Hi friends! I apologize for my lack of blogging...I've been super busy the last few weeks and just haven't found the time to sit down and relax! (I'm sure all of you know the feeling!) We get our class rolls next week and can I just say how excited I am?!?! I feel like a kid on Christmas :) Okay onto the real reason for this post~small group instruction! Whoop whoop!
This is my favorite part of my day! I love it when I am teaching a group EXACTLY where they are. I could not do this without the Daily 5...I mean all of my other students are completely engaged with their activities that don't even have to worry about them. I do several different things during small group instruction, it all depends on the level of the group. This year I had 5 groups with 2-4 students per group. This is what a typical day looks like for my groups:
Below Grade Level: phonics focus and grammar warm up activity (silly sentences, saying a word with the sound 3 times fast, or a simple Q&A about our phonics for the week). Then we work on a specific skill while we read- fluency, comprehension, accuracy, vocabulary...this group always needed help in all of these areas so we rotated through them each week. I pick a reader on their F&P instructional level and we go through it first and look for words they don't know. Then we whisper read the book page by page and discuss after each one. Then they read whisper read the book the whole way through on their own. After they are all finished I specifically ask each one of them comprehension questions. Then we sometimes play a wrap up game with the 1st grade dolch sight words. I send the reader home with them for homework. I try to meet with them 4 times a week.
Grade Level: (I have two groups on this level)Quick review of our phonics grammar skills. Then we work on a specific skill while we read- fluency, comprehension, accuracy, vocabulary. This group really needed to focus on fluency and accuracy so those are what we hit the most of. We reviewed vocabulary as we read and their comprehension came at the end of a text. I pick a reader on their F&P instructional level. We whisper read the book page by page and discuss after each one. Then they read whisper read the book the whole way through on their own. After they are all finished I specifically ask each one of them comprehension questions. Then we play a skill game of their choice. Sometimes they like to do fluency, accuracy, or even dolch sight words. I send the reader home with them for homework. I try to meet with them 3 times a week.
Above Grade Level: They tell me the phonics and grammar for the week. We review if they need to but most of the time they are right where they need to be. I pick a reader or simple chapter book on their level. They read the book silently in their heads and then we pause and talk about it every few pages. I send the book home with them for homework. If it is a chapter book I sometimes make them read a chapter in between meetings. I try to meet with them 2-3 times a week.
Beyond Grade Level: I usually do an additional phonics or grammar skill with them . Their reader is a chapter book of their choice on their instructional level. I set this group up like a literature circle. They each take turn reading a page or reading chapters on their own (I let them decide). Then they discuss the book and what they think about the text. I send home non fiction texts on their instructional level that will require them to work with an adult and home and expand their understanding. I try to meet with them 2 times a week.
Whew! Now I don't usually do these groups alone. I have an instructional aide that comes in my room 2 times a week during reading. She and I pull groups at the same time. On these days every group gets met with! I also had an ELL student this year and our awesome ELL teacher came in everyday during reading and she often met with a group as well. These ladies were awesome to work with and I couldn't imagine small groups without them! I feel so blessed, because I know most of you do not get this additional support and my hat is off to you...superstar!
Well that is all I have to say for now...thanks for sticking around for this long post. Happy Friday!
