Oh there's a difference... much more exacting in the retelling part and of course at the primary level you've got the new version of timed text. I spent time this summer studying at their reading institute ... the small groups in workshop were slightly different than what I had been used to and I have made the switch this year and it goes soooooooooooooo much better. For example... there is much credence given to small flexible groups but at least in our school kids often start in guided reading groups and basically meet with that group of kids until they test out TC presented a philosophy of guided groups like this.... guided groups do not meet as a whole that much. Rather kids come together in guided groups either when they are just beginning a certain level group or when they are getting ready to test out.... the bulk of teacher instruction then occurs in heterogeneous groups composed of many leveled readers for a certain strategy (skill) that they need to review. The connect, teach, guide, independent try and then share is the framework that they rely on to teach all skills. this not only speeds lessons... you see so many more kids in a day. They also felt that you should have two types of groupings going in any one workshop...... choose one from group from guided groups, strategy groups , or reading center groups and one that is totally based on individual conferencing type groups. they stand firm as they do in writing workshop that in this way you are not teaching the text but rather the reader just like you don't teach the piece in writing workshop you teach the writer...... Do you have to be organized ....oh yeah but they make that easy too. Develop a continuum of strategies you need for the year based on the characteristics of each leveled reader..... then map it out so that you can see your whole class under these strategies.... as you teach a minilesson ... gather kids from all groups that need work on that .... present the skill not the text. ... so it looks more like : lots of sentences or short excerpts to exemplify the strategy. I found this to be a god sent but I am still working slow paced to get all my strategies and curriculum map work done...... even though it is just a work in the progress the grouping part has made the time I spend with kids more effective. Pam
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