Guided Reading Expert Groups

One of my favorite ways to utilize guided reading groups and reading conferences is to create expert groups.  By allowing students to read about a topic that they are interested in I have found that their want to read increases substantially.  This year, I used Hameray Publishing's Fables and The Real World Sets to build expertise with my students.

The nonfiction books were perfect for my reading groups.  Each group would read their text throughout the week.  We studied main ideas and details, as well as retells.  The next week, I mixed up my reading groups and students taught each other about the topics they read about.  

I can't wait to get my hands on more of Hameray's real world books.  

Do you like to switch up your reading groups?  How do you try to spark interests with your students?