We are all different learners and that makes us unique!

That is why there is such thing as DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION. 

This means that teachers use multiple approaches to teach material, so that all students' needs are met!

GUIDED READING is one form of differentiated instruction. 

The purpose of guided reading as part of comprehensive literacy is to support the child in reading that caters to their instructional level. This approach involves the teacher placing students into smaller reading groups who share similar reading abilities.

It’s important to select books that students can read with 90-94 % accuracy. This gives students a good base to focus on meaning as well as problem solving strategies to learn new words, sentence structure, as well as different concepts and ideas. 

 Every child can benefit from guided reading activities. It serves to give a more focused approach to a text and allows for students to receive the help they need because of the smaller group dynamic. 

The storybook"Tiny BlueBaxter" by Bailey Carroll supports guided reading for many reasons. Firstly, the storybook will allow students to start the process of decoding. 

When students come across a word that they have trouble pronouncing, they will begin to sound out the word and this is problem solving. This is where meaning making comes in.

Once students pronounce the word and understand the meaning, they will begin to make sense of what they are reading. As students are reading, they will continue to not only read the text, but also think about what the text means.

Guided reading allows students to go through the process of reading. It builds fluency in reading and understanding the text. Teachers should observe their students while they are reading and support when the students need it.

This children’s book promotes diversity and inclusion because the story is based on a family of colour and the protagonist is a young girl of colour. Texts that have these types of representations begin to foster open-minded views about other races.

This is why these types of texts are crucial in the classroom setting, especially for younger students. Other cultures and backgrounds can begin to be normalized and accepted.

Guided reading is an individualized experience where each student in the class may be at different stages in their literacy journey. This is why the grouping of students is a very important aspect of guided reading.

Each group of students will have a different set of needs and may be at different reading levels. So, the teacher must pay attention to the specific needs of each student, and determine the best strategies to support their learning.