How do I stop talking so much during guided reading?

I've read Who's Doing the Work? How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More by Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris a couple times, and I have questions regarding small group reading instruction. The majority of my day consists of small group reading instruction, and I honestly do too much talking. When looking at the gradual release model, small group reading instruction is the step right before independent reading. Small group reading should be the opportunity for students to show how well they can use reading strategies by themselves under the watchful eye of the teacher. On page 82, Burkins and Yaris describe the teacher's work during guided reading.

"The teacher facilitates rather than directs the lesson, observing students as they resolve challenges in the text and making notes about the reading process. There is is extensive student interaction with the text."

Today I had a couple minutes to talk directly with Jan, and I asked for her about my question...How do I stop talking so much during guided reading? Jan's response was helpful and doable. She said, "Take notes. Take running records. Start writing and keep writing."  While the students are interacting with text I can take notes and running records based on what students are doing.

I think I can do that. Please comment below to share what you do during small group reading so that your students are doing most of the work.

Check back to see how it goes...

Who's Doing the Work? Question #1

   I had the privilege to attend a workshop led by Jan Burkins, co-author of Who's Doing the Work? How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More. Here are just a few thoughts from the presentation. (More of my takeaways will follow in later blog posts. Stay tuned.)
   The first question is, "Are you paying enough attention to how your students read?" Listening to students read and having conversations with them afterward can give a snapshot into their reading processes.

The goal is to have students using print and meaning equally in order to have efficient reading processes.  Students can rely too heavily on print and less on meaning, rely to heavily on meaning and less on print, or utilize print and meaning equally. We can use a Venn diagram like the one on the left to analyze student reading. This will tell us more than just looking at student reading levels. If you would like to dig deeper into this idea, read chapter 1 in Who's Doing the Work.

Questions to consider.

• How do I currently look at the reading processes of students?
• What would a reading process Venn diagram look like for each of my students?
• How could I use the Venn diagrams to make decisions regarding reading instruction?
• What information can I gleam from analyzing student's reading process instead of reading level?
  

Who's Doing the Work? Thoughts from the Introduction

Who's Doing the Work? How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More by Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris takes a look at reading instruction and small changes educators can make in order to allow students to become readers who can initiate and implement strategies on their own. I have chosen to study this book this year as part of my Professional Growth Plan (PGP). My intention is to read and chew on the text by Burkins and Yaris this year.

As a Remedial Reading teacher, I am constantly working with children who are struggling with reading strategies to some degree. I work with kids each day that come across challenging parts of text, and I naturally want to fill in all the holes for the students in order for them to feel successful with the text. But am I truly helping them become independent problem solvers? What small moves can I make to help my students become proficient readers?

Here are just a few of the statements that had me thinking his week:

• "When people spend time in situations where they have little or no power, they become unable to recognize when they actually do have power." (p. 2) I want my students to know they do have the power to access texts.
• "..we have unwittingly assumed too much of the important work- telling students what to think, when they are having difficulties, how to resolve a problem, and even when to turn the page. Not only that, but in telling them when to do something, we tell them not to act until we prompt them." (p. 3) My readers have learned to look to me or other teachers when they are having difficulties. They have learned that we will tell them how to solve the problem and what they should do. How do I go about retraining myself to allow students to do the work? This might be as uncomfortable for me as it will be for my readers.
• "Next generation reading instruction requires us to scrutinize our lessons through a lens of student independence/dependence and involves identifying places where we are assuming student work that student could do if we let them." (p. 5)  This week I have been asking students different questions when they need my assistance. I've been asking, "What do you think you can do?" I want my students to assume the work that they are capable of doing. 

On page 6, Burkins and Yaris present four questions to guide us towards next generation reading instruction.

1. Can students identify the areas of the work that need their attention?
2. Can students decide the type of strategy they need to use or work they need to do to understand a text?
3. Can students self-monitor their understanding and identify the areas of text that they do not understand?
4. Can students share their thinking about the strategies that work for them?