This is the 4th post in a series exploring the Science of Reading, and how to bring it to the teacher table.
The Benefits of Small Group Teaching
I absolutely love small groups. To me this is where the magic really happens. It can take some time to really get it off the ground, but the pay off is so worth it. Here's why I love it:
Individualized Instruction: We can tailor our lessons to each student's needs, offering support, challenges, or enrichment.
Increased Student Engagement: In smaller groups of 3-5 students, everyone gets a chance to participate actively, ask questions, and receive feedback right on the spot. It helps me make better connections with my students, and the students with each other.
Efficient Use of Time: We can focus on specific skills and concepts, making the most of our instructional time.
Aligning Small Group Teaching with the Science of Reading
The Science of Reading is all about using evidence-based practices to build reading skills. Small group instruction fits right in by letting us focus on essential skills like phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
What a Small Group Science of Reading Session Looks Like
We would all love to have more dedicated time with our students, but the reality is, depending on your class size you may only be getting 12-15 minutes 3 days week. So how can make every minute count?
Planning and Monitoring
Careful planning and progress monitoring is essential if you want to be able to provide targeted support in small amounts of time. You can play with your groupings, maybe meet less frequently with some groups or adjust timings based on students' needs. I have had years where I meet with 2 groups a day for about 20 minutes each. Many teachers seem to stick to about 3 days a week with about 15 minutes a group for 3 groups.
Setting Up Your Groups
Start by figuring out your groupings (check out see this post for guidance) and sketching out your plan (here's a handy resource to help).
Once you have your groups, you can begin to look at what to DO in those groups.
Here is a SoR aligned example:
1. Warm-Up (1-2 minutes)
Purpose: Activate prior knowledge and get students ready for learning.
How: Quick phonemic awareness exercise
Example: Use keyword sound cards related to the focus skill. Use keyword sound cards—say the letter(s), the keyword picture, and the sound with a gesture, like for 'O, octopus, ŏ', mimic an octopus with your hand. I learned about the gestures in a Really Great Reading training, I have some that I choose and use for vowels, but for some other keyword cards I let the class help me come up with a gesture.
2. Phonics Instruction (3-4 minutes)
Purpose: Teach or reinforce a phonics skill.
How: Explicit instruction of the focus phonics pattern.
Example: Begin with introduction or review of the skill by tapping and/or mapping words.
3. Guided Practice (4-5 minutes)
Purpose: Apply phonics skills
Activities: This could involve reading a decodable book, playing a phonics game, or engaging in a word sorting activity. The choice of activity depends on the focus of the lesson and the specific needs of the students.
Example: One day could be about reading a decodable text; another might involve a phonics matching game. Some weeks, we might stick with one decodable across several sessions, adding fluency work and dictation as needed.
4. Application and Skill Reinforcement (4-5 minutes)
Purpose: Extend phonics skills into broader reading and writing practices.
Activities: Depending on the day and student needs, this could involve working on vocabulary and comprehension from a text, engaging in encoding practice where students write words or sentences using the phonics pattern, or any other activity that reinforces the phonics focus.
Example: Some days involve dissecting a passage for vocabulary and comprehension; other days, students might write sentences using the learned phonics patterns.
5. Wrap-Up and Review (1-2 minutes) - Honestly, I often run out of time here, but when possible, it's great to wrap up with a quick review!
Purpose: Reinforce the focus of the lesson and provide closure.
Activities: Quick review of the key skill.
Example: Students provide the keyword and sound independently, or tap or spell a word before leaving the table.
What could this look like across a week?
Day 1: Phonics and Vocabulary Introduction
Focus: Introduce a new phonics pattern.
Activities: Phonemic awareness warm-up, explicit instruction of the pattern, introduce key vocabulary, guided practice with a decodable text.
Example: Introduce new phonics pattern, introduce 2-3 new vocabulary words from the text, read the decodable text, and discuss the new words.
Day 2: Phonics Reinforcement and Comprehension
Focus: Reinforce the phonics pattern and introduce comprehension.
Activities: Warm-up with previously taught sounds/words, guided practice with the same decodable text, focus on comprehension questions.
Example: Review phonics pattern, practice reading decodable text - maybe highlighting focus skill words, ask comprehension questions, and discuss the text.
Day 3: Review, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Assessment
NOTE: I run a 4 day grouping schedule and do all my assessing on Friday, but if you run a 5 day grouping schedule you will want to have some sort of assessment check built in to the last day of that group.
Focus: Review and assess understanding, build fluency, and reinforce vocabulary.
Activities: Warm-up, repeated reading of a decodable text to build fluency, quick informal assessment, vocabulary review, and fun fluency games.
Example: Fluency practice with repeated reading, assess understanding through read-aloud or word list, review vocabulary words, and play a fluency or vocabulary game.
Small groups are the heart of personalized learning in reading instruction. They offer an opportunity to meet each student right where they are and guide them towards reading proficiency.
If you’re looking for more structured support, consider checking out my small group kits and curriculum planner. They're designed to help you streamline your planning process and enhance the impact of your small group sessions.
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