Guided Reading, Small Group Instruction, and Centers

Guided reading is done daily in my classroom for at least an hour.  Each group meets with me in a small group for individual reading instruction for 15-20 minutes per day.  While I am working in small groups, my students are either working independently on centers (based on the Daily 5 model), or working with a teacher assistant or volunteer in another small group.  Student are taught in the beginning of the year how to independently check into centers, work on their task, and solve problems without interrupting small group instruction being conducted by the teacher.  My teacher assistant or volunteer is given daily lesson plans that they are asked to follow during small group time to help extend, remediate, and differentiate concepts that were being taught in the class.