Workshop Wednesday: Favorite Guided Reading Book

It's Workshop Wednesday Time!

This week's topic is our favorite books that we use with small groups (guided reading groups in my interpretation).

Our Literacy series comes with a set of GR books for the grade range.

4th grade range is from M to T.

There are 8 books for each level (6 copies of each book); 3 Fiction and 5 NonFiction (split between Science and Social Studies).

We have a teacher's guide for each level, to tell us the comprehension skill, tricky vocab, etc. It has us doing the book in 2 lessons, but most teachers I know take 4 or 5 lessons (unrealistic time expectations!)

Here are some of the ones that we have read so far:

My favorite from the series?

This one:

Ironically, I'm watching Blue Planet: Seas of Life as I type this :)

I (and the kids!) love  this book. It is all about what happens at night in the beach and ocean (were you able to make that prediction from the title?! ;)

It has all different animals in it, with great pictures and descriptions.

There was soooo much information in this book that we took 3 weeks (meeting every other day) to read it!

First we read it in sections, then the whole part. We focused on summarizing, mapping the animals, predictions, visualizing and questions!

I can't wait to read it again with another group!

Now, as much as the literacy series provides us with everything, I also like to do chapter books with the kids (especially at the higher levels where there are not as much book choice for them).

My favorite chapter book to read with the kids? (And the one my current T group is begging to read?)

Percy Jackson!

This is a wonderful book. It has mythology (4th grade CC Standard!), action, adventure.

You can talk about figurative language, foreshadowing, prediction, reflections, purpose, theme....oh, the list goes on and on.

What are your favorite GR books?

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn