Royal Readers: Guided Reading Groups in Kindergarten

This is the short and sweet tale of how one teacher conducts guided reading groups in kindergarten.  

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there were no reading groups in kindergarten.  In 1995, five and six year olds were expected to learn the letters and their sounds, how to rhyme, and how to sit and listen nicely to a story read aloud to them.  That was about it for kindergarten literacy back then!  But with No Child Left Behind in 2000 and Common Core in 2010, the goal in kindergarten became learning to read.

The concept of emergent reader texts comes from the work of a New Zealand researcher, Marie Clay, back in the 1960s.  Characteristics of an emergent reader text are:

• Words that are usually no longer than 3-4 letters
• Every letter is associated with one specific sound in a phonetically regular fashion
• The only words that do not follow a one-one correspondence of sound to letter are either high frequency common words such as  "the, you, play, my, is ," or words that can be figured out by referring to the pictures 

Most emergent reader texts are very short, 8-16 pages in length.  At first, there is usually just one sentence on a page.  Often the texts are highly repetitive which aids in fluency.

This is considered a Level A (early emergent) text.

Kindergarteners read on a wide range of levels.  The above example is of a very simple, early emergent reading level.  At midyear, we have students who read at this level and those who read more complex texts.  So, the only way to meet the needs of all students is to group together those at a similar level and meet with these small groups. In my classroom, we begin meeting with reading groups midyear.  We meet as frequently as time permits.

In my class, I have a plastic golden bejeweled crown that I wear when I work with small groups or individual students.  My students know that when I am wearing the crown, I am not to be disturbed unless it is an emergency (and I am pretty direct in describing to them what constitutes an emergency!)  The first half of the year, they see me wearing the crown every day when I sit at the math center during STEAM and whenever I do individual assessments. So, at midyear, when I tell them that I will now be wearing the crown during our Reading Skills and Reader's Workshop, they understand this is a "Do Not Interrupt" time.  I explain to them that this will be a special time for them as they will become "Royal Readers!'

If you look closely, you will see that each animal is wearing a crown!
The names of the children in each group are written on the back and the groupings are flexible.
Children change groups frequently.

Each year, I purchase card stock crowns and a package of jeweled stickers at a party store or on Amazon.  This year, I found golden crowns.  I reinforce them with a strip of poster board, write their names on them, and staple each to fit.  Students keep them in their book boxes and wear them to their Royal Reading group.  At the end of each guided reading group time, they get to put a jeweled sticker on their crowns.

Crowns are pretty sturdy and last all year with a bit of care.

As for how I design my guided reading lessons, I am a big fan of Jan Richardson and her book, The Next Step in Guided Reading.  I highly recommend this book to every teacher!

For parents who read this blog and would like to know more about the characteristics of the various levels of emergent reading, please click on this link.

                                                    

And the Royal Readers read to their hearts content and live happily ever after !