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Should Reading Be Taught Whole Class or Small Group?

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Should Reading Be Taught Whole Class or Small Group?

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Should Reading Be Taught Whole Class or Small Group? | Shanahan on Literacy

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This blog entry explores the benefits of teaching reading to small groups rather than delivering a single lesson to a whole class. Surprisingly, it turns out research does not find a clear benefit for small group teaching, and it identifies some problems.

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Making Whole Class Work More Effective | Shanahan on Literacy

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This entry explores how to make the whole class work more effective.

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What is the Rest of the Class Doing? Ideas compiled by C. Reese

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What is the Rest of the Class Doing? Ideas compiled by C. Reese

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What is the Rest of the Class Doing While I Pull Small Groups

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How to Pull Effective Small-Group Lessons

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How to Pull Effective Small-Group Lessons

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Teacher Professional Learning | Literacy, Math | MTSS

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Small Group Instruction: How to Make it Effective

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Small group instruction and cooperative learning have a significant impact on student achievement and this piece describes why.

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Engaging Other Students during independent work time

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Engaging Other Students during independent work time

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Working with small groups is a fun and effective strategy for meeting the needs of all your students. Small-group instruction not only allows you to differentiate learning, it's also the perfect time to encourage your students to work together and share their strengths with one another. But how do you keep the rest of your class engaged while you're meeting with a small group? Here are five effective ways to inspire your students to continue learning on their own!
Plus, check out these additional activities for all the fast finishers in your classroom.
Independent Reading and Response
Independent reading is the go-to strategy to promote learning while you engage in small-group instruction-but managing it can be a challenge when your focus is elsewhere. These ready-to go Graphic Organizer Booklets for Reading Response are the perfect teaching tools to keep your students on track when you're working with a small group. Designed for both fiction and nonfiction books, these guided response packets boost comprehension and promote critical thinking.

Reflection and Writing
When you're working with a small group, encourage others to use this time to reflect on their day and write about it in their student journal. Daily journaling is not only a great way to sharpen writing skills, it's also the perfect opportunity for your students to think about their goals, reflect on what they want to achieve inside and outside the classroom, and focus on the steps they need to take to succeed. Whether you use targeted prompts or give students the freedom to write about whatever is on their mind, these written reflections are a great way to get to know your students and help them further develop their writing ability.

Sharpen Writing Skills Even More
To help your students take their writing to the next level, these ready-to-go journal activities will not only sharpen their writing skills, they'll also allow you to fully devote your attention to the small group you're working with. Filled with story starters and nonfiction essay prompts, these guided writing activities boost student confidence and help young learners acquire valuable writing skills, such as brainstorming, dialogue writing, and character development. While you're working with your small group, the rest of the class will be transforming themselves into the next generation of influential authors!

Social-emotional Learning
Social-emotional learning is a top priority for teachers. It plays both a key role in cultivating a culture of kindness in your classroom and inspires students to make a difference at home and in the community. While you're working with your small group, encourage the rest of your class to engage in their own social-emotional learning with one of these great reads from your classroom library. When finished, they can trade with their neighbor or write about what they've just read, reflecting on the lessons they just learned.

Practice Makes Perfect
Whether it's sight words, math, or another subject or topic your students are struggling with, encourage your students to devote this independent learning time to subject areas where they're having the most trouble. With Scholastic Teachables, you can access ready-to-go resources to meet the needs of all your students while you're working with your small group. With access to thousands of lesson and activities, you'll not only save valuable prep time, you'll also give your students the extra practice they need to master any subject!

These are just a few ways to engage your students during small-group instruction. For more teaching tips, strategies, and tools, check out these essential teacher resources from Scholastic.

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5 Ways to Engage Other Students While You're Doing Small-Group Instruction

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Working with small groups is a fun and effective strategy for meeting the needs of all your students. Small-group instruction not only allows you to differentiate learning, it's also the perfect time to encourage your students to work together and share their strengths with one another.

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Small group instruction is a strategy mostly utilized in the elementary school setting. The sole focus of small group instruction is to grow students' academic skills. Many students enter school with learning gaps several years behind their current grade level. Teachers are expected to provide instruction to students and grow their academic competency within one school year. Therefore, educators implement small group instruction to best meet the needs of their students to ensure their success.

What is Small Group Instruction?

The purpose of small group instruction is to address learning deficits. Students are placed within groups of two to six by providing direct instructional support. Small group instruction is especially beneficial for special populations of students such as English language learners, special education students, at-risk students, and students of poverty.

According to J. Kendall's Small-group instruction for English language learners: It makes sense, "small group instruction provides an environment in which students can feel comfortable practicing and receiving feedback and teachers can offer additional teaching and modeling of content." Knowing students' instructional levels is necessary to effectively plan and implement small group instruction.

Determining a student's instructional level includes reviewing and analyzing multiple assessment data. Once the instructional levels are determined, students are grouped homogeneously to provide targeted instruction based on their individual needs. Progress monitoring data, formative assessment data, and standardized assessment data are a few sources that can be used to identify student deficits on learning targets and state standards.

After analyzing data, teachers should plan specific lessons to address the learning targets. During small group instruction implementation, learning is scaffolded by utilizing visuals, graphic organizers, supplemental aids, note taking assistance, reading supports, technology, and manipulatives. Small group instruction can be implemented in any content area. However, most teachers implement small group instruction in reading and math due to the pressures of state accountability and the need to grow students' skill sets in a short amount of time.

What are the Benefits of Small Group Instruction?

There are many reasons why small group instruction is important, but the biggest benefit to students is the setting allows for more individualized support and yields great academic success for students. " Instruction of children in small groups affords children and their teachers invaluable and unique opportunities, that may not be possible in large group activities. " Teachers are able to diagnose students' learning deficits and cater specific learning plans to meet their needs in content areas.

For example, if a group of students is struggling with multi-step word problems in math, the teacher can provide support on operations and reading comprehension. Being in close proximity to students allows the teacher to address misconceptions immediately that would not have been possible in whole group instruction. Students can ask specific questions and receive feedback without fear or judgement from peers.

If the majority of the students in a class struggle with a particular skill or concept, the issue lies more with direct instruction on the teacher's part rather than individualized learning deficits of the students.

When is it Appropriate to Use Small Group Instruction?

Small group instruction should begin for students after the first 6 weeks of school through the remainder of the school year. It is appropriate to use at least 3-5 times per week to reinforce skills for students. The first 6 weeks are used to collect data and pre-assess students' reading and math levels. The data is also used to determine specific learning targets students need to be successful. The first week of a new unit of study can also be used to collect data and regroup students.

The small group instruction learning cycle includes pre-assessment, direct instruction while progress monitoring, post assessments, and reteaching of concepts for mastery. The cycle should happen for every concept unit that aligns to the local and state curriculum.

Implementing Small Group Instruction in the Classroom

Implementing small group instruction in the classroom should be highly structured. Planning in advance is key to ensure effective small group instructional learning cycles. During the small group instruction learning cycle, access to manipulatives, visuals, graphic organizers, technology, and lesson plans are necessary for students to grasp concepts.

In their 2008 book, Educational Leadership professors Dr. Nancy Frey and Dr. Douglas Fisher explain that lesson plans should include 'I do', 'We do', and 'You do' activities to scaffold learning for students. Lesson plans can also include inquiry to address gaps in students' thinking and to provide clarity to any misconceptions.

Anecdotal notes should be used to track students' progress and write down ideas for the upcoming lesson plan the following week. Instructional adjustments must be made on a weekly basis to ensure students are successful in learning content skills.

The biggest challenge for teachers when implementing small group instruction is deciphering how to engage other students in the classroom while working with a small group of 2-6 students. Classroom management is necessary to effectively implement small group instruction. Teachers should utilize differentiated instruction and have a variety of learning stations that challenge and engage other students in rigorous activities that are aligned to learning standards. Some examples are project-based learning, computer-based applications, instructional games, writing workshops, investigation stations, book studies, skills practice, etc. All learning stations must align with grade level standards to ensure further learning gaps are not created.

Teachers should also find natural breaks during small group instruction to check in with other students who are working in learning stations for a few minutes to ensure they are on task and successfully completing assignments. During the check-in times, teachers should take quick anecdotal notes on any student that is struggling to address the deficits in small group instruction. If most students are unsuccessful in learning stations, teachers will need to explore other effective instructional strategies to address the deficits during whole group instruction.

Conclusion

Small group instruction allows teachers to ensure students have an equitable learning experience and can be just as successful as their peers in the educational setting. It provides the opportunity for all students to learn content at a pace and level they understand. Implications for further studies should address the effect of small group instruction in the middle and high school setting. Most studies address the importance of small group instruction in the elementary school setting. Without effective instruction, underprivileged students will continue to be at-risk, have learning gaps, and experience missed opportunities to learn academic content in a meaningful way.

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How to Implement Effective Small Group Instruction - TeachHUB

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Small group instruction is a strategy mostly utilized in the elementary school setting. The sole focus of small group instruction is to grow students' academic skills. Many students enter school with learning gaps several years behind their current grade level. Teachers are expected to provide instruction to students and grow their academic competency within one school year.

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Be sure students are able to work independently first - Working with a small group while the rest of the students work independently is one of the most difficult - if not the most difficult - activities to manage. Therefore, before you attempt this activity, make sure the students have demonstrated that they can work independently at their seats.

Make learning how to work independently your first priority - At the beginning of the year when you have the students working at their seats while you are with a small group, your job is to make sure the students learn how to work independently at their seats. Make your top priority monitoring the students working independently rather than teaching the students in your small group. Until the students at their seats learn to stay engaged and quiet on their own, no meaningful learning will take place.

Working In pairs - Your next priority after independent work is making sure students can work well in pairs. There may be times with you have them working in pairs while you are working with a group. You have to be assured that they are doing a learning activity with their partner and not just messing around.

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Teacher Works With Small Group While Other Students Work Independently | Online and Distance Learning : Redding Schools

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Be sure students are able to work independently first - Working with a small group while the rest of the students work independently is one of the most difficult - if not the most difficult - activities to manage. Therefore, before you attempt this activity, make sure the students have demonstrated that they can work independently at their seats.

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Reading Response BINGO- Fiction and Nonfiction

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Reading Response BINGO- Fiction and Nonfiction