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I don't think students should be grouped based on their reading skills. I think one, this allows for students to know where each student is on the reading levels. It is an embarrassment for the students who are below reading level and those who are above reading level, those students are always with themselves and everyone else feels as if those students are the teacher's pets. I don't like the idea of grouping them by reading skill. I think if you grouped students randomly each time, this will allow students to learn from each other who aren't so skilled in reading, and those who are at reading level or above. I would change them up so every student knows how to work with each other and can gain an understanding of reading and learning together.

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I have only seen reading groups done one way by either doing myself in school or watching my CTs do it in their own classrooms. This would be by grouping students by their reading and academic level. I believe that this way works well because you are able to challenge the students in reading instead of challenging lower level students with a too hard book or giving the higher level students a book that is too easy. However, I would like to have a little bit of time where the advanced students would be able to work with the lower level students and help them out in places that they may be struggling with. For example; I would put the three students listed above together in a little ten minute tutoring group. This way Adrianna gets a little bit of a challenge by helping Rangina with learning English and trying to get Charles interesting in reading. It will also help Rangina learn some English speaking and social skills and possible help Charles read more than he is.

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Grouping is something that is a difficult thing for me to decide because I think and feel that it is important. I feel that it can either make readers more confident or more fearful to read around peers. I know from my own personal experience, as a student with reading difficulties, you can be scarred for life and not feel confident enough to partake in reading aloud in class or with reading groups. This is way it makes me so nervous to group students. However, I think I would do more of a pairing system. The less people for the student to read with or the less people to listen, sometimes takes the fear level down. I would probably put students into reading levels at the beginning of the year. In each group, I would have them partner up (they can choose who in their reading level they'd want to be with). a few weeks later, I would probably have student switch partners within their reading levels again to get them use to switching it up. I would use the Think-Pair-Share strategy possibly during these times and especially when they are first partnered up. It can help get them familiar with each other andI think this is an easier way to get students to talk about what they understand and can make them accountable. Throughout the year, as students got more comfortable and confident, I would probably change it up and try to make it more heterogeneous. I would definitely still do the pairing technique with the Think-Pair-Share strategy. This time, I would let students pick whoever they wanted and felt comfortable with, as long as it was someone they weren't already with perviously.  However, with these students, I would put Rangina and Adrianna together. I would go out of the reading level group for these two because I think that Rangina could find helping Adrianna challenging and keep her from being bored. Also having a student who excels could help show an ELL student how to participate in class and how school goes.

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I think that grouping by academic level is perfectly fine, when it fits in with the classroom schedule. When I am teaching small groups, I am going to want work on subject matters and strategies that fit in their the level in which they are at. Trying to work on a reading strategy that half the students in the group won't understand will not be beneficial, whatsoever. If i were to group students by academic level, it would be for small group and similar situations. If I were to make groups for a project or activity in class, I don't feel like doing so by academic level would be very beneficial. In these situations, students should work with other students from different levels in order to help out and lead along the students who may be struggling.  In a situation students are doing a readers theater, I think that it would be beneficial to put Adrianna in the same group as Rangina or Charles; if it is possible, split up Charles and Rangina. This way, Adrianna would be entertained by the Reader's theater and she would also maybe get the joy from helping out one of her peers.

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Up until this assignment, I haven't thought too much about what I like as far as grouping. When I think about it though, I do not want all the students with the same skill level in one group. Here is why: I believe having students with each skill level is going to be beneficial to everyone. For the girl who has read every book you can name, I even believe she will be more interested because she's not going to be with all students her same level. For example, the students will a lower skill level will be able to contribute differently. I also think it's more beneficial because the students can feed off of each other. I would put Rangina is a very special group with people that I know are kind and more interactive with her since I know she may be uncomfortable. I would also put personalities into affect not just with her but with every student.

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Especially in the beginning of the year, I would group students in a randomly chosen pattern. As the year progressed, I would take into consideration the reading levels and language proficiency of students when assigning groups. Assuming I had a mixture of students in my classroom that represented all three of the types of students mentioned above, I would try it have at least one person who excelled in language in each group, a student or mixture of students who are about average, and one or two who need help in certain areas. This way the students who are struggling have an expert within their group as a resource when I might be occupied helping other groups. I would also be sure to make it as un-obvious as possible to the students that I am grouping this way so that a struggling student does not feel singled out from the group. I also would be sure to frequently mix up the groups so that the students have the opportunity to work with many other learning strategies that other students may provide.

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When I am thinking about how I want to group students, my goal would be to try to find the most beneficial way to facilitate progress and growth. I also have to keep in mind what area of content for which I am grouping students. I think that it is beneficial for students to be grouped differently for different content areas . I also believe that groups should change every so often. As much as children need consistency, they also need change in order to stay challenged and to learn more about how they work with different people. I would want them to get to know each other as well as how to learn and work productively with everyone. At the beginnig of the year, Adrianna, Rangina, and Charles could all be in the same group for math or maybe science and social studies. However, I would want to start the year with these children in different groups for reading. This is more beneficial for them in small group learning time. As the year goes on, I would switch up the groups and maybe at some time all three of these students in the same group. These children have so much to learn about each other. It is just as important that they learn about each other's interests and ideas as it is to learn about academics.

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I think that groups should change depending on the subject and what is to be accomplished by the group. I think that if you are having reading groups you need to group them based on reading ability. You can instruct reading better if students are on similar levels and you can challenge students more. Also  from experience, I know that some students who have difficulty reading do not want to read in front of strong readers because they are embarrassed that they cannot read like the other students can. Other than reading groups I don't think students should be grouped based on ability level. Grouping should be flexible. Sometimes grouped by the teacher but, if it is not hurting students learning sometimes they should be able to pick their own groups.

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At the start of the year, it is appropriate to group students by ability level especially because what you know about the students will most likely be test and assessment scores. But after doing your own measurement, the groups should be fluid and ever-changing. The target skill would be the main point that I look for in grouping students. If the skill is something a few students have already mastered, then I might mix up ability levels so that the more confident students help the struggling students. If we are all working on the same skill in reading groups, I might divide students by their interests and have students collaborate regardless of ability level. I think a lot of people would be tempted to say that Adriana needs to be given more reading or a job to help struggling students. But we don't want to punish her with more work just because she is bright. If she is willing to help other students, I would be all for it. It would just depend on her personality.

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In my classroom, I think that at the beginning of the year, I would start of by grouping students according to their reading levels. As shown in the case studies, this is a classroom with a large variety of readers and I do not necessarily see that as a bad thing. For example, Adrianna, she seems like a pretty bright students and someone who I would have in my strongest reading group. Although not all of my students may be on the same reading level as Adrianna, I believe that it is ok to include strong, or even semi-strong readers in that reading group as well. I think if a student is almost there he or she should be moved up in reading groups so that he or she is challenged and not always sitting on that safe line. However, as a teacher I do think that I would switch up the reading groups every now and then. Growing up I remember being in classes where my reading group was the same all year long, as well as classes where our reading groups changed every nine weeks. I think it is a good idea to keep things fresh and interesting for the students, but also with the idea of students being able to help one another as well as challenge one another to work harder.

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Knowing the students in your classroom is one of the most important components of successful grouping. When I consider what criteria I would use to group students two things come to mind; the students' ability to work together, and the group's ability to grow. Personally, I do not believe that grouping by ability level is always the way to go. If you group this way, how will the students grow? In my experience, I believe that students learn best when they are challenged by their peers and when students feel like they have a sense of ownership in their learning. Although I believe that groups should be flexible, I would start out by grouping Adrianna, Rangina, and Charles together. By doing this, I would hope that Charles would be challenged by his peers, and that both Adrianna, and Rangina could rise to the occasion and help Charles when he was struggling. Although it is clear that Adrianna would be very good at helping Rangina, I believe that Rangina could also be of assistance. Rangina is learning her third language. This shows me that she is very capable. If I present her with the challenge of helping Charles, she will use what she knows and build her confidence in the English language. If this grouping was not working, I would be very flexible and move it around until I found a mix that did work.

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When grouping students in the classroom, I do believe that it can be beneficial to mix up the reading levels. I have noticed in several of my field experiences that students who struggle to read and become distracted easily, do not benefit from sitting around students that share these traits. They distract each other and get further behind. Placing students in groups with varying levels can benefit those that are struggling by allowing them to work along side someone that excels and possibly acquire those skills themselves. I believe that grouping also depends on the personality of certain students. I have been around plenty of gifted students that love to distract others. In my classroom, I would pay careful attention to my students to see which personalities will work best with one another. Groups will not always be the same. There may be problems within certain groups that will need to be fixed, or certain groups may not work well together. Young students need variety and change in order to keep them interested in their learning.

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Adrianna enjoys a challenge, so putting her in more leadership positions could be of interest for her. Give her opportunities to lead, such as helping students who don’t understand that concepts being taught. Explain that it is a leadership position to her, instead of just putting her in a group with students at a different learning level as her. Also, differentiation is important for her, making sure she has opportunities to be challenged; including more difficult assignments or classroom challenges.

Having an understanding of Rangina’s situation and language/cultural background is the most important thing to understand, to make her feel welcomed. I would put Rangina in a smaller group with lots of different types of learners. I would put someone patient and eager to help, and include a friend in her group to help make her feel more comfortable. From what I have learned, children are very open and eager to help one another, especially when another student is different or may be struggling. They are eager to learn from each other, especially in early childhood education.

For Charles, it seems like he needs something to motivate him to read and write. I would ask him what he is interested in and pull books within those subjects, even if they’re about soccer or video games. I would start him out with easier books on the subject, but would present books that he would be interested in. I would pair him with another student that has similar interests who has a higher reading level, to help encourage Charles.

I think that there should be many different types of groups present in a classroom. I think that there should be a good mixture of learners in each group. I think pairing students with others that have the same interests as them can be good in certain circumstances, but also pairing them with students that are completely different than them helps them grow and learn. Also, mixing grade levels together and allowing students to teach each other helps a lot with academic and social growth.

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It really depends on the goal for the lesson, or what kind of reading that is going on. If we're doing guided reading, to develop fluency, I think reading skill should determine the grouping so that each student gets the proper attention needed. However, when it comes to reading content, every student will understand something different and will be able to contribute to the group differently. Adrianna and Charles may be able to help Rangina with explaining the meaning of the words in English. Rangina and Adrianna may be able to help Charles with the mechanics of reading. Adrianna will be actively involved in helping her classmates and discussing with them, hearing their perspectives so she won't be bored. Each student has a unique perspective to bring to the table when it comes to undesrtanding the content of the text, so the greater diversity (in culture, or level), the better.

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I think that a lot of thought should go into grouping. There needs to be strategy involved that puts the emphasis on each child and their learning. I have seen a range of strategies, so picking just one would be difficult. I think it is important to switch it up sometimes, so that the students don't get bored. I think that there is a time and place for grouping students together based on ability, yet on the flip side it is important for students to be able to learn from their peers so I think that having more diverse groups is beneficial as well. Allowing students to bring their own strengths and weaknesses into the groups allows for more learning to take place when their is a mix in this. If I had students like these listed above, I would definitely give Adrianna advanced reading material even if none of her classmates are going to be doing the same. On the other hand I would give her opportunities to work with other students who have lower levels of abilities when we are doing something that is class wide, so that both the struggling student and Adrianna would benefit.

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I think students should be grouped for learning instruction by their ZPD, but in this case for reading content I would mix the groups together. Since part of reading is reading strategy and the other is knowledge of the subject matter, I don't think it is helpful to keep children separated by ability since their background knowledge is so diverse. I would however want a good mix of above average, average, and below average readers in each group. For this type of reading, I would group students by how they would work together. I would a balance of children with lots of knowledge, those who are encouragers, and those who will ask the questions that others may not ask. I change these groups also based on the subject matter and how I feel the groups are doing together.

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For Adrianna, it seems like she craves to be challenged

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I have never truly thought about my personal grouping preferences for the students in my classroom. I have seen so many different strategies used by my CT's, ones that have worked and ones that haven't. My personal process for grouping students would not be based on reading level. I think it is great when students can feed off of each other's ideas and grow individually from each other. I also think it is very important to switch the groups up after a few weeks because students like working with different people. I would like to place Adrianna, Ragina, and Charles in the same group at first and I would re-evaluate the group a couple week sin to see if the students are growing. If not, I will switch up the groups and try something new.

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I don't like the idea of always having the same academic and reading levels of students in the same groups. I think there needs to be a diversity within the groups so students can learn from one another. I actually believe that the three listed above could be a good group to assign because they will be able to learn and help one another. I think students should be grouped more on setting up all students to be successful. Help your students by putting them in groups where they will work well together. This doesn't necessarily mean putting groups together with friends, but rather putting together personalities that will be able to be productive and get their work done. By allowing diversity in groups, everyone will have a different strength to bring to the group.

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I have never agreed with grouping students by their reading or academic level. The criteria for grouping students in my classroom would be that there are always a mixture of reading and academic levels in each group. I think students can help each other understand certain topics, sometimes better than the teacher.  All students would understand that they are each responsible for their own work. I would mix the groups up every once in a while so that different students can work together.  In regards to the three students, I think Adrianna would be able to work well with Charles and Rangina. Since she gets bored easily, the teacher can make it her job to help the other two students when the right time occurs. The teacher could even give Adrianna more challenging questions/work.

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I do not believe in keeping the same groups together for everything. I do believe that the students that need to be challenged should be challenged and the students that are struggling should assisted. I think that mixing the different level's of abilities will allow the students to be able to help one another. Adrianna could help the other two to learn the concept because she finds it so easy. This would present to her a challenge. The other two can learn from her and improve their skills. Now there are some moments where I think it would be ok to bring Adrianna farther along and then step back to help the other two. But I think that over all you need to have a verity of abilities working together.

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Consider these three students in your classroom:

1.) Adrianna has read every book you can name. She is known as a very bright kid. However, she gets bored easily in class, especially when she does not find the task challenging.

2.) Rangina is a recent immigrant from Pakistan. She is learning English as a third language and wants to get an education in the United States. She struggles with the English language and the social aspects of schooling.

3.) Charles reads several grade levels below his peers. He has been progressing through school without strong reading or writing skills. As a defense, he often tells the teacher that he was too busy playing soccer or video games to do his homework.

(Student Case Studies from Reading for Information in Elementary School by Frey & Fisher, page 24).

Below, please explain what your process for grouping your students in your classroom will be. Consider the questions to guide you.

What should be the criteria for grouping students in your classroom? Should reading skill be the determinant? Will your groups always be the same or will you change them?