Leveling Up Your Small Groups with Reading Responses

Listen to the full episode to hear how to use reading responses:

Small group instruction is a big part of a teacher’s literacy block and being able to work with students on certain skills. But the question always seems to be, what different types of activities can I do with my students during that time, especially when working with texts? In today’s episode, I’m sharing how to keep students engaged by leveling up your small groups with reading responses. 

When it comes to reading responses, there’s a variety of ways to conduct these with your small groups. One of my favorite ways is by reading the text as a small group, but having students respond independently and through the form of writing. By making a connection between reading and writing, it encourages students to think and not just read words, but engage with the author’s words and illustrator’s images.

But when should you have students respond to a text? I recommend 3 main places: before, during, and after the text. When speaking about this topic, I highlight the benefits of doing a reading response at each stopping point, along with various activities and reading skills to focus on. By having students do reading responses, it assesses their reading skills, strategies, and comprehension in a variety of different formats and ways. 

After listening to this episode, I hope it inspires more intentional moments for reading responses in your small groups, along with ideas on how to get started. By changing your mindset on what reading responses have to look like, you will be able to assess your students’ reading skills, which will ultimately make them more successful in literacy. 

To help celebrate my 100th episode, I’m giving away a resource of mine for FREE! In order to receive your free resource, here are the steps.

1. Listen to the podcast and take a screenshot of one of your favorite episodes from The Literacy Dive Podcast
2. Share the episode on Instagram (through a post, reel, or story) and tag me @theliteracydive (that’s the most important part!)
3. Once you do that, you have the opportunity to win a free resource that assists you with responding to reading
4. Then, I’ll send you a DM with a Google Form that you will need to fill out (includes your Instagram handle and select the reading response resource you want)
5. Finally, the form is reviewed and I’ll send you a link to the free download!

In this episode on using reading responses, I share:

• The 3 main places to respond to a text
• The powerful connection that can happen between reading and writing 
• Why small group time is the perfect opportunity to do some quick writing responses
• How reading responses can assess a students’ reading skills and comprehension
• The steps to getting a free resource for my 100th Episode Celebration

Resources Mentioned:

• Monthly Writing Prompts
• Context Clues Reading Response Freebie
• Reading Response Activities
• Reading Graphic Organizers
• Reading Response Choice Boards
• Reading Response Bookmarks

Connect with Megan:

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About The Literacy Dive Podcast:

Do you find yourself seeking new ideas when it comes to literacy instruction in elementary classrooms? The Literacy Dive Podcast was created to offer actionable steps and to share information for teachers, like you, who are always looking to improve their craft! ELA is our jam and we are excited to dive into all things reading and writing with you!

Your host, Megan Polk, is the creator and owner behind The Literacy Dive and loves to support students and their teachers with curriculum, literacy instruction, best practices, and engaging literacy activities.

Dive in with us every Monday for a new episode from Megan! She, and her guests, will chat about various literacy topics and will bring you tips and tricks that can easily be implemented in your classrooms. You can tune in wherever you get your podcasts! Listen to The Literacy Dive Podcast on platforms like Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Google, and more! If you find value from listening to this podcast, please rate this show, leave a review, and follow!