Four Easy Steps to Scheduling Small Group Instruction
Do you know what makes small group instruction so powerful? It’s when it is matched to your students’ individual needs. Conferring All-Star Teachers™ identify clear goals and skills within these goals to keep the focus on each student as the unique reader or writer they are…even when they are in a small group.
You’ll want to pull your students who have a common need together. But if you don’t have a step-by-step way to identify patterns; then it’s going to be more challenging to choose small groups quickly. And it’s going to be a lot harder to run small groups efficiently where EVERY students’ needs are met.
Which is why I’m so glad you’re here. Because I’m going to walk you through step-by-step how to schedule small group instruction purposefully and quickly. There’s just 4 steps.
Before before we dive into these steps, I have a question for you? Do you have the "Think Big, Dream Bigger Conferring Mindset" already? Because this is the ONE THING that is a Conferring All-Star Teacher's best friend when it comes to scheduling small group instruction.
If you don't know what the Think Big, Dream Bigger Conferring Mindset is; go ahead and watch the video below and I'll break it down for you.
Conferring All-Star Teachers™ know the difference between goals, skills, and strategies.
The very first step in scheduling small group instruction is understanding the difference between goals, skills, and strategies. So let me break this down for you.
GOALS & SKILLS: A goal is something that readers and writers can work toward for several weeks, more or less. Whereas a skill is something they can become proficient in or something they are able to do. Also keep in mind that goals can have multiple skills. So for example, let’s say the writing goal is STRUCTURE. Well, there are several skills within the goal of structure such as:
- The overall structure of writing
- Leads or beginnings
- Transitions
- Organization
- Endings
Now let’s do a reading example. Let’s say the reading goal is comprehension. Again, there are several skills within the goal of comprehension such as:
- Understanding plot & setting
- Thinking about characters
- Determining Main Topic and Ideas
You see what I mean now?
STRATEGIES: A strategy is a step-by-step how-to that helps your reader or writer work toward a skill and/or a goal. I love how Jennifer Serravallo puts it in her newest book “Teaching Writing in Small Groups”: “A strategy is not a single word or phrase; rather than a series of steps, like a recipe.
Notice Class Trends and Color Code to Easily See Patterns.
The next step to scheduling small group instruction is noticing class trends and color coding to easily see patterns.
There are 4 steps to noticing class trends that will help you create small groups quickly. And guess what? The first three steps are going to be a breeze because now you know the difference between goals, skills, and strategies. You will need to have some form of student evidence such as an assessment, your conferring notes, or student work. Next, you’ll need a small group instruction planning template to help you with this. On that template, go ahead and write all your students’ names so you can see your entire class at a glance. Now you’re ready for the very first step.
STEP 1: Next to each student’s name write the big reading or writing goal they need the most.
STEP 2: Write down skills each student needs the most that will nudge them closer to their goal.
STEP 3: Jot down the strategies that will help each student become proficient in that skill and/or goal.
STEP 4: Once you have each student’s goal, skill, and strategies listed on your small group instruction template; then it’s time to color code each category so you can easily see patterns of small groups you could create.
There you have it, teacher friend!
Use a Conferring Template to See All Possible Small Groups at a Glance.
The third step to scheduling small group instruction is to use a conferring template to see all the possible small groups at a glance. You can create this template however you want. I recommend having several boxes on a page. Then you’ll have enough space to write each student’s name that is going to be in the small group along with the goal, skill, and strategy the group is going to focus on. You could also write down how many weeks you plan to meet with this group if you want.
But remember you’ll want to keep your small groups flexible. Some students will learn reading or writing skills faster than others. So when one of your students is ready to move out of a small group and into another one; go right ahead and make the shift. Then you’ll be responsive to what each individual student needs.
Put Small Groups on your Weekly Conferring Schedule FIRST.
The last and final step to scheduling small group instruction is to put small groups on your weekly conferring schedule FIRST. When you put small groups on your schedule first, then you’ll know it’s going to happen. After small groups, you can add individual conferences to your schedule. And did you know there’s actually 4 other things you’ll definitely want to add to your weekly conferring schedule to make sure it stays flexible and responsive to what each individual student needs. I would recommend adding all 6 of these into your conferring schedule and in this order:
- Small Groups
- Individual Conferences
- Partnerships/Clubs
- Check Ins/Follow Ups
- Intentional Observation
- Buffer Time
Now that you have the 4 steps to make scheduling small group instruction so much easier; I would love to see what your weekly conferring schedule looks like.
DM on Instagram or hop on into the Literacy Teacher Greatness Facebook Community to show me your weekly conferring schedule or small group instruction templates you use. We’re all in this together!
And if you’re like, Desiree, I don’t have any of these small group instruction templates. No worries, I’ve got plenty of them for you inside my Conferring All-Star Teacher™ Programs.
If you’re looking for even more FREE training, strategies, and resources on scheduling small group instruction; come on over to my Facebook page and grab my Conferring With Readers & Writers Like a Pro Guide. This guide will give you the 9 steps to reach ALL your students through 1-on-1 conferences and small groups every single week.
Have an awesome year, teacher friend!!!
Let’s grow into our literacy teacher greatness together!
