The question I chose for my inquiry project is: How can you improve performance in a first grade classroom with guided reading? This interests me since I teach first grade. As a first grade teacher I am always looking for ways to improve the performance of my classroom. Guided reading offers support to students as they learn. Rogoff suggested that "adults support children's learning by structuring the difficulty level of the task, jointly participating in problem solving, focusing the student's attention on the task, and motivating the student." (Frey & Fisher, 2010, 84). Guided reading is one component of a balanced literacy program that provides differentiated reading instruction in small groups to four to six students with similar strengths and instructional needs or to heterogeneously grouped students (Avalos, Plasencia, Chavez, & Rascon, 2007, 318). The guided reading recommends groups meet three to five times a week for 20 to 30 minutes. Teachers are provided with the opportunity to explicitly teach children the necessary skills and understanding and otherwise facilitate the acquisition of reading skills through the guided reading approach. The first step is for the teacher to select multiple copies of graded leveled books. The teacher then uses these books based on the students' teaching needs and interests. According to Reutzel and Cooter, graded books are generally classified to include four levels of children's reading development: early emergent, emergent, early fluent, and fluent (Avalos, Plasencia, Chavez, & Rascon, 2007, 318). The syntax and organization of language in leveled books should match most young children's speech. The text should provide a reasonable challenge and opportunity… at the center of the paper… a “highly successful” instructional context that encourages the use of strategy in a successful text (Schilb, 2011). With these advantages the teacher will see an improvement in performance in the classroom. References Avalos, M. A., Plasencia, A., Chavez, C. & Rascon, J. (2007). Modified guided reading: Gateway to English as a second language and literacy learning. The Reading Teacher, 61(4), 318-329. Frey, N., & Fisher, D, (2010). Identify teaching moves during guided learning. The Reading Teacher, 64(2), 84-95. Schilb, A. (2011). Guided reading. Retrieved from www.aschilb.esmd37.org/reading/ReadingGR.htm.Cunningham, P. M., Hall, D. P., & Sigmon, C. M. (1999). The teacher's guide to the four blocks. Greensboro, NC: Carson-Dellosa.Schwartz, R. M. (2005). Decisions, decisions, answers to primary students during guided reading. The reading teacher, 58(5), 436-443.