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I used to think that students need to read out loud together for guided reading, but I now know that guided reading can be personal and catered to individual's needs.

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I used to think that students need to read out loud together for guided reading, but I now know that guided reading can be personal and catered to individual's needs.

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In this post, I offer an expanded version of the original prompting funnel presented in WHO'S DOING THE WORK?

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This week on the podcast we're wondering, what's the best that could happen?

Are you familiar with this quote: "The most damaging phrase in the language is 'We've always done it this way!'"? Its credited to the Navy's Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper. The computer science pioneer also noted "Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, 'We've always done it this way.'

Well, not author Debbie Miller. She wants to create space for possibilities.

In her newest book; "What's the Best That Could happen?" Debbie encourages us to tune into that "thing" that doesn't feel right and then investigate it and see what kind of questions it leads us to.

In What's the Best That Could Happen, she both models for us how to ask those questions of ourselves and leads us on a personal journey of her own inquiry answering questions about her teaching.
Below is a full transcript of our conversation.
Debbie Miller: I think the thing that really got me going is, I just happened upon Warren Burger's book, A More Beautiful Question, and I began to think about how he's talking about how he did these studies about, what is it about these people that are making all these changes and he did that study of designers and inventors and other people that had made changes in the world. And I just saw the link to education because he talks about how we're always doing the same things we always do and that this was true in the business world. And I began to think, yeah, it kind of feels like it's also true in the field of education.

And so, it got me thinking, what might that look like and what about beautiful questions as a teacher? What might that look like and could that in fact affect change? And so, I decided to just try it out. And I started to think about things I had truly been wondering about, which might sound kind of odd because I've been teaching for a million years and I work in so many teachers' classrooms and yet, there's still opportunities for change, to look at things in new ways. And so I decided to challenge myself just to see what that would be like and the questions were based on things that I was wondering about, but also in my work with teachers, what were some of the things that they worried about or that they were talking about or that they were just trying to figure out. And so, also working with teachers to try to come together to figure things out.

So these were things that are questions that we knew the answer to, that would be silly, but they were truly things that we thought would make a change, would make a difference in our day-to-day teaching lives.

Brett: How then, as educators, do we start in pushing back on that old adage of, we've always done it this way?

Debbie Miller: You know, I hear that a lot and I think one of the reasons that we hear it so much is that it's just kind of a pad answer. I'm always trying to help us to think beyond that. And so, yeah, we've always done it that way, but what if we tried it this way? What if we took something ... Tom Newkirk talks about how, what if we take something that we really know and see it in a new way? And so, to challenge teachers to think about that and then let's give it a try. This isn't about coming up with a perfect answer, it's about trying to see something anew, figuring things out, and knowing that there's always opportunity for change and to do better, really.

And so that's how I challenge myself and teachers, once they're kind of in the grips of that, it's what gets us up in the morning. It's about figuring out new things. So I think it's part of being a professional and when teachers start to see themselves in that way, it makes all the difference. So we get away from that question, "But we've always done it that way." Well, yeah, but let's try it this way because this is so much cooler. We're engaged now. Where before it can kind of get boring. My grandmother always said, "If you're bored, you're boring." So, if we're feeling bored, let's think about it.

Brett: Yep. We don't want to be boring.

Debbie Miller: No!

Brett: No.

Debbie Miller: That's the worst. Exactly.

Brett: Well, you're right. It's important that when we're doing this work that we stop and examine that "it doesn't feel right" moment. Why is that so important?

Debbie Miller: Well, I think it's important because we have to trust ourselves. Just like Warren Burger talked about how we're, in the introduction, how we kind of are doing things on the autopilot, but then there are times when it just goes, that just does not feel right, and then that right there can lead us to thinking about a beautiful question like, why doesn't it feel right, how might it be different, what more can we learn about this? And so, I think it's that "doesn't feel right" is the first clue to, "Okay, this might be something I want to dig in to, I want to delve in to more."

Brett: So, how do you take that reflection then and turn it into a question?

Debbie Miller: Just thinking about one of the chapters in the book, there's a chapter about, what if we made work time our priority? For me, I was always, not always, but many times when I was designing lessons, I would do the mini lesson and then I would plan the work time and then the share. Somehow, on occasion, it just didn't feel right that I'm always the one teaching first. It felt a little bit all about me. And so, it just didn't feel right. What if kids started out and what if then the mini lesson could go somewhere else? And so I kept thinking about different ways that that might look and then that's what turned into a question about, what if work time is our priority? So I was making the mini lesson our priority when in fact that doesn't feel right. But that took me a lot of years to understand that.

Brett: Debbie, how do questions lead us to opportunities and a willingness to change?

Debbie Miller: Well, I think anytime that we're thinking about something new, we're thinking about a question, it starts to take over. Once you have it in your mind, you're thinking about it at school, you're thinking about it at home, you're thinking about it in the car and when you wake up in the morning. And so I think it gives us energy. It just helps us when we're thinking about something like that, we're kind of laser focusing in on something, it's exciting and it's fun and you get to come up with different theories.

In this book he talks about, don't rush it. Once you're going somewhere, think about all the different possibilities. Try things out to figure things out. And so, I think it's really energizing thinking about a question. Learning is fun and sometimes we get caught up in all the drudgery and all the things we have to do that we forget that it's fun.

Brett: Well, in many ways, you model your learning for us as you write and as you go through this entire journey. Talk about your journey and the process, because this book is amazing. You teach us how to ask these question and to sort of reflect upon it, but then you take us on the journey of the questions that you asked of yourself.

Debbie Miller: This isn't a book about me telling about a lot of answers. It's about being vulnerable, really, and really trying to figure something out in an honest, authentic kind of way. I think it starts out with something that doesn't feel right and then you ... I just think it's about jumping in and seeing what we can learn with children. And I will often ask them. It's no secret to them what it is that I'm trying to figure out. I want them to be a part of it too. The process is just trying to think about, so what do I understand today that I didn't understand yesterday and to just keep building on it til it finally comes to some conclusion.

And not that it's finished now, there's always more thinking to our figuring out, but it's just that messy kind of process and trusting that it's going to be messy and knowing that on day three and four and five and six and we still don't have it, of course we won't, it's messy. And so it's just sticking with it. I would do some reflect in my notebook and then new ideas would come from writing. Not any fancy writing, but just jotting in my notebook. So, it's that kind of thing I think. It's just sticking with it really.

Brett: While the book is organized by your questions, for your journey you invite readers to ask their own questions on their own.

Debbie Miller: Right. Because that's the heart of it. That's the whole reason. Because, I guess for me, I understand that just because I've done it, I understand the power. I guess I know the power of that and so I want that for teachers to because I know how fun it is and I know that it can change the way we view ourselves. When there was that quote in the introduction about, a child must have some version of, "Yes, I imagine I can do this." Well, I think the same is true for teachers. So once we start to assume some autonomy and assume ownership, questions are a great way to do that.

And whether you do it on your own or whether you do it with a colleague, it makes us richer and it makes teaching more powerful and more fun. I think it's a gift we give ourselves to do that and to go through that process, that messy process, that is asking questions for sure.

Brett: Well, I'd like to ask you ... I don't want to give too much of the book away and you touched on earlier one of the questions that you ask. But there were two questions that jumped out at me that I wanted to ask you about that are essentially your chapter titles. So, the first one I was wondering about is, this is the question in the book ... What if we owned the units that we are asked to teach? What did you learn there?

Debbie Miller: Man, I learned so much. The thing about that question is that in many schools and districts where I work, teachers are given units and the assumption is, you're going to do this unit and it's all planned out. And I think the intent that they're wanting to be helpful. And what I try to do, when given a unit or working with a teacher in a unit, is to think about, let's look at this because there's usually something good and maybe more than something in a unit. But we want to think about, are these goals right for the kids that are in front of us?

And so, I like to make the assumption, really, that when we're given a unit, the authors of the unit certainly hope that we're going to adapt it because they don't even know our children. And so it's kind of crazy to think that we're just going to go down lockstep and do the unit. And so the first thing is to think about, are these the right goals for my kids? So, to help teachers, that's what I did with teachers, and they really showed me that what we need to do is look and see, are these the right goals for my kids this year? And not that they'll even be the same next year.

A unit changes and so to look at that, to look at ... Oftentime, units that we're given don't include what children will read or what they will write or there's nothing really an end. You just are done with the lessons and then you're done. But what do we want for kids at the end? What do we want them to be able to know and do? So, I think that's why we go in and try to figure out to adapt the units, not to just not do them. Sometimes that's the inclination. "Well, I'm just not going to do that because that unit just doesn't fit." But how can we make it work for kids and how can we adapt it for them and think about them as children, but real human beings who want to get excited about something and engaged and learn?

Brett: In chapter three you ask, what if our classroom environment and routines offered choice? What did you discover there?

Debbie Miller: One teacher, we were talking all about agency and choice and how that worked together. And so one teacher, after lunch, we had talked all morning, said, "Well, yeah, this is all great, but what about the sticky notes?" He just went that all the kids were like bugging him for sticky notes and he was doling them out and we began to think about, so why are we doing that? We're not giving kids choices. So we're giving you two, but what if you have more than two questions and it just got into this big conversation about, way beyond sticky notes, but that's what began the whole idea of controlling things and that when we're talking about developing a sense of agency within children, it can start there. It can start with, "I trust you to take whatever you need." Whether it's sticky notes or pencils or ... That's part of learning.

And so to go through routines like that and even where you sit, we do so much over-scaffolding for children, I think to make it easy for them, but then they're not developing that sense of agency. Like, "I'm the kind of kid who can figure things out." So, building choice within there, giving them access and choice, and just sending them off. We don't have to dole out things. We want them to be part of the figuring out. So, to ask them to join in with us is part of that.

Brett: Well, I'm gonna end of this: The book is visually stunning.

Debbie Miller: I know. Thank you, Heinemann. Yeah, it is.

Brett: It's a beautiful book. It's in color. Just, walk us through a little bit about the design of this book because you were influential in how this book came together with that design element.

Debbie Miller: Well, I just wanted to show the brilliance of children. I think that's what it does. It's not only children, because they're beautiful in and of themselves, but it's what they can do and the work that they can do that's highlighted here and I think we learn to expect the unexpected when we trust kids and ask them to do their own figuring out, developing that sense of agency within them. So there are lots of examples of not only kids, but the brilliance in their work really all across the board. And so, I talk about that and just giving kids time and trusting them and just seeing what they can do and just thinking, just keep thinking in my mind, "What's the best that could happen?"

Sometimes we always think, "What's the worst that can happen?" They're going to do this and that's going to happen, but if we shift it, what's the best that could happen, and just send them off, we can always fix it if it doesn't work, but you can't fix it if you over-scaffold. And so, just keeping that in mind if I'm trying to decide, will that work, will that work? Let's try it. What's the best that could happen for kids?

Debbie Miller's book is out now. You can learn more about What's the Best That Could Happen? on Heinemann.com

Keep in the conversation going in the What's the Best That Could Happen? Facebook group!

Now through August 31st, use promo code MILLER on online orders of What's the Best That Could Happen? for 30% off the list price. The code also applies to Debbie's other book No More Independent Reading Without Support.

This promo code cannot be used on other orders. This discount applies only to online orders shipping within the U.S. via Ground shipping only. Orders must be placed by 11:59 PM EST on August 31st.

Debbie Miller is a teacher, author, and literacy consultant. She taught in the Denver Public Schools for thirty years and now works extensively with schools and districts on long-range planning and development of literacy programs. Debbie is the author or co-author of many resources for teachers, including Reading with Meaning, No More Independent Reading Without Support, and the forthcoming What's the Best That Could Happen?

Follow Debbie on Twitter @millerread

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Debbie Miller asks "What's the Best That Could Happen?"

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This week on the podcast we're wondering, what's the best that could happen? In her newest book; "What's the Best That Could happen?" Debbie encourages us to tune into that "thing" that doesn't feel right and then investigate it and see what kind of questions it leads us to.

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Identifying Character Traits
Finding Main Ideas & Details

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Fluency
NF Text Features
Example Video

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Upper Grade Guided Reading
Level Band Intro Example RST
Level Band Intro Example NOPQ

Shared Text Lessons
1.Comprehension
2. Fluency/Comprehension

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PM Level 3

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Controlled R
Inflectional Ending S
CVC
Video Example

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colleen@erinkentconsulting.com

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Literacy Consultants & Consulting Services | Erin Kent Consulting

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EKC provides literacy consultants, consulting services, and literacy professional learning for schools.

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Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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Taejon CIS - Guided Reading in Reading Workshop

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Taejon CIS - Guided Reading in Reading Workshop (1)

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Additional Chapter - Reading Strategies Book

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Additional Chapter - Reading Strategies Book

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Your Research-based Guide to Developing Skilled Readers. 300+ strategies with learning progressions support 13 reading goals, with each strategy cross-linked to skills, teacher tips, prompts, research, and reading levels—everything from fluency to literary analysis.

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jen shows how small groups increase time for meeting individual students’ needs. You’ll work closelt with more readers each day using assessment

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If you're not sure how phonics fits within your daily instruction, or crave a more effective process for teaching phonics, Heidi Anne Mesmer is here to help. In Letter Lessons and First Words, Heidi Anne provides a research-based vision of what lively, engaging phonics instruction can look like, along with practical, classroom-tested tools to make it happen in your classroom.

Heidi Anne provides a one-stop shop for phonics instruction, including a clear scope and sequence of what to teach, a quick assessment to differentiate instruction, a simple lesson framework, and three activity-filled units matching key developmental milestones.

More than twenty classroom videos bring the content to life, showing children working with letters, words, and books at various stages of learning. Additional resources include:

A "know the code" chapter explaining English spelling (and online glossary)

Answers to common questions

Guidance about choosing books for readers at different stages

new info about how children cognitively store words and why inductive tension is important.

Isn't it time to re-imagine how you teach phonics? Letter Lessons and First Words will show you the way toward joyful instruction for today's classrooms.

Read Heidi Anne's Blog post Developmentally Responsive Phonics Instruction: A Research-Based Approach

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Research-based strategies for lively, engaging phonics instruction with young children. - Heinemann

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Tens of thousands of K-3 teachers have relied on this book-now revised and expanded with more than 50% new material-to plan and deliver effective literacy instruction tailored to each student's needs. The authors provide a detailed framework for implementing differentiated small-group instruction over multiweek cycles. Each component of the beginning reading program is addressed-phonological awareness, word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes dozens of reproducible lesson plans, instructional activities, assessment forms, and other tools. Purchasers get access to a webpage where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

New to This Edition

Differentiation 2.0: the approach has been fine-tuned based on field testing, new research findings, and current standards and response-to-intervention frameworks.

Many additional reproducible tools, such as coaching templates and the Informal Decoding Inventory.

Beyond lesson plans and materials, the second edition offers more guidance for designing instruction and grouping students, making it a one-stop resource.

Reproducible tools now available to download and print.

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How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction: Second Edition: Resources for Grades K-3

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Tens of thousands of K-3 teachers have relied on this book-now revised and expanded with more than 50% new material-to plan and deliver effective literacy instruction tailored to each student's needs. The authors provide a detailed framework for implementing differentiated small-group instruction over multiweek cycles.

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Differentiated Literacy Instruction in Grades 4 and 5: Second Edition: Strategies and Resources

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Now revised and updated, with many new lesson plans and a new chapter on writing instruction, this trusted book guides upper elementary teachers to design and implement a research-based literacy program. The expert authors show how to teach and assess students in differentiated small groups, and exp…

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Word Study Focused Reading Group 3-5 example

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EKC Text Complexity Cards to Support Planning for Guided Reading

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EKC Text Complexity Cards to Support Planning for Guided Reading

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EKC Text Complexity Cards to Support Planning for Shared Text Reading Groups

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EKC Text Complexity Cards to Support Planning for Shared Text Reading Groups

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Lots of great reads to download on here!

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Lots of great reads to download on here!

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Taejon CIS - Guided Reading in Reading Workshop (2)

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- If you practice everyday, I promise you will be a better reader and writer

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1. Promise to meet consistently and give feedback as much as possible.

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1. Promise to meet consistently and give feedback as much as possible.

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2. Promise reading and writing can be fun.
3. Promise that everyone is a reader and writer.
4. Promise to read-aloud everyday.
5. Promise that there is a book that will inspire them to be avid readers.

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You will read and learn various genres and types of books

You will write different types of story

Find books that you love

You will find what you like

Fun books

Flexible seating and just only READ/WRITE

Sharing/presenting/discuss/socializing
Accepting others

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How long should we spend each day for readers workshop?

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How long should we spend each day for readers workshop?

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It all depends on the time you have for literacy and grade level. G1 Readers' Workshop might be 20mins at the beginning of the year with 6 mins ML, 11mins of independent reading, 3mins share... and then working up to 40mins total.

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I struggle to keep the mini-lesson in 10 minutes: how can we let students do guided practiec and teach the lesson in 10 minutes? How long should mini lessons be?

>> one teaching point, not all strategies, scaffold, build upon lessons

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What's the balance of 1:1 and group work?

>> Prep students (1:1) for group work
>> Depends on what unit and focus

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Do we teach one minilesson per a workshop? If so what are some suggestions to teach  all standards we need to teach?

^^^One minilesson or shared reading per workshop during whole community time. Determining priority standards can be helpful in planning for learning. Also, thinking about standards as year-long goals can be helpful - different reading units can address the same standards.

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How can we create strategy groups when they are already in reading-level groups and are still working on guided books?

^^^one way to think about whether we choose to do a strategy group or a guided reading group is to think about purpose. If you're pulling together a group of readers that are reading texts below grade level, you may decide to do guided reading with a common text (each student with their own copy) to support them in tackling the complexity of the next level. If you're aiming to support students with deepening their inferential comprehension skills, then you might choose to do a strategy group where all students bring their own independent book to practice with.

How can we lead discussions within strategy groups?

^^^if the strategy is a comprehension strategy, kids will most likely be practicing in their own book rather than practicing through discussion. Strategy groups within a book clubs unit can be a way to teach into discussions - For example, you could teach a book club a discussion strategy (e.g. how to politely disagree), and then coach in as they begin their book club discussion.

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I have a student who is higher than grade level in reading comprehension yet his fluency is not on grade level. How can I help him develop his fluency? What are some strategies?

^^^re-reading is one of the most powerful strategies we can share with readers to support fluency. Other strategies we might share are;
-read the sentences first to decode, re-read it to smooth it out
-nonfiction - read it like a teacher
-fiction - switching from narrator to character voice
-look ahead to the dialogue tag and then read the dialogue the 'way' the character said it
-pay attention to punctuation
-notice how the character is feeling, read it that way
-preview the upcoming sentence for commas, read with the commas in mind

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I used to think that guided and strategy groups were one way but now I know that it is in many ways.

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I used to think: guided reading has to cove more than one learning point.
Now I think: it is ok to focus only on one and repeat for students to practice that skill

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I used to think mini-lesson was the most important/vital part of the lesson... Now I am thinking it is not (still important though)

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I used to think there was just one way to do small groups but now I realize there are three different grouping styles.

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I used to think that guided reading was just about reading comprehension, but I now know that it is a connection between fluency, comprehension, word study and writing. 

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I used to think that guided reading was just about reading comprehension, but I now know that it is a connection between fluency, comprehension, word study and writing. 