Tompkins defined guided reading as a literacy activity where teachers support children's reading and writing during guided literacy activities, but unlike modeling or sharing the children actually do the reading. (Tompkins, pg. 18). Students meet with the teacher to read a book on their instructional reading level, and the teacher follows certain guidelines to ensure that their students maximize the activity. First, the teacher introduces the book and guides the students as they begin to read, as the child becomes more comfortable the teacher will release the student to read on their own. After the child completes the assigned reading activity the student and teacher reconvene and discuss important topics in the book and the child often re-reads the book. (Tompkins, pg. 19). Interestedly enough, the author appears to have left out some crucial points that occur in the background like how a child is chosen to be a member in a certain guided reading book level. This paper will discuss those behind the scene assessments but first it will address the interpretive approach it takes to guided reading.
             Working at the Mason Elementary School, a full inclusion school in the Boston Public School system, the tenants to guided reading looked a little different from that of which Tompkins described. The groups here are very small and the variation between levels are not usually minute but rather huge leaps and bounds. Although, the guided reading process at the Mason has a few more components some of the process described by Tompkins occurred in the two fifth grades that were observed for the purpose of this project. The important difference that Tompkins did not touch upon was the how the teaching style of the teacher can effect the process and in turn the student sour on the idea of reading or rejuvenate the students' love of reading. The two teacher who were observed were Carl Ostiguy and Heather Hoffman, are excellent teachers...