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Instructional grouping is a great strategy for re-teaching content by by grouping students based on a variety of factors.

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How do you group your students? It's a teacher's challenge sometimes. They say students learn best in them but do they? In my classroom, I started noticing something... When I'd say get into groups of four (or the like), they immediately gravitated toward the same peers.

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Through inquiry based learning, you can use what students know to guide them through their personalized learning experience as you use reflection to stimulate thinking and exit tickets to check for understanding and adjust for future teaching.

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By Kristine Scharaldi
A third-grader, Sam, is sitting at his desk during a science lesson while his teacher stands in the front of the classroom showing a PowerPoint presentation about different types of clouds.
After 15 minutes, the teacher asks if anyone has questions. Nobody raises his or her hand. The teacher reaches for a jar of popsicle sticks, each with a student's name on it.
Sam sits anxiously, hoping his name isn't selected. "Sam!" the teacher announces, "What does a cumulonimbus cloud look like?" Filled with stress from being put on the spot, Sam is silent and shrugs his shoulders, not able to formulate a response quickly enough to accurately answer the question. Another student speaks up, provides the correct answer, and the lesson continues.
Why wasn't Sam able to answer the question? Would he be considered a shy student, or an inattentive one? There are likely a number of reasons to explain why Sam couldn't answer the question. Most importantly, does the way the teacher conducted the lesson affect Sam's level of understanding?
We can design learning experiences that offer all students, shy or outgoing, more opportunities to be engaged and curious in the classroom and take control of their learning. Below are five strategies that encourage inquiry-based learning and provide ways for all students to be actively involved in the classroom and throughout a unit of study.

1. Start with What Students Know

When starting a new unit, ask students to think about the topic and have them share what they already know. They can share virtually, on a piece of paper or by talking in a small group. Using the cloud lesson from above as an example, students could draw pictures of different clouds they've seen or experiences they've had, relating the concept to their personal knowledge and memories.
Then encourage students to wonder about the topic. Their ideas will lead them to ask questions and become curious about why different clouds look different. This approach puts students in the center of the learning and offers opportunities for every child to feel included. Studies show that people learn better when they're curious, so use student questions to guide lessons-start where the students show interest and then lead them into the new content.

2. Guide Students on Individual Learning Paths

Using leveled reading, personal interest and the right tools, teachers can support students in navigating through their own curiosities. Websites like Kids Discover Online and Newsela help facilitate inquiry-based learning while giving students the freedom to explore new content for themselves.
Let's use our third-grader Sam for an example: The teacher can post an article about "A Sky Full of Clouds" as a starting point. The site leads him to click on a related article about atmosphere. After that, he thinks about space and follows a link to the related article, "Weather Satellites and Other Instruments." Sam is able to lead his own investigation and make learning discoveries within a safe and supported environment.

3. Make Time for Reflection

Much of the school day is fast-paced and highly stimulating, allowing little downtime for students to reflect and ponder new concepts. Slowing the pace to include a few moments of quiet reflection time after each lesson is extremely important for all students, but especially for introverts and shy students. While the classic phrase, "Does anyone have any questions?" after a lesson may seem helpful, many students often need more time to think or are too timid to raise their hand to ask questions out loud.

4. Create "Exit Tickets"

I recommend that teachers incorporate exit tickets so all students have the opportunity to write, draw or virtually submit something memorable they learned during the lesson, as well as what they are still wondering or confused about. This is a great way to build in quiet reflection time and evaluate each student's understanding of the new content. Addressing questions during the first part of class the next day lets students know you care about their inquiries.

5. Use Technology Tools to Extend Learning Opportunities

Having a dedicated online space to share ideas, questions and thoughts available both during and after class time makes it possible for teachers to foster a community of learners. I suggest using web-based tools such as Padlet, Google Classroom or your learning management system as a platform where students can post questions, seek responses, and have conversations about content both in and out of school. Using digital communication and message boards can get the entire class involved in group conversation and collaboration at a level that each student is comfortable with.
By incorporating these types of tools and strategies to drive learning through inquiry, teachers should never again have to "call on" students to participate using popsicle sticks. Moving towards student-centered learning design provides many opportunities for children to be involved in ways that feel good to them.
For more, see:
Kristine Scharaldi, a former elementary educator and tech integration specialist, is now an educational consultant and professional development provider. Follow her on Twitter: @kscharaldi. Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update

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5 Ways to Encourage Inquiry-Based Learning

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By Kristine Scharaldi A third-grader, Sam, is sitting at his desk during a science lesson while his teacher stands in the front of the classroom showing a PowerPoint presentation about different types of clouds. After 15 minutes, the teacher asks if anyone has questions. Nobody raises his or her hand.

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‎The Sounding Out Machine is an Assistive Reading Device. It helps children focus on challenging words in their texts, and then models how to sound out those words. Teachers love to sit next to students and listen to them read. They model how to chunk words, break them into syllables and use phoni…

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Apps and resources through Assistive Technology to support students with special needs.

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Australian Touch and Write apps use the licensed fonts of School Fonts. Check out their great work! Funds from sale of their fonts are used entirely to establish schools in Yolŋu Land (Arnhem). www.schoolfonts.com.au

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Differentiated Instruction can be used to support students with a variety of needs by modifying how you teach, the lesson process, what type of work students produce, the content, how you assess students knowledge, and how you group students.

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Catalog – University System of New Hampshire Pressbooks

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Scaffolding provides students with access to the content by building on students experience and prior knowledge.

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Smarter Tools for Teachers. Discover classroom resources you can use today. Educator-created lessons, activities, strategies, and professional development to help tailor instruction and boost learning.

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Several strategies for creating an equitable learning environment by providing variety through engagement, representation, and action and expression.

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The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Reenvisioning the UDL Guidelines

Because the UDL Guidelines are meant to be informed by feedback from the field as well as new research, they have been updated several times in the past. We are in the process of updating the Guidelines once again in our UDL Rising to Equity initiative.

This update will focus specifically on addressing systemic barriers that result in inequitable learning opportunities and outcomes. CAST aims to develop a transparent, inclusive, and community-driven process. If you are interested in collaborating and staying updated on our progress, we invite you to complete a brief survey.

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The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

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Activities for Reteaching

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Strategies to support students with special needs in accessing the content.

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Smarter Tools for Teachers. Discover classroom resources you can use today. Educator-created lessons, activities, strategies, and professional development to help tailor instruction and boost learning.

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Activities and accommodations for learners with special needs.

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Multi-language Keyboard for Google Drive™

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Multi-language Virtual Keyboard for Google Chrome

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the perfection of reading experience,simple readermode,word hightlight,text to speech

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The chrome web store is a great digital resource that provides a variety of downloadable tools that students and teachers can use to increase reading comprehension.

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Small programs that add new features to your browser and personalize your browsing experience.

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These standards focus on building the ELD skills needed to support acquiring the skills necessary for mastering the corresponding California Content Standard.

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How the ELL Brain Learns to Read by David A. Sousa

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How the ELL Brain Learns to Read by David A. Sousa

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Chapter 4 English Language Reading and Writing focuses on strategies to support reading comprehension development in English Language Learners.

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VitalSource Bookshelf is the world's leading platform for distributing, accessing, consuming, and engaging with digital textbooks and course materials.

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Knowing vocabulary words is key to reading comprehension. The more words a child knows, the better he or she will understand the text. Teachers can teach vocabulary directly or indirectly. Using a variety of effective methods will increase the student's ability to learn new words.

How vocabulary relates to ELLs

For English language learners (ELLs), vocabulary development is especially important. The average native English speaker enters kindergarten knowing at least 5,000 words. The average ELL may know 5,000 words in his or her native language, but very few words in English. While native speakers continue to learn new words, ELLs face the double challenge of building that foundation and then closing the gap.

You may be surprised at how quickly a new ELL student can communicate verbally with peers, but remember that there is a big difference between social English and academic English. Reading, writing, speaking, and understanding academic English happen in the classroom. Using a combination of the following strategies will help ELLs to close the gap.

Classroom strategies: Vocabulary

Pre-teach vocabulary

Before doing an activity, teaching content, or reading a story in class, pre-teaching vocabulary is always helpful, especially for ELLs. This will give them the chance to identify words and then be able to place them in context and remember them. You can pre-teach vocabulary by using English as a second language (ESL) methods such as:

Role playing or pantomiming

Using gestures

Showing real objects

Pointing to pictures

Doing quick drawings on the board

Using the Spanish equivalent and then asking students to say the word in English

To ensure mastery of more complex words and concepts, you might want to follow these six ESL steps:

1. Pre-select a word from an upcoming text or conversation.

2. Explain the meaning with student-friendly definitions.

3. Provide examples of how it is used.

4. Ask students to repeat the word three times.

5. Engage students in activities to develop mastery.

6. Ask students to say the word again.

Focus on cognates

Cognates are words in different languages that are derived from the same original word or root. Note that about 40% of all English words have similar cognates in Spanish! This is an obvious bridge to the English language – if the student is made aware of how to use this resource.

Cognates are related words like family and familia, director and director, and conversation and conversación. False cognates do exist (mano in Spanish means hand, not man), but they are the exception to the rule. Encourage ELLs to guess at words and try to decipher text based on this existing knowledge. The more familiarity a teacher has with Spanish, the easier it is to point out these connections.

Scaffold

Scaffolding is providing a support for students as they learn new skills or information. For scaffolding vocabulary, you can:

Use a graphic organizer to explain concepts and related words. [Example coming soon]

Use the six ESL steps above to help students understand and use the word immediately.

Post new vocabulary on a word wall, and review the words daily. Swap out old words as necessary.

Label drawings and pictures to help students make the connection between oral and written English. Point to these visuals to clarify meaning when using these words.

Use computers and television

When geared to ELLs, computer programs and television programs are proven supplements to helping ELLs build language and reading skills. Computers are a non-threatening way to help children work on their own or with a buddy to learn vocabulary, sounds of English, syntax, reading, and writing. Educational children's television can also be a wonderful way to increase many reading skills, including vocabulary and comprehension.

Use audio books

Help ELLs build vocabulary by providing books with tapes in a listening center on one side of the classroom. By hearing and seeing the word in context at the same time, ELLs pick up its meaning and also gain prosody, and oral fluency.

Use a word wizard box

Ask students to bring new words into the classroom that they hear at home, on TV, or anywhere else and drop these words into a word wizard box. At the end of class, pull out a word and ask who wrote it. Have students tell you where they heard the words and how they were used. Ask students to use these new words in their discussions and writing.

Encourage oral language use

ELLs are not going to learn academic English from their parents nor their peers. They are going to learn it from you. Begin by making sure that they know instructional words that you use every day, such as "follow directions", "describe", "start at the top of the page", "read to the bottom of page 4", "highlight the verbs only", and "use the steps in your guide."

Encourage ELLs to speak in class as much as possible. Structure conversations around books and subjects that build vocabulary. Instead of simple "yes or no" questions, ask questions that are interactive and meaningful. For example, "What do you think? What should we change?" In these ways, ELLs will learn the academic English they will need to succeed in future schooling. Remember to be sensitive to ELLs who may be afraid to make mistakes. Here are some ideas for helping ELLs feel comfortable in the classroom.

Model correct usage

Instead of frequently correcting pronunciation or grammar, reaffirm the student's idea and then say the word correctly and in context.

More ideas

Label classroom objects in English and Spanish

Develop lesson plans and activities with new vocabulary words in mind

Read narrative (children's literature) and expository (nonfiction, such as science, social studies) texts to your class and discuss vocabulary words

Teach words in context – this is more effective than isolated memorization

Discuss literal vs. figurative meanings of idiomatic expressions such as "sweet tooth," "at her heels," "make up your mind," and "the cat's got your tongue."

Teach students how to use dictionaries

Teach students how to use prefixes and suffixes to determine meaning

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Knowing vocabulary words is key to reading comprehension. The more words a child knows, the better he or she will understand the text. Teachers can teach vocabulary directly or indirectly. Using a variety of effective methods will increase the student's ability to learn new words. For English language learners (ELLs), vocabulary development is especially important.

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Worksheets are a great tool for teaching reading comprehension strategies that build on these specific skills. Worksheets can be adapted and modified to meet the needs of your students.

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Download and print RL.3.2 worksheets to help kids develop this key third grade Common Core ELA (English language arts) skill.

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How the Brain Learns to Read by David A. Sousa, Chapter 4, Teaching Reading Comprehension

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How the Brain Learns to Read by David A. Sousa, Chapter 4, Teaching Reading Comprehension

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This chapter gives several strategies for teaching reading comprehension including using graphic and semantic organizers.

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VitalSource Bookshelf is the world's leading platform for distributing, accessing, consuming, and engaging with digital textbooks and course materials.

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Many strategies including activities such as using text-based strategies in teaching such as searching for information in the text.

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Retelling & Recounting Stories: Exploring ELA

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Find an extensive guide to cover Retelling & Recounting Stories for your primary students including books, activities, no-prep resources and more.

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Activities for teaching this skill/concept

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Activities for teaching this skill/concept

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Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

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A comprehensive assessment with placement and teacher resources

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A variety of teacher-created assessments on this content standard

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Rl.3.2 Assessment & Worksheets | Teachers Pay Teachers

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Browse rl.3.2 assessment resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources.

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Reading Rockets Word Recognition Assessment

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Reading Rockets Word Recognition Assessment

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An informal assessment of word recognition, including what the assessment measures, when is should be assessed, examples of questions, and the age or grade at which the assessment should be mastered.

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These assessments are used to identify proficiency in this concept and skill