Abstract:
The study examined how Guided Reading instruction was carried out in a second
grade classroom in a private English- medium school in Beirut, Lebanon. The main
purpose of the study was to find out whether the approach can meet the needs of
children at different reading levels. Six children, three boys and three girls, of
different reading abilities were the focus of the study. Data was collected over eight
months through systematic observations and unstructured interviews. Data on
children's reading progress was assessed using reading records from a PM
Benchmark Kit (Nelly & Smith, 2000) that is a comprehensive reading assessment
resource. In addition, reading continuums (Hill, 2001) were used to determine how
children were developing as readers. Eleven reading strategies were introduced to
help the young readers problem solve words and texts. Children were observed using
the strategies during both instructional and independent reading time. All six readers
progressed but at a different pace. At the conclusion of the study, the two emergent
readers were reading at grade level, the two developing readers were one and two
grades above grade level, and the two fluent readers had reached 5th and 6th grade
level. Although the findings cannot be generalized, it appears that the Guided
Reading approach helped cater to very diverse reading abilities, and further studies
with larger groups and different grade levels are recommended.
