612 Reading Intervention Teacher Academy

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6-12 Reading Intervention TeacherAcademy
Students

• Session 10
• Managing Small
• Group Instruction

Engagement
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• To Group or not to Group
• There IS no Question!

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Whole-Group
Instruction
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Issues with Whole-Group Instruction

• Teacher does most of the talking.
• Most of the conversation revolves around teacher
  initiation and evaluation of student responses.
• Few students actually engage in discussion and
  when they do, it is in response to teacher
  questions.
• Students arent engaged in thoughtful literacy
  rather they are concerned with finding the
  correct answer to the teachers questions.

Cynthia H. Brock Taffy E. Raphael, 2005 Windows
to Language, Literacy, and Culture Insights From
an English-Language Learner
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Consider this . . .

• If the teacher and the students come from
  different cultural backgrounds, and if the
  students are in the process of learning the
  language of instruction, chances are good that
  they would have very different questions,
  concerns, and understandings of the text.

Cynthia H. Brock Taffy E. Raphael, 2005, p.
42 Windows to Language, Literacy, and Culture
Insights From an English-Language Learner
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Have you thought about.

• As humans, we are steeped in our own cultural
  ways of seeing. When teachers cultural ways of
  seeing are different from those of their
  students, they must exercise diligence about
  striving to see through the eyes of the ELLs in
  the room.

Cynthia H. Brock Taffy E. Raphael, 2005, p.
50 Windows to Language, Literacy, and Culture
Insights From an English-Language Learner
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Purpose for Grouping

• Maximizes instruction for all students.
• Usually grounded in diagnostic and progress
  monitoring data.
• Flexible in nature.
• Provides learning opportunities for students that
  addresses different learning styles and cultural
  backgrounds.
• Allows students opportunities to engage in
  thoughtful literacy conversations.

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Barriers to Small Group Instruction

• Working at your tables, discuss and chart
  barriers to small group instruction.
• Share your concerns with the whole group.

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Small Group Instruction

• Small group instruction has been found in
  research studies to be more effective than
  whole-class instruction.
• Small groups should be flexible, heterogeneous,
  and temporary.
•  Flexible groups are formed on the basis of
  ability, need, chance, choice and/or interest.
•  Small groups can comprise 3 to 10 students, but
  smaller groups of 3 to 4 students are found to be
  more effective.

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Small Groups A Tool for Promoting Student
Conversation

• Read from Adolescent Literacy Turning Promise
  into Practice, page 45, Talking at Least
  Serious Talking Can Also be Hard Work.
• Stop on page 48, Finding the Poem.
• As you read, think about how small group
  instruction can promote student discussion.

Robert E. Probst, 2007, p. 43-60 Tom Sawyer,
Teaching, and Talking in Adolescent Literacy
Turning Promise into Practice
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Managing Small-Group Instruction

• The way a teacher organizes and administers
  routines to make classroom life as productive and
  satisfying as possible. Classroom management
  included, but is much broader, than discipline.
  For example, teachers with good classroom
  management skills explain classroom routines and
  may even begin the school year by having students
  practice expected procedures as a way of
  minimizing disruptions and maximizing the time
  for instruction.

Diane Ravitch, 2007, p. 45 Ed Speak A Glossary
of Educational Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and
Jargon
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Classroom Example

• View video of Angelia Steinruck and Amy Abbott
  preparing their students for small group
  activities.
• What are the procedures used by these two
  teachers?

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Strategies for Managing Small Groups

• Students need instruction and practice on how to
  form groups quickly.
• Procedures for the following must be firmly
  established
• Handling the noise level.
• What to do when students finish their work.
• Promoting on-task behavior
• Minimizing stray movement
• Bringing the activity to a close

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Small Group Formats

• Guided Reading Groups Teacher rotates
  instruction throughout the week.
• Literature Circles/Content Area Interest Groups
  Students read on or above grade level and
  teacher meets with group at least once a week.

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Guided Reading Groups

• The purpose of Guided Reading is to empower
  students with independent reading skills and
  strategies they will automatically use to
  interpret texts and related materials.
• Give each student a copy of the chosen passage.
• Present a stimulating hook to generate
  anticipation.
• Divide the passage into small sections.
• Assign a section for students to read silently
  and orally. The assigned passage should be at
  the students personal reading level.
• Guide and interact with the students through
  their reading.

Carolyn Chapman King, 2003, p.
65 Differentiated Instructional Strategies for
Reading in the Content Areas
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Literature Circles an opportunity for students
to control their own learning

• Students work together to discuss a piece of
  literature in depth, allowing them to become
  critical thinkers as they engage in ongoing
  dialogue with text. Through structured discussion
  and extended written and artistic response, this
  strategy guides the students to a deeper
  understanding of what they read. The key aspect
  of this strategy is the structured use of roles
  as the students learn to discuss and contribute
  to the group.

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Classroom example

• View video of Angelia Steinruck and Amy Abbott as
  they guide their students through a literature
  circle experience

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Putting the pieces together

• In your notebook, reflect on how you might be
  able to incorporate more opportunities for
  students to engage in discussion in your
  classroom.

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References

• Brock, C. H. Raphael, T. E. (2005). Windows to
  language, literacy, and culture Insights from an
  English-language learner. Newark, DE
  International Reading Association.
• Chapman, C. King, R. (2003). Differentiated
  instructional strategies for reading in the
  content areas. Thousand Oaks, CA Corwin Press.
• Probst, R. E. (2007). Tom Sawyer, teaching and
  talking. In Beers, K., Probst, R. E., Rief, L.
  (Eds.). Adolescent literacy Turning promise into
  practice (pp. 43-60). Portsmouth, NH Heinemann.
• Ravitch, D. (2007). Ed speak A glossary of
  educational terms, phrases, buzzwords, and
  jargon. Alexandria, VA Association for
  Supervision and Curriculum Development.