Five for Friday~We did it!!!

Hey Friends! How are ya? Today was a great Friday! Two of my teaching besties and I presented training for the very first time! I know…yikes, right? Speaking in front of others doesn’t really bother me, but preparing to deliver training for adults is a LOT different from teaching 6 year olds! Luckily….our topic of choice was guided reading. THAT, I can talk about all day!



Ever find something you love and want to shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear? Having the opportunity to present training allowed us an opportunity to do just that. We shared how implementing procedures from Jan Richardson’s The Next Step in Guided Reading enhanced our small group instruction and how we use The Daily 5 to manage our literacy block. Both have had a tremendous impact on the quality of our teaching and consequently, student success. I’ll be the first to admit that when I moved to 1st grade, my biggest fear was screwing up teaching kiddos how to read. After all, that’s what 1st grade is ALL ABOUT…..READING! I wanted someone to tell me….sit down at the table and DO THIS! Step by Step…..I signed up for training after training thinking, this will be the one! This will be the one that will guide me through this very important process and time after time…..NOPE! NADA….didn’t happen. I got exposure to great information about reading, about why it’s important and what skills I needed to address, BUT nothing that provided a step-by-step guide.

THEN…..last summer, my teaching buds and I stumbled across a book study online that was EXACTLY what we had been looking for…ordered it, read it, and improved our teaching with it! We took the next step….



Our kids from previous years, left having become successful…but this next step helped us to understand the research behind necessary procedures and to reach personal goals for growth. The biggest part of being successful is continuous improvement and growth. Don’t ya think?

To prep for training, we set up a table to provide an example of what the guided reading table might look like when preparing for small group. LOL….the little “whiteboards” are upside down. We fixed that later…..=)



Sharing resources was a biggie on our “to do” list. Our primary source for the information came from Jan Richardson’s website. If you’ve never visited it, you’ve gotta take an afternoon, get comfortable, sit back and browse it. She has tons of great supplemental materials to help guide the sequence of activities in your small group…differentiated lesson plans, lots of printables and video demonstrations too! Check out one of the clips we shared below…

We started the day with a fun icebreaker….I Have, Who Has….using Primer sight words! This game usually drives me a little bonkers, but is a great way to review sight words, parts of speech…you name it, and you can use it to sneak in a quick review. You also find out pretty darn quickly who’s paying attention when you play this game because each card is linked to the next, lol!



Lots of fun and laughter...



These ladies are the best! Having this time to engage in collaborative talk to enrich our literacy blocks was such a true gift! It was much more than training….we engaged in meaningful conversation. See those smiles? Nothing is as fun as learning in K/1!



Here’s a closer look at the resources we shared. You can find additional information about The Daily 5 HERE. Take a few minutes and sign up for email updates from The 2 Sisters. You can find additional information and resources from The Next Step in Guided Reading HERE.

Now….summer can REALLY begin! If you’ve used these resources or another that has truly changed the way you teach guided reading, please feel free to share in the comments! 

Happy reading, friends!