Guided Reading Level A Books with 3 Activities for Young Students

My sweet student I will call "Bob" came over to the guided reading table to read with me.  When I open the level A book, he began to read the pictures, pretending to make up the story as he went along.  

Bob wants to read, but lacks the understanding of how print works and that there is a relationship between letters and how they connect together with sounds.  When I look through my 6 pack of readers, even the A levels seems to be a bit difficult for Bob.  After reviewing all the letters and sounds, it is time to start with guided readers. 

The first step is to teach Bob to move his finger from left to right across the page. Bob already realizes the pictures do have a connection to the story because he is reading the pictures! Celebrate!

The next step I will move Bob through is that there is a correlation from letters to words and how these words connect with the picture.  The words on each page are very predictable so that Bob will see these words repeated and have similar phrases on each page. 

We start with the first word.  I will break down that word one letter at a time.  For example, if the word is "Cat."  I will say, "Can you point to the first word?"  They point to cat.  

Teacher: What is that letter?

Student: C

Teacher: What does C say?

Student: /c/ making the hard c sound.  

Teacher: Great! What is the next letter?

Student: A

Teacher: What does A say?

Student: /a/ making short a sound.

Teacher: What is the next letter?

Student: T

Teacher: What does T say?

Student: /t/ making the /t/ sound.

Once the sounds are established, model the three sounds.  You said that C says /c/, A says /a/, and T says /t/.  Then say the sounds together. /C/A/T./  Cat! Have the student repeat the sounds.  

That may be all you work on that day, depending on how long that took.  Otherwise read until the child comes to a word that stumps them.  Break each word down.  

You might make a 3x5 card of the word CAT and have the student wear it around their neck, put it on their name tag for reference throughout the day, occasionally asking them what is that word as you randomly walk past their desk.  

This was an example of guided reading for one student.  But the process is the same if you work with 6 students.  You go around the table and work individually with each child that is at your table.  Have other students work on their copy of the same book, or if they finish, they may read one of the books they brought over while they wait for you to get to them.

Finding the activities and level A books to work with students at this level can be difficult.  My library consisted of only 2 level A books because publishing companies assume students coming into first grade should be reading at level C.  I needed more books and so I went to my computer to create level A books and activities to do with my students.

If you need books and activities, click on the pictures that will take you to this resource.  Please let me know if you have questions regarding teaching students that are reluctant to begin reading.  I would love to help you with ideas. 

If you have questions or are interested in more reading resources, click on the following link,

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How to Teach 5+ Fun Comprehension Skills to Primary Students

Last year, I sat down at my guided reading table to work with a group of very good readers.  I usually have 4-6 readers at my table.  This particular group was 6 readers that could read at a level L.  As I opened the book up for discussion, there were great comprehension responses to the texts that "wowed" me as a teacher. 

However, there was one student that remained fairly quiet. I dismissed the other readers back to their seats and turned to the quiet student.  I asked him a simple comprehension question. He couldn't reply with an answer. I got that "deer in the headlight" look.  So, I decided I needed to zero in a little closer with him to see if there was an issue with comprehension.  I listened to him read a portion of the text again and then asked a few simple questions.  He couldn't give me an answer although he could read extremely fluently.  

This story replays often every year with fluent readers.  They can read anything you set in front of them, but cannot answer basic comprehension questions.  They have mastered the reading, but aren't thinking about the story or comprehending what they are reading.  

To be a good reader, students need to think about what they are reading. This actually takes a skill that sometimes has to be taught.  Students know they need to string letters together to make words, but sometimes they don't realize or understand that these words together have meaning.  It seems simple enough to children when this comes naturally, but a few strategies of reading comprehension will help those that this does not come naturally.  

Comprehension is thinking about what you are reading.  

There are several comprehension strategies that can be used to help students or young children begin to think about what they are reading. When introducing these strategies, I start with an anchor chart. This is the big paper that can be made into large posters to hang while you are studying a concept.  I place all of these on a comprehension wall that we refer back to over the course of the school year. At the end of the year, students often beg to take them home as souvenirs.

The strategies are taught for 2-3 weeks.

• Connections

Connections are when you as the reader connect what you are reading to something else in your life.  Sometimes this is another book, text to text.  Sometimes, this is an event in your life, text to self. Sometimes this is a connection to something in your world, text to world. Examples of text to world are holidays, public events, or articles related to the book.  When I taught 3^rd grade, I taught each of these connections for a week.  Now that I teach first grade, I usually linger on a strategy for 2-3 weeks.

 

• Background Knowledge also known as Schema

Background knowledge is just simply what your readers already know about a subject.  Students may read a book about a birthday party and understand the context because they have had a birthday party or have been to a birthday party.  Similarly, if they read about a dog and have a dog, they will have schema or background knowledge about dogs, the subject they are reading. 

 

If students read about a wobbegong and have never seen a wobbegong, they wouldn’t have a clue about what they are reading, nor would I.  I had to look it up. No, seriously. I had to look it up.

 

In addition, I can’t pick up a neurosurgery book and understand what I am reading. I would lose interest pretty quickly because I don’t have the background knowledge for these areas.

 

• Visualization

I teach this to young students as 'a movie in your head.'  We pop popcorn and drink mini sodas. I set up a mini movie theater background and put it behind me while I read a book. I don’t show them the pictures.  I ask them what they are visualizing.  I also give them a piece of blank paper and have them draw what they are seeing in their head. I repeat the term visualizing repeatedly to help them remember.  I might say, “What are you visualizing?” as they draw their pictures on clip boards. 

 

After the students have completed their drawing, I show them the illustrations to compare. Sometimes students have very similar ideas about what they are visualizing as the illustrator.  They love to compare their drawing to one another as well.

 

• Inferencing

This skill is when you know something about the book that isn't written in words. 

 

For example, "My sister hit me really hard.  I turned and looked at her with a grimacing face.  My mom knew how I felt."

The text never says she is mad or hurt, but you can inference this because of the choice of words the author used.  As adults you inference when you read mystery novels or “who done it” books.

 

• Questioning

This strategy can be taught by teaching students to ask questions about what they are reading.  Many times, we ask the questions and expect them to answer.  We forget to have students ponder, or wonder about their reading.  Ask them what they wonder or if they have questions about their reading. Give them time to think about their questions.  Even if they come up with outlandish questions or far-reaching questions, it is leading them in the direction of thinking about what they are reading.

For more help or information to teach the strategies, click here!

👉 Reading Comprehension Strategies Bundle

Comprehending reading will open new worlds of fun reading to your child or students.

For more information or companions and printables that will help you teach these comprehension strategies, visit  at Robin Wilson First Grade Love on Teachers Pay
Teachers.com.

You can teach this with books that you read with your students or with your child.  If you are interested, I have already created many book companions that follow this plan listed above.

Click on the pictures of these book companions that will help you teach comprehension strategies to save time.

  

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