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I currently work with a lower level guided reading group. My guided reading group is composed of four level E grade 2 students who often struggle with comprehension. This week we looked at retelling a story. My students are always engaged with
hands-on activities and using clay puppets was a way for me to easily differentiate for those who liked to fidget during guided reading while still allowing for a lesson tie-in. They loved creating the puppets and then retelling the story in front of a series of backdrops I created from the book illustrations. I noticed that having their own role to play in the retell kept them actively engaged and listening for when their character came in. What I didn't anticipate was the active cooperation and listen that occurred as they read aloud the story in the circle. One student would turn to another and say "shhhh... I need to hear when my character is in the story so I know it later." My literacy heart smiled.