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on September 22, 2021 · Leave a Comment

A Week’s Worth of Guided Reading Activities to Build Classroom Community

Hey there friends,
Building a positive classroom community is my number one goal every year and I’m sure it’s one of your top priorities, too. I also like to work smarter, not harder. You too? Ha. We’ll this is one of the reasons I absolutely love Guided Reading with a Purpose. I can teach the themes and social skills I want to incorporate into my classroom while still hitting the literacy standards. Since a positive classroom is my #1 goal  I have put together 5 guided reading activities to build classroom community.

Guided Reading Focus: Retell

I don’t know about you, but I could never understand why my students often struggle with retelling a story. It’s a skill our kids start working on in Kindergarten, but need to consistently review and practice retelling –  especially on that dang middle section!  I decided that like other skills, we can’t just assume they have them down.
I needed to address this skill that is seen so much in our literacy standards and yet still focus on the foundation of my classroom which is setting up that positive classroom community so I decided to focus a week entirely on retell and building a positive classroom community.
Throughout this unit, students examine the beginning, middle and end of the story in detail, making sure to review all the important story elements such as character, setting, problem and solution.
I chose 5 mentor texts with the theme of friendship to help build classroom community, focusing on how to be a good friend and how to make new friends. These are both important topics to our young students and when building a positive classroom community. When the problems are relatable and relevant our students’ recall will increase.  Remember – when you are teaching a new skill, it is so important to make sure the text topic and level are appropriate for your students.

5 Guided Reading Activities to Build Classroom Community

"Enemy Pie" Guided Reading with a Purpose
#1. “Enemy Pie”
This mentor text is a wonderfully fun text about making new friends in unique ways and the importance of truly getting to know someone.
"Leonardo the Terrible Monster" Guided Reading with a Purpose

 

#2. “Leonardo the Terrible Monster”
This mentor text is about a unique friendship between ”people” who are completely different. It also focuses on how we can support our friends.
"Ricky the Rock that Couldn't Roll" Guided Reading with a Purpose
#3. “Ricky The Rock That Couldn’t Roll”
This mentor text is about growth mindset and supporting our friends when they need it.
"The Invisible Boy" Guided Reading with a Purpose

 

#4. “The Invisible Boy”
This mentor text is a fabulous story about taking the time to get to know those people around you and the impact you can have in someone’s life by simply offering your friendship and attention.
"We Don't Eat Our Classmates" Guided Reading with a Purpose

 

#5. “We Don’t Eat Our Classmates”
This mentor text is a hilarious story about a dinosaur trying to learn the basics of being a good friend to her new classmates.
Click any of the images to check out these resources in my TeachersPayTeachers store. Click any of the book titles above to go to purchase these books on Amazon using my affiliate link.  (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Suggestions For Using These Guided Reading Resources

With this guided reading unit, I suggest exploring the problem and solution more in-depth to help the students make solid connections to the mentor text. We can then say the problem or main event is our middle. The important events that lead up to that is our beginning and how it was solved, or the resolution, is our end.

Bulletin Board & Anchor Charts

Here is an example of how I set up my bulletin board with included anchor charts. I only leave these up on the week we are focusing on the comprehension skill. I have seen increased interaction with anchor charts when they are only up when necessary.
Bulletin Board and Anchor Chart for Guided Reading Retell

 

Posters & Story Element Cards

All the mentor posters, story element cards and guided reading materials are included in the Guided Reading with a Purpose Classroom Community and Friendship Bundle to help you focus more on your student success vs. creating examples and other materials.

 

Enemy Pie Guided Reading activityRicky the Rock that Couldn't Roll Guided Reading Activity

 

You can choose to write out the elements in the moment or you use the ready-made cards included in this set. A fun tip is to have the cards turned over and flip them to check to see if the students’ answers were correct.
Guided Reading with a Purpose Retell Story Cards

 

More Guided Reading with a Purpose Resources

Retell is something our kids do often, but sometimes those frequently used skills need some bulking up and that is exactly why I created this week’s Guided Reading with a Purpose all about building a positive classroom community focusing on retell.
If you want to check out this week in Guided Reading with a Purpose, just click below to explore it in my store. You can also read more about this guided reading curriculum HERE in a previous blog post.
As always, I hope you have an amazing week and please reach out if you have any questions, suggestions or just want to connect.

 

Guided Reading with a Purpose Friendship Bundle

 

Filed Under: guided reading, Supporting Student Growth Tagged With: classroom community, Guided Reading with a Purpose, kindness, social skills

Previous Post: « 5 Mentor Texts to Teach Classroom Expectations
Next Post: 5 Guided Reading Activities that Celebrate Diversity in the Classroom »

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Brown’s work vs. mine this week. Mason had Flu A Brown’s work vs. mine this week. Mason had Flu A and Wyatt had a horrible spell of migraines this week. 😣 I may need a vacation 😆 Luckily the boys were super sweet and thankfuk for super mom. Ha. I guess Dave did some stuff too. 💪 👨‍🚒
This anti-bullying and kindness-themed reading com This anti-bullying and kindness-themed reading comprehension and writing bundle is designed to help students analyze morals and lessons in stories while reinforcing essential comprehension strategies. Through six different mentor texts, students will explore sequencing, text connections, asking and answering questions, story elements, character analysis, problem and solution, and more. Perfect for social-emotional learning, kindness, and anti-bullying lessons!

Books included in this bundle are:
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What’s included:
- A unique craft
- Writing prompts
- Graphic organizers
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Teach your students about kindness, empathy, and i Teach your students about kindness, empathy, and inclusion with this engaging reading comprehension and writing unit for *Each Kindness* by Jacqueline Woodson. This guided reading unit focuses on anti-bullying, kindness, and social-emotional learning, featuring over 15 comprehension strategies with an emphasis on lessons and morals. The interactive ripple effect craft helps reinforce these important messages in a fun and meaningful way. Perfect for small or whole group instruction, this unit is ideal for Anti-Bullying Month, Unity Day, and daily social skills practice.

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Comprehension skills covered:
➙ Schema 
➙ Making Predictions 
➙ Text Evidence 
➙ Character, Setting, Plot 
➙ Retell 
➙ Author's Purpose 
➙ Character Analysis 
➙ Lesson & Moral 
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Dive into this Antarctic penguin-themed reading co Dive into this Antarctic penguin-themed reading comprehension and writing bundle! This engaging unit includes 5 nonfiction passages that focus on text features like glossaries, bold print words, and more. It’s perfect for practicing nonfiction reading strategies such as identifying the main idea, finding text evidence, asking and answering questions, and activating schema.

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