Catherine Reed

Since Guided Reading often means planning for 3-6 groups a week (many groups reading 2+ texts a week), I know the planning and preparing can be overwhelming. Using texts from Learning A-Z and $1 books from Scholastic, I follow Jan Richardson’s Guided Reading plan and LOVE it. The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading” to guide my instruction, sight word lists, weekly guided reading skills, etc. Even after 4+ years of doing guided reading, I still regularly refer to the text for prompting ideas, question stems, and the comprehension modules.

Research shows that developing fine and gross motor skills, building imaginative thinking skills, and fostering a sense of creativity are critically important skills for young learners. I created these experience-based homework calendars to address the non-academic skills my students were missing, as well as, comply with our school’s “Homework Policy”. Then, using ten frames on the white board, we cross-off activities completed by our class at home or during our previously agreed-on times (recess, morning tubs, afternoon dismissal). Goal-setting is an inexpensive way to build excitement, build classroom community, and celebrate non-academic learning!

If students struggle with the semi-concrete or abstract stages of Making 10, then we must move back to the concrete. 10-frame work mats offer students a variety of options for hands-on work with making 10. As students find their partner ( i.e. 9 + 3 and 10 + 2 would be partners), students are greeting each other, making eye contact, and taking turns to speak. Other games such as memory, Go Fish, Spin & Add, and Roll & Add all offer students repeated practice, as well as, transition easily into math centers.

Getting students talking numbers is a critical part of building number sense and fluency in young mathmaticans. It’s the perfect avenue for generating a pool of ideas, encouraging students to analyze others’ thinking, as well as, build students’ confidence as they speak in front of their ideas. To read more about our Talking Numbers routine, check out this blog post. To watch what a Subitizing Talk Numbers prompt sounds like in my classroom, click here or the photo below.