A Step by Step Guide to Planning Reading Instruction

Reading is my FAVORITE subject to teach! I love watching kids fall in love with a good book and I love watching them understand a difficult text.

When I sit down to plan my reading instruction I am typically planning it in three different ways: skill based, review based, or novel study! Today, I am going to break down exactly my thought process as I plan these types of weeks.

Skill Based

If I am teaching a NEW skill that week I will will break it down like this!

Monday– Reading Skill Lesson

A reading skill lesson is an introductory lesson. This lesson is not with a text. You teach the students what the term means with something that relates to their real life and is hands-on for them.

For example, when teaching inferencing, before I even start doing it with a text, I set up an investigation. We look for clues and make inferences on what happened. Then, I relate that experience to reading.

>>Find a FREE sample for point of view and inferencing here!<<<<

Tuesday– Whole group practice!

We will read a picture book together and practice the skill as a whole group. We can practice this skill using an organizer, doing it on the board, or playing the game. Sometimes we even do a craft and a writing related to the book! This is one of my favorite days because I LOVE a good picture book!

Wednesday– Small Group Practice!

The students will do a small group project. Typically we will review the skill with a book or a video first. Then, I put them in groups of 3-4 and they will read something and do a project with it.

For example, they might read a story on EPIC and apply the skill using a graphic organizer. Or we might read a story as a whole class and they have to do a project in their group.

Thursday– Partner Practice!

On Thursday they will either finish and present their small group projects or they will do a partner project. During this time I will pull kids that are struggling with the skill to work with me.

Everyone else will do an assignment with a partner working on the skill. I love to pull technology into partner projects. So, I might have the kids read their leveled reader with a partner and then apply the skill with a digital book club sheet!

Friday– Individual Assessment

The students will typically do an assessment this day so I can see how much more work we need on the skill.

I do have skill weeks completely planned out for specific skills. The lesson plans and all of the materials are provided!

>>>Check the skill weeks out here!<<<

Review Based

We introduce a skill for a week, but we do a TON of review with the skills throughout the year!

I typically plan these weeks around holidays or themes that I love. So, we might do a review week during Valentine’s Day or during our camping week!

Once a month we do a reading skill challenge to review all the skills and this is always a review week. Most of them are based on a holiday.

For these, the kiddos are reading and analyzing text while working towards a goal. For Valentine’s Day, they are working to fix a broken heart!

>>>You can find them here!<<<

We also might be doing Friendly Reads or Book Clubs. The students are reading with a partner or group and practicing the skill with these book club forms. During this time I am meeting with each group daily to work on a skill in relation to their book.

>>>If you don’t know what a friendly read is, head here<<<

Novel Studies

The last way I plan reading instruction is with a novel study. This means that the whole class is reading the same novel.

We typically do it this way:

-Read one to two chapters a day. I switch between individual reading, class read aloud, and partner reading. Sometimes I can even find the audible chapter online and the kids love that! Then, we work on a skill for every chapter.

-Every four-five chapters we do a small project to show what we have read so far.

-We take quizzes every few chapters.

-We do a BIG book project at the end to show what we read!

We do a novel study every year on Stone Fox, Lemonade War, Shiloh, and Because of Winn-Dixie.

Click on the books below to find the affiliate link.

 

>>>>You can also find novel studies for all of those units here<<<<

That is A LOT of information! Whenever I am planning I pick which type of week it is going to be and get to work. Having this basic outline for the week helps me a TON!