Another question from the Ask the Experts voice mail line:
We are moving toward guided reading and we're developing our book room. I need some recommendations for guided reading books for grades 4 and 5. Hope you can help me. Thank you!
Hi there and thanks for your question. Of course we can help you! We sent this question off to our expert Kathy Bumgardner. Here's what she had to say...
Kathy Bumgardner's Response
"I definitely recommend a balance of informational (nonfiction) texts and literature (fiction) texts for using with guided reading groups. As guided reading provides the opportunity to teach and support students with strategies they can use with mostly slightly challenging texts, it can also provide an opportunity to balance with direct support for navigating complex texts and close reading as appropriate for the groups.
Besides using books, it is also possible to find excerpts from texts on Appendix B (CCSS) and even whole texts found online. Poetry, editorials, journal entries, articles, and other texts that are appropriate for students can be found and implemented with students in the supportive environment of guided reading groups. Also don't forget that it can be appropriate and highly productive to use consumer texts (menus, travel brochures, labels, advertisements, flyers, etc.) with students when providing reading strategies for navigating informational consumer texts.
I recommend short stories - including appropriate picture books - when using fiction (literature) so that the text can be completed in a reasonable number of sessions. However; when chapter books are used they can be started with support in guided reading sessions for the first several chapters and then released to students to finish in independent reading as students show understanding as appropriate. Checking back in with students as their reading progresses can be helpful as well. Poetry is also a great choice to add in to the mix as it adds a layer of challenge and interesting choices.
There are some suggested titles that are listed on Appendix B (Common Core Text Complexity Exemplar Lists) as well as others used effectively in many 4th and 5th grade classrooms across the country. Any titles used should meet the specific instructional needs of the students that they are used with based on assessments and data of the students."
Kathy's Recommendations
Titles I recommend for 4th and 5th grade include:
LITERATURE / FICTION / STORIES
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| Tuck Everlasting |
Natalie Babbitt |
| Bud, Not Buddy |
Christopher Curtis |
| Where the Mountain Meets the Moon |
Grace Lin |
| Maniac Magee |
Jerry Spinelli
(Spinelli is an excellent author to study and has multiple titles that are great to use)
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| Johnny Tremain |
Esther Forbes |
| The Cay |
Theodore Taylor |
| From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler |
E.L. Konigsburg |
| A Wizard of Earthsea: The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1 |
Ursula Le Guin |
| Redwall #1 |
Brian Jacques |
| Hotel for Dogs |
Lois Duncan |
| Frindle |
Andrew Clement |
| Pushcart War |
Jean Merrill |
| Dear Mr. Henshaw |
Beverly Cleary |
Picture Books
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There are so many that are excellent to use. These are just a few...
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| Snowflake Bentley |
Jacqueline Briggs Martin |
| George Washington's Teeth |
Deborah Chandra, Madeleine Comora |
| The Man Who Walked Between the Towers |
Mordicai Gerstein |
| The People Could Fly: The Picture Book |
Virginia Hamilton |
| Tuesday |
David Weisner |
| My Great Aunt Arizona |
Gloria Houston |
| Where the Red Fern Grows |
Wilson Rawls |
| The Lightning Thief |
Rick Riordan |
Poetry
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| Casey at Bat |
Ernest Lawrence Thayer |
| Fog |
Carl Sandburg |
| Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf |
Roald Dahl |
| They Were My People |
Grace Nichols |
| Autumn |
Emily Dickinson |
| Shel Silverstein poetry... so many to choose from |
|
INFORMATIONAL / NONFICTION
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| Biographies are excellent choices - choose as appropriate for level |
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| Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend |
Will Moses |
| Benjamin Franklin: A Man of Many Talents |
TIME for Kids Editors |
| Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin |
Gene Barretta |
| Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini |
Sid Fleischman |
| Jesse Owens Fastest Man Alive |
Carole Boston Weatherford |
| Bad News of Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves |
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson |
| Wilma Unlimited |
Kathleen Krull |
| Minty |
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Content Informational Examples
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| Your Skin Weighs More Than Your Brain |
Barbara Seuling |
| Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave |
Monty Roessel |
| Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story |
Ken Mochizuki |
| Eye of the Storm: Chasing Storms with Warren Faidley |
Stephen Kramer |
| Follow the Trail: A Young Person's Guide to the Great Outdoors |
Jessica Loy |
| Friendship 7: First American in Orbit |
Michael D. Cole |
| Discovering Mars: The Amazing Red Planet |
Melvin Berger |
| Hurricanes: Earth's Mightiest Storms |
Patricia Lauber |
| Good Pet, Bad Pet |
Elizabeth Schleichert |
| Horses |
Seymour Simon |
| Telescopes |
Colin A. Ronan |
| Underground Railroad |
Henrietta Buckmaster |
Thanks to Kathy Bumgardner for this terrific list! Don't miss her excellent website here - www.kbumreading.com
Thanks so much for your questions! Call anytime! 331-248-CCSS (2277)
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