hacks for Virtual guided reading

​Note: If you are in search of the free ebooks for guided reading,
​go to the "Free Books" tab, above.

There are a number of challenges that make teaching guided reading tricky in virtual spaces. From access to books, to watching body language, sound issues, there are definitely some hurdles to get over. As we prepare to go back-to-school, one virtual guided reading challenge is prominent: figuring out how to listen in as individual students read without falling into a round-robin routine.

There is a solution that seems pretty simple. In fact, I think it is so simple that it has been hidden in plain sight.

When we are face-to-face during guided reading and listening to individual readers, we want to hear ONLY the reader that is getting our attention, while we conduct a running record or engage in a conversation. Additionally, we don't want the readers who are NOT receiving our attention at that moment to listen in on our exchange with the student in our focus--for their sakes and for the sake of the student who is reading with us. 

To limit what we hear from the other students we can, of course, mute their microphones. To limit what they hear, we can simply ask them to turn their volume all the way down! This seemingly obvious solution allows us to stay in the group, rather than send students off into breakout rooms, which is clunky. Staying in the group by having the student you are listening to turn up the volume (while the others turn their volume down) allows you to keep that small-group feel to your virtual guided reading lessons.

By staying in the group together, you can still watch the other students to see that they are engaged with the text. A little motion on the screen, should get the attention of everyone again. You can use a chat box, or even something as simple as a sign with a student's name on it, to let the group know who needs to turn their volume back up so you can read with the next student.

As for access to books, there seem to be a few options.

1. If possible, it would be great if students had hard copies of the book you are exploring with them. If they are at school every few days, or you are sending material to homes periodically via bus routes or otherwise, then you can send home the guided reading books they need. I imagine that this is the trickiest option to pull off.
2. If children have access to the same book digitally, then everyone can see it on their screens during the lesson. A parent or someone will probably have to support children, as they may need to have two windows open at once or navigate being able to see you on their screen at the same time that they see the text. It may work to email parents a link to a book so that they can open it up on a second device (I know this option will not be available for all students). If you want to send parents the link and the code for the free guided reading books on this site, feel free to do so! 
3. While it is less than ideal, you can display a book on your screen page-by-page. Everyone can read silently or with volume down, except for the student on whom you are focused. Of course, not everyone will read at the same rate, but they can read a page more than once and study the illustrations, until the student reading with you is ready to turn the page. This isn't a perfect solution, of course, but we are living in an age of compromise.

In the end, shared reading and one-on-one conferring are likely to do more of the heavy-lifting in virtual literacy instruction. However, it is worth trying to figure out how to maintain some small group work for those students who really need it to succeed. Asking the other children to turn down their volume while you work with one child may be one way to make small group instruction work in virtual spaces.