Enhances Core Reading Selections Flexible Grouping Enhances Core Reading Selections

What’s the objective? Grouping students for success depends upon lesson objectives. Skills based lessons Comprehension based lessons

Considerations Students’ success is contingent upon: Reading level Skill level Independence level Personality types Creating a safe and comfortable working environment for all

Grouping Options Homogeneous or Heterogeneous-depends on your objective Whole group Small group Partnerships Key-groups are flexible and change as students grow Grouping options can change within one lesson or across consecutive lessons.

How can grouping help our students become active, independent readers of the core weekly story? Students who require support will flourish with teacher or peer support. Students who are independent learners will appreciate the added independence. Students will practice and apply reading strategies to create meaning. Students will enjoy reading the rich literature Reading Streets provides.

Grouping Strategy Rank students from highest to lowest using reading data Place students on grid-redo grid after each benchmark test throughout the year Horizontally-small homogeneous groups Partners- every other row or two ex: 1 with 7 or 10, etc.-gives students enough support to be successful Make considerations for positive student partnerships

Grouping Grid 1. 2. 3.   4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Ford, M.P. (2005). Differentiation through flexible grouping: Successfully reaching all readers. IL: Learning Point Associates.

How can I apply grouping to the weekly core story? Pre-reading Whole Group Build Concepts Teach Skill and Strategy Use read aloud to model your thinking-show students how to apply skill and strategy Involve students in applying skill and strategy with skill/strategy selection Build Background Knowledge Vocabulary Development

During Reading-Small groups and partners Partners read and respond to selection-work together to support one another Small group working with teacher to read and respond to selection-guided practice/modeling as needed Teacher choice-entire selection or half Align student response to skill and strategy of the week

After Reading-Small heterogeneous groups Discussion Circles guided by question stems Sharing reading responses Task cards to insure all participate

What happens when my support group isn’t quite ready for after reading work, but everyone else is? Extension activities that truly extend learning HOT Schools strategies-integrate the arts Fluency-reread parts of text, capture the character’s voice, poems, readers theater Read companion leveled reader Read companion selection

Make a Reading Extension Activities Chart List Describe Write Question Predict/Rate Create Vocabulary Genre Characters Author Setting Word Work Problem/ Solution Connection

What Makes It All Work? Consistent routines Explicit expectations Redo grid to form groups as children grow Different weekly partners

Resources Ford, M.P. (2005). Differentiation through flexible grouping: Successfully reaching all readers. IL: Learning Point Associates. Paratore, J. Grouping for instruction in literacy: What works and what doesn’t. IL: Pearson Education, Inc. Pavelka, P. (2009). Differentiating instruction in a whole-group setting. CT: Husky Trail Press LLC.