachers to work with a few students at a
time on reading skills. These groups are made up of students at a similar reading level
and this allows them to grow and enhance their reading skills together. Guided
reading allows me to monitor student growth closely; it gives me insight on what the
student may still be struggling with and allows me to give each student closer
attention depending on their specific needs. Overall, this is a great time students to
enhance their reading comprehension and learn about ways that they can improve
their reading skills.”

10. References
Biddulph, J. (n.d.). The Guided Reading Approach. Retrieved from
http://learning.gov.wales/docs/learningwales/publications/130718-guided-reaching-approach-en.pdf
Iaquinta, A. (2006). Guided Reading: A Research-Based Response to the Challenges of Early Reading
Instruction. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 413-418. doi:10.1007/s10643-006-0074-2
Pinnel, G. S., & Fountas, I. C. (n.d.). Research Base for Guided Reading as an Instructional Approach. Scholastic
. Retrieved November 10, 2017, from
http://emea.scholastic.com/sites/default/files/GR_Research_Paper_2010_3.pdf
Woolfolk, A. (2016). Educational psychology (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.