Running head: TEACHING LITERACY THROUGH READING WORKSHOP AND GUIDED READING

Teaching Literacy Through

Reading Workshop and Guided Reading

Mariela Rodriguez

Wesleyan College
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Literacy

As Mrs. Wendy Hamm explains in her Teaching Reading and Writing (EDR 300) class,

“reading is making meaning from print.” Literacy and its introduction to people actually

sometimes begins before one is even born; it can begin with parents reading and talking to a

baby while still in the womb. After a child is born, development is continuous and happening

quickly in the early stages of their life. Speaking and reading to children aids with the process of

preparing a child to learn to read by themselves. When children reach the elementary stage,

there are multiple approaches to teaching literacy that teachers may take . Six of the most

common ways are an individualized reading approach, literature-based approach, anthology,

phonics based instruction, language experience approach, and through reading workshops and

guided reading. An integrated approach may also be used which is a balance between the

previously mentioned approaches. Reading workshops and guided reading are focused mainly

on students selecting their own reading material based on their level of development .

Reading Workshop

Gunning (2013) defines a reading workshop as a form of individualized reading where

students choose their own books and have conferences to discuss them, sometimes as a class, a

small group, or individually with teachers. In a reading workshop students are able to choose

the books that interest them and grab their attention. There are three components that are key

to reading workshop: preparation, self-selected reading and responding, and student sharing

(Gunning, 2013).
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Preparing to allow students time to read alone includes setting a purpose for reading,

whether it be to finding characters in the story or making predictions, students need a reason

to reading and keep them focused. Edmunds and Bauserman (2006) explain that motivation

and interest play a major role in learning and engagement from students . Students may select

their own read in order to motivate them and allow for full concentration . In Edmunds and

Bauserman’s study (2006) children said that their personal interests and the characteristics of a

book were reasoning behind choosing a specific book . During conferences students are able to

review the material that was read and guarantees understanding and gives clarity of it, if

needed. Students are then able to share with the entire class what they read about, what they

enjoyed, and other key information as another way of reviewing and reiterating the material .

Guided Reading

Guided reading is based on small groups grouped based on their level of reading

proficiency, reading the same books and discussing these (Fountas & Pinnell, 2012) . Fountas

and Pinnell (1996) state that the students are provided with strategies that they can use “on

the run” when reading. Students participate in reading alone and then coming together to

discuss the shared reading material. The goal of guided reading lessons is to teach, prompt,

and reinforce skills and strategies through small group instruction that students can then

transfer to independent reading activities (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996) .

There are homogenous and heterogeneous groups in small group instruction (Fountas &

Pinnell, 2012). With homogenous groups, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and word-
TEACHING LITERACY THROUGH READING WORKSHOP AND GUIDED READING 4

solving strategies are targeted, the texts are selected by the teacher with specific instruction in

mind. On the other hand, heterogonous groups are more age appropriate and the texts are

chosen by the students with some guidance from a teacher. Both instruction types aim to

develop the ability to talk about texts and to deepen the comprehension of text .

Advantages

Allowing students to choose the text they want is a major advantage. They are much

more excited about reading in general about being able to choose something that they are

interest in (Edmunds & Bauserman, 2006). Group motivation and support also allows for

students to easily move along and understand the material. Having students be instructed on

their own levels is also an advantage to ensure each child is understanding and not getting left

behind.

Disadvantages

There is only one teacher, normally, in a classroom and making time to meet with each

student can be difficult. Students may also find ways to talk about the text without actually

reading it since the teacher is not there with them at all times . For students with a lower

reading level it can be hard to advance levels of reading.

Future Classroom

Based on my research I would definitely want to implement reading workshop and

guided reading into my classroom. Although I say I want to implement it, I would do so in a very

limited way. It is very easy for students to deviate from instruction/reading while doing so
TEACHING LITERACY THROUGH READING WORKSHOP AND GUIDED READING 5

alone. I would try to do a more balanced approach with the other approaches mentioned in the

beginning with guided reading and reading workshop to be used possibly on Fridays to review

their development.

Knowing my student’s interests and background with reading will also help in defining

how teaching literacy will go in my classroom . Having a relationship with them through reading

is a priority of mine that I wish to develop. Growing up I thoroughly enjoyed one-on-one time

with my teachers. That relationship built with them set me up to love teachers and the passion

I have in becoming one someday. I hope that in becoming a teacher I am able to touch my

students the way my teachers have done so with me.

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References

Edmunds, K. M., & Bauserman, K. L. (2006). What Teachers Can Learn About Reading

Motivation Through Conversations with Children, The Reading Teacher, 59, 414-424.

Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (1996). Guided reading, good first teaching for all children. (1st

ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Greenwood Press.

Gunning, T. G. (2013). Approaches to Teaching Reading. In A. M. Ramos (Ed.), Creating Literacy

Instruction for All Students (pp. 468-495). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Pinnell, G. S. (2006) Every Child a Reader: What One Teacher Can Do. The Reading Teacher, 60,

78-83.

Pinnell, G.S. & Fountas, I. C. (2012) Research Base for Guided Reading as an Instructional

Approach. Scholastic. Retrieved from

http://emea.scholastic.com/sites/default/files/GR_Research_Paper_2010_3.pdf.