Ever finish teaching a small reading group and wonder, "what did I actually teach just now"? You are right to reflect on that question (often!) since teachers get such a limited time with students working in small, focused groups each day. If you believe, as I do, that teaching in small groups and one-on-one is the most effective part of your teaching day, then you'll want to get the absolute biggest bang for your buck possible.
By focusing on one strategy during a small group lesson (I mean it! Just ONE strategy at a time- no cheating!), you can maximize student understanding and the probability that they will remember and use what you've taught them. This is the whole idea of the strategy group. Instead of supporting a group of like-leveled readers as they read an entire on-level book, strategy groups pull together a group of heterogeneous students in order to explicitly teach one strategy that they all need.
When a child leaves your group, you and each child need to be able to say with conviction- "Today, I taught/learned how to _____."
Try these tips to help yourself stay focused on one single teaching point.
1. Display the teaching point and the group or groups you will meet with that day on the board or SMARTboard.
2. Think of your strategy lesson like a minilesson: Start by making a connection or stating what you're noticing. Teach the skill explicitly by stating what you want them to do, and then model it with a book of your own.
3. Provide at least one practice opportunity before the students leave the group. Since members of the group are probably all on different levels, the easiest way to do this is usually to ask them to try it in a book from their book box. If it's not applicable or you think they will have trouble locating a spot to try it, then you'll need to have books or excerpts prepared ahead of time.
It's as simple as...
CONNECT: Readers, remember when we read Ira Sleeps Over? Ira didn't stay the same the whole way through the book. At the end he learned to be brave. Well, I've called you all here today because I've noticed that you are all reading books where the characters don't stay the same, and I wanted to give you a helpful tip about books like that.
TEACH: Today, I want to teach you that readers keep track of how the character changes by paying attention to their dialogue- what the character says. If you pay attention to the character's dialogue as you read, it will help you notice how the character changes.
MODEL: Watch me do that. (Flipping through the familiar book, Ira Sleeps Over) At the beginning of the book, Ira acts very nervous about his sleep over. I can tell because right here, he decides that he won't take his teddy bear. Then right here, on the next page, he decides he will. Then right here, he asks Reggie about ghosts. But at the very end, on the last page, Ira changes because he goes to get his teddy bear and then falls fast asleep. I think that by the end, Ira is not embarrassed about his teddy anymore. He seems braver and more confident. Maybe in the future he won't be so worried about what others think.
PRACTICE: Did you notice how I paid attention mostly to the things that Ira said (his dialogue) in order to find out how he changed? Now it's your turn! I've got a stack of books I've read to you right here. I'm going to ask you and a partner to take one that you remember and know well and find the parts where the characters say things that give hints on how they are changing. (assign partners) Go ahead and do that right now.
COACH: (Listen in and coach partnerships. Sharing out to the group is typically not a good use of your precious strategy group time unless you have made sure that each partnership will succinctly and correctly share an example with the group. The real teaching lies in your model and the partnership's practices)
LINK: (Bring group back together) I saw a lot of good work just now. I like how you were searching for character change by paying attention to dialogue. Readers, any time you are reading a fictional book, it important to pay attention to how the character changes. And one way you can do that is by looking at the dialogue closely. Happy Reading!
For the strategy group above- 2nd or 3rd graders- this group would likely reconvene. It often takes two, three, four or more meetings to really teach a strategy well. If this group met again, I might teach one or more of the following:
~ Knowing how a character changed by paying attention to character actions.
~ Knowing how a character changed by paying attention to character thoughts.
~ Predicting how a character might change in a new book.
~ Determining the author's message by thinking about character change.
All together, a strategy group takes about 10 minutes and no longer than 15. When else in your teaching day can you get as much teaching goodness into such a short time?
By focusing on one strategy during a small group lesson (I mean it! Just ONE strategy at a time- no cheating!), you can maximize student understanding and the probability that they will remember and use what you've taught them. This is the whole idea of the strategy group. Instead of supporting a group of like-leveled readers as they read an entire on-level book, strategy groups pull together a group of heterogeneous students in order to explicitly teach one strategy that they all need.
When a child leaves your group, you and each child need to be able to say with conviction- "Today, I taught/learned how to _____."
Try these tips to help yourself stay focused on one single teaching point.
1. Display the teaching point and the group or groups you will meet with that day on the board or SMARTboard.
 |
| Organizing Reader's Workshop and groups B.S. (Before SMARTboard) |
 |
| Organizing Reader's Workshop and groups A.S. (After SMARTboard) |
2. Think of your strategy lesson like a minilesson: Start by making a connection or stating what you're noticing. Teach the skill explicitly by stating what you want them to do, and then model it with a book of your own.
3. Provide at least one practice opportunity before the students leave the group. Since members of the group are probably all on different levels, the easiest way to do this is usually to ask them to try it in a book from their book box. If it's not applicable or you think they will have trouble locating a spot to try it, then you'll need to have books or excerpts prepared ahead of time.
It's as simple as...
CONNECT: Readers, remember when we read Ira Sleeps Over? Ira didn't stay the same the whole way through the book. At the end he learned to be brave. Well, I've called you all here today because I've noticed that you are all reading books where the characters don't stay the same, and I wanted to give you a helpful tip about books like that.
TEACH: Today, I want to teach you that readers keep track of how the character changes by paying attention to their dialogue- what the character says. If you pay attention to the character's dialogue as you read, it will help you notice how the character changes.
MODEL: Watch me do that. (Flipping through the familiar book, Ira Sleeps Over) At the beginning of the book, Ira acts very nervous about his sleep over. I can tell because right here, he decides that he won't take his teddy bear. Then right here, on the next page, he decides he will. Then right here, he asks Reggie about ghosts. But at the very end, on the last page, Ira changes because he goes to get his teddy bear and then falls fast asleep. I think that by the end, Ira is not embarrassed about his teddy anymore. He seems braver and more confident. Maybe in the future he won't be so worried about what others think.
PRACTICE: Did you notice how I paid attention mostly to the things that Ira said (his dialogue) in order to find out how he changed? Now it's your turn! I've got a stack of books I've read to you right here. I'm going to ask you and a partner to take one that you remember and know well and find the parts where the characters say things that give hints on how they are changing. (assign partners) Go ahead and do that right now.
COACH: (Listen in and coach partnerships. Sharing out to the group is typically not a good use of your precious strategy group time unless you have made sure that each partnership will succinctly and correctly share an example with the group. The real teaching lies in your model and the partnership's practices)
LINK: (Bring group back together) I saw a lot of good work just now. I like how you were searching for character change by paying attention to dialogue. Readers, any time you are reading a fictional book, it important to pay attention to how the character changes. And one way you can do that is by looking at the dialogue closely. Happy Reading!
For the strategy group above- 2nd or 3rd graders- this group would likely reconvene. It often takes two, three, four or more meetings to really teach a strategy well. If this group met again, I might teach one or more of the following:
~ Knowing how a character changed by paying attention to character actions.
~ Knowing how a character changed by paying attention to character thoughts.
~ Predicting how a character might change in a new book.
~ Determining the author's message by thinking about character change.
All together, a strategy group takes about 10 minutes and no longer than 15. When else in your teaching day can you get as much teaching goodness into such a short time?
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