Q- I want to move away from the traditional "guided reading" groups and into "strategy groups" like you explain in your book and on your website. I started off fine, but have gone back to my old ways which were comfortable and familiar. Any suggestions?

Sue Landrath works with children in a small group.

A: When we wanted to move away from leveled guided reading groups, we had to shift our thinking away from that small group format to groups centered around the individual reading needs of our students.

One thing that really helped us make that shift was to abandon groups altogether for a month or so and spent all of our time holding one-on-one conferences with children. As we listened to and met with individuals, we learned about their strengths, interests, and especially their needs. We zeroed in on a goal and assigned strategies based on their needs and focused on those strategies every single time we reconnected.

After 4-6 weeks, we were confident and proficient enough to pull students based on strategy work, regardless of reading level. Students brought their own good fit books to our group and we worked on the strategy they all had in common. Using each meeting (whether one-on-one or in a small group) as a touch point, it became evident when students had mastered the strategy and were ready for a new one, allowing us to keep these groups truly flexible and fluid.

So extend grace to yourself...and the gift of time to yourself and your children. Really get to know them as readers and you'll discover the joy and power behind focused and intentional instruction based on their needs.

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