Guided reading is an instructional practice commonly used in primary and intermediate grades (Ford & Opitz, 2008; Fountas & Pinnell, 2001). It is used less in middle grades settings (Allen, 2000) where "one size-fits-all instruction" prevails (Allington, 2012). While teachers can read about the principles of guided reading in professional literature aimed at the lower grades, little exists that targets middle grades teachers or that deals with middle grades students' needs. This lack of information may lead middle grades teachers to overlook this practice entirely or to guess at how to adapt these ideas for middle grades students. This article is an attempt to provide fellow teachers with this information and to illustrate how guided reading can help teachers meet the CCSS. Specifically, we define guided reading and name parameters that give structure to this instructional strategy.