Oh, guided reading! I love teaching during guided reading, but it is also an intense time for teaching and learning! I have been teaching guided reading for 13 years, but seem to find new ways of doing things that make it a little bit easier every year. For the last two years, I have been playing with making “student toolkits.” I bought little stackable containers at the Dollar Spot at Target (Oh, how we love thee…).
Inside I have a bunch of little goodies to make our GR time productive. I included a pencil (usually a sparkly glittery one), a mini-beanie baby (bought in a huge lot on EBay for just a few dollars), wikki sticks, post-it notes, a mini wipe off board (a card that I laminated), and a dry erase marker (sold in packs of 6 with attached erasers at the Dollar Spot). I want to put a little card with reading and comprehension strategies as well.
I am a big fan of limiting the amount of time I spend on prep and making materials accessible to students so they are in charge of their materials. With this little toolkit, everything the readers need is right in front of them – no teacher time needed for prep! Plus, I love that these little baskets stack into a neat little tower for storage!
I love this, what a great idea! I also am a fan of making the students in charge of their materials!
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