How Should I Group My Students for Instruction?

Instructional Groupings
Instructional groupings are often one of the hardest planning tasks teachers face in their classroom. It takes a lot of time to desegregate students' instructional needs into learning groups. Then there is the planning for each one. Below is one formula you might consider using when evaluating your instructional groups.

Options for Instructional Grouping & Activities

Learning group 6: Students are intensive.

Learning group 6 (two groups).

• 6A - students are in the CORE reading program and are working on basic skills they have not passed on the phonics diagnostic screener. If a student at this level has not moved in three learning group reviews you need to start some deeper evaluations. (Most often these are students who move into your classroom who are below grade level.)
• 6B - students are working in a Title I program or have an IEP. Their instructional focus should still be what is listed in 6A.

Learning group 5: Students are strategic and have not passed phonic diagnostic screeners.

The phonics diagnostic screener will direct instruction the students need. Once they are able to pass all the tasks, then the student will move to learning group 4.

Grade 2-5 learning group 5 is in two parts.

• 5A have not passed the first part of the phonics diagnostic screener. Their instruction needs to be driven by the skills identified during leveled skill group time.

• 5B have passed everything but multisyllabic words. Students in learning group 5B need the majority of their instruction during leveled skill group time in multisyllabic word decoding.

Learning group 5 is a hard area for leveled skill group instruction. The focus comes from the missing skills but uses the materials for the theme that is being taught. Working with these groups requires that you understand the spectrum of the reading skills to be able to adapt the materials to meet the students’ missing skills.

Learning Group 4: Students are strategic and have passed all parts of a phonics diagnostic screener and are reading passages with 95% accuracy.

These students are on their way to be readers. They are currently using their cognitive energy to decode words. They need to work to train their brains so that reading is automatic and they don’t have to think about decoding the words. Comprehension will come when the reader is no longer using their cognitive energy to decode. Comprehension will be stressed in Learning Groups 3,2, and 1.

Activities/Lessons:

• Practice reading orally materials that are at their independent reading level.
• Read Naturally
• Up-Up-Up
• Read word lists
• SuperSpeed 1000

Note: These students should be taking the core reading program skills tests and/or unit check-outs. If they are able to pass the skills tests at the exceeds level (90%) you may need to evaluate to see if they have any physical problems holding them back from making the fluency benchmark. They may just be slow moving or have a speech problem. If this is the case they need to be placed in learning group 1. Caution, they must read the test with none of the material being read to them. It is true that they may be able to process the material at a higher level auditory, which is great, but the goal is that they are reading and processing. If you focus on their processing ability alone, you are missing the goal of the student becoming a reader.

Learning group 3: Students have met their fluency benchmark but are unable to pass the themes or end of unit tests.

Students in this learning group are using less cognitive energy when decoding text. This will now free up some cognitive power to build on comprehension. They are still at the knowledge level and very concrete. An example might be if the student read: “The dog ran very fast. When he got to the dish it was empty.” If you asked the question, “What did the dog run to?” they could not make the connection between the two sentences. They can tell you that the dog ran fast and the dish was empty, but wouldn’t connect that the dog was running to the dish.

Activities/Lessons:

• Students still need practice reading to keep their fluency up.
• Lessons needed to be guided, with comprehension worksheets and workbook pages done together.
• Vocabulary, and word use orally. Point out vocabulary in text during guided reading. (Make them look at the word in the text so they just don’t read over it.)
• Story Maps
• Retell what they have read in their own words. (Orally)
• Crazy Professor parts 1,2,&3 (YouTube)

Learning group 2: Students have met their fluency benchmark and are able to pass the themes tests or end of unit tests between 70% and 89%. Truly these students are on their way to be good readers and have fair comprehension.

For the most part these students have a good understanding of the knowledge level of questioning and are fairly strong on comprehension. They need to work towards the application and analysis of what they read. This group should have no problem passing the state test. The goal is to move them to fully applying what they read.

Activities/Lessons:

• Practice in fluency is still important so they don’t lose it.
• Lessons can be taught and they can work independently on workbook pages or worksheets that match lessons.
• Story Maps
• Retell the story in written form.
• Vocabulary
• Applied vocabulary (replace words with synonyms)
• Crazy Professor all parts
• Guided comparisons / Venn Diagrams
• Rewriting or telling the story explaining if the characters made a different choice

Learning group 1: Our goal for all students. Students are able to apply and analyze what they have read. They are scoring 90% or higher on their unit tests or theme tests.

Students in learning group 1 still need strong instruction in the same areas that the learning group 2 students need. They also need the opportunity to expand. In most cases fluency is not an issue. Therefore that time may be used to move the students to the synthesis level of comprehension.

Activities/Lessons:

• Many of the same activities from learning group 2
• Vocabulary applied and expanded
• Writing
• Given information the students create their own story.
• Use information from different stories and write a new story, example would be taking the setting from one story, characters from another story, problem for another and create their own story. Then have peers share and discuss the stories.

Intensive Fluency Students		Strategic Fluency Students			Benchmark Fluency Students
Instructional Groups 6     A                B		Instructional   Group 5      A              B		Instructional Group 4	Instructional Group 3	Instructional Group 2	Instructional Group 1
Students are in the CORE reading program and are working on basic skills they have not passed on the phonics diagnostic screener. If a student at this level has not moved in three learning group reviews you need to start some deeper evaluations. (Most often these are students who move into your classroom who are below grade	Students are working in a Title I program or have an IEP. Their instructional focus should still be what is listed in 6A.	5A have not passed the first part of the phonics diagnostic screener. Their instruction needs to be driven by the skills identified during leveled skill group time.	5B have passed everything but multisyllabic words. Students in learning group 5B need the majority of their instruction during leveled skill group time in multisyllabic word decoding.	These students are on their way to be readers. They are currently using their cognitive energy to decode words. They need to work to train their brains so that reading is automatic and they don’t have to think about decoding the words. Comprehension will come when the reader is no longer using their cognitive energy to decode. Comprehension will be stressed in Learning Groups 3,2, and 1	Students in this learning group are using less cognitive energy when decoding text. This will now free up some cognitive power to build on comprehension. They are still at the knowledge level and very concrete.	For the most part these students have a good understanding of the knowledge level of questioning and are fairly strong on comprehension. They need to work towards the application and analysis of what they read. This group should have no problem passing the state test. The goal is to move them to fully applying what they read.	Students in learning group 1 still need strong instruction in the same areas that the learning group 2 students need. They also need the opportunity to expand. In most cases fluency is not an issue. Therefore that time may be used to move the students to the synthesis level of comprehension.
Place student names below to create your instructional groups.

Instructional Grouping Worksheet

What Curriculum Should I Use?

What Curriculum Should I Use?

Working with teachers and leading training I get this question all the time. Teachers tell me they have a group of students who just are not reading and want to know if curriculum “X” is the best or what do I think about “VW.” There are many great curriculums around for all subjects, but the publishers have sold us the line that if we use their materials, students will read.

I have to say this is like asking someone if they know of a great diet because they need to lose weight. There are many that have helped people lose weight. How do you know if it is the right one for you? The same is true with choosing a curriculum. There are other factors which need to be considered when making the choice, just like when choosing a nutrition plan.

The person who has the largest impact on the learner/student is the teacher, not the curriculum. Truly it should not matter what curriculum you are using. The teacher should adjust instruction to meet the student’s learning needs. We have to remember centuries ago the Bible was the curriculum of choice for teaching reading in America. Curriculum doesn’t teach. Trained people teach.

The first step is to know just what area of instruction each student is struggling with in your class. Once you know, for example, you have some who are struggling with sounds and sound spellings, you are then able to take the curriculum you are using and pull out short lessons to help those few students. Use of curriculum does not mean just do the worksheet because it’s in the book. If students don’t need that specific skill, they may deem it irrelevant and choose not to complete it. This may lead to behavior problems in the classroom.

When working with a curriculum the first step might be to evaluate what parts can be done with the whole class because they all need that part.. Vocabulary instruction is something that all students can participate in when it is done orally. Vocabulary is an oral skill not a written skill. Students need to hear and use the word orally and put it in their lexicon before they are able to start using it and comprehending it in their writing and reading. We also can present many of the comprehension strategies with the whole class. A student must have the ability to retell a story orally long before they are able to write about it. I have been in many classrooms where the teacher asked the students to write about the story and they can’t even tell me about what they read. Again this will lead to behavior problems.

Providing the teacher has completed some form of diagnostic screening, the teacher should be able to design mini-lessons for small groups to target skills those students need support with. One example might be that if some students are having problems with vowel teams, then take the text and have them locate and read words with vowel teams. If they are having struggles hearing syllables, use the words from the reading and have them segment the syllables and spell the syllables.

Teachers or people are the ones who impact learning. Making a personal connection is the first step in helping students. During my first teaching job interview I was asked, “Can you teach with newspapers, scissors, paper, and glue?” Thinking it was one of those “interview questions” they asked, I said, “Sure I would…..”. When I got the job, that was what my room had. They had not passed a budget in three years and there was no curriculum. Those students learned and we had a great year.

Curriculum doesn’t teach students. Trained educators teach students.

I DON’T WANT MY STUDENTS TO READ JUST AS FAST AS THEY CAN!

I DON’T WANT MY STUDENTS TO READ JUST AS FAST AS THEY CAN!

Many teachers have students who are struggling and not meeting the fluency rate for their age level. These teachers have said to me, “I don’t want my students to just read as fast as they can, they need to read with expression.” There is no question that ultimately our goal is to have students read fluently, and with expression, along with understanding what they read. Many students who are struggling with fluency and have their decoding skills are still missing the skill of automaticity, where they are able to rapidly recall phonemes and syllables parts as they read. 

If a student is struggling with automaticity, which is holding them back from becoming a fluent reader, forcing them to read as fast as they can is the scaffolding needed to build this skill and train the student’s brain to put the words, and repetitive phonics into their metacognition. This then allows the student to recall the word quickly along with attaching the meaning of the word for understanding. If the student is focusing on decoding they are less apt to recall the meaning at the same time. Activating the automatic recall in our brains takes lots of practice, and this is where asking the student to read as fast as they can builds this skill. 

Once students are able to read at the appropriate fluency level it is then time to scaffold to the next skill of comprehension. Students reading smoothly and with expression are demonstrating the understanding of the text. Students who struggle with expression and are just reading words need additional support on vocabulary. Unless the vocabulary is in the student’s lexicon they won’t know how to read the word with expression, thus demonstrating the need for additional support in vocabulary. 

Student is not fluent, then check:

Are they accurate?

If not accurate you need to go back and isolate the skill they are struggling with in decoding.

Accurate but not at correct fluency level.

Students who need the forced practice to become fluent. Over the year the observation students who reach about 90 words words per minute often struggle to make that 112 to 115 words per minute. Once students hit 115 words per minute they really take off and start building. It has then become automatic. 

Take some time and evaluate your students and see just where they are on the scaffolding ladder to help your students hit that next benchmark in reading. 

Fluency Practice Activity: UP - UP - UP

Objective: Students will increase their reading fluency and recall.

Materials:

• Reading passage at or below the student’s reading level.
• Way to time for 1 minute (timer or use the clock).

Steps: 

• Student reads the passage for 1 minute.
• Marks the last word read.
• Students reads the same passage again for 1 minute.
• Mark the last word read.
• Student reads the passage one more time for 1 minute and marks the last word read.

• Students counts how many more words the read the last time compared to the first time.

Rational: The students are allowing their brain to process and recall the information. When the brain is forced to recall the same information it activates the long term memory. Some students have no problem activating their long term memory and recall other need additional practice, this is one form. 

Options:

Use a list of words instead of a passage.

Rational: Reading a list of words is harder for the learner. This is because there are no context clues. Therefore, they are forced to use their decoding skills. Often, if you have older students struggling with decoding, this option will force them to use their metacognition to read the words. 

Student is not fluent, then check:

Are they accurate?	If not accurate you need to go back and isolate the skill they are struggling with in decoding.
Accurate but not at correct fluency level.	Students who need the forced practice to become fluent. Over the year the observation students who reach about 90 words words per minute often struggle to make that 112 to 115 words per minute. Once students hit 115 words per minute they really take off and start building. It has then become automatic.

 Fluency Practice Activity: UP - UP - UP

Objective: Students will increase their reading fluency and recall.	Materials: ●      Reading passage at or below the student’s reading level. ●      Way to time for 1 minute (timer or use the clock).
Steps: ●      Student reads the passage for 1 minute. ●      Marks the last word read. ●      Students reads the same passage again for 1 minute. ●      Mark the last word read. ●      Student reads the passage one more time for 1 minute and marks the last word read. ●      Students counts how many more words the read the last time compared to the first time.	Rational: The students are allowing their brain to process and recall the information. When the brain is forced to recall the same information it activates the long term memory. Some students have no problem activating their long term memory and recall other need additional practice, this is one form.
Options: Use a list of words instead of a passage.	Rational: Reading a list of words is harder for the learner. This is because there are no context clues. Therefore, they are forced to use their decoding skills. Often, if you have older students struggling with decoding, this option will force them to use their metacognition to read the words.

Teacher-Survivor Challenge

Teacher-Survivor Challenge

Last week I was reading where someone was going to make a television show about teachers surviving as teachers like contestants; similar to competing as chefs, or as a bachelor or bachelorette, or for sole survivor. This would be a big mistake. 

How sad! This has the make up of setting teachers up for mockery or the satire of teachers. Teaching involves a component which all the other best of the best competition shows do not include, and that is that they influence other people’s children and no two classrooms are ever the same. Teachers have a profound impact on lives, where chefs may have challenging ingredients, and bachelors/bachelorettes deal with interesting adult personalities. Student behaviors are not something to make light of when judging another person’s performance. For one thing, they are minors, and for another, they are someone else’s child. This is a very sensitive population to be putting under a competition show focus. 

Teaching is not a reality show, but is something which has impact on lives at all ages. We hear often that teachers should be honored. Teacher’s themselves need to take some pride in their profession and start showing the public the impact they have on our society rather than throwing another show out into the media picking fun at instruction. My hope is at some point that strong teachers will stand up and show all that goes within a day of instruction. We can no longer assume as an ignorant population that these people walk in off the streets and make geniuses out of their students. The teaching profession is a rapidly changing field that requires teachers who excel to be constantly engaging in self-reflection and action research within their classrooms and the profession in general. It should be honored, not mocked. 

Importance of Blending & Segmenting Words

Blending / Segmenting for Preschoolers and Kindergartners

Blending and segmenting has been shown to be key for preschoolers and kindergarteners to become strong readers and writers. The question is why is this so key. Why do so many students struggle with these skills?

English is a phonetic language. Linguistically, it is made of sound chunks blended together. As we learn to speak and communicate as young children, we pick up on the pronunciation of the words and add them to our lexicon, along with attaching the meaning of the word. The struggle often comes when we become old enough to start reading and need to decode these words in our lexicon to be able to read and write them. Why some have little difficulty with this skill and others struggle is a great question, but we are able to scaffold the skills back and assist those who struggle so they gain the understanding they need to become strong readers and writers.

Having the children blend and segment words allows them to develop the understanding that our language is made up of groups of sounds and it is key to be able to decode those sound segments as readers and writers. Often students hit second and third grade and need to be able to identify syllables in multisyllabic words and struggle. This is  largely because they have not developed the understanding and skill of segmenting sounds strongly enough in our language. Students entering the upper grades having this understanding have a much easier time identifying the syllable groups or it is at this time they learn to hear the sound groups in multisyllabic words.

Both blending and segmenting are fun and fast skills for students to learn. It is true that our curricula includes blending and segmenting lessons, and the students are taught the skill. The missing link appears to be practice and keeping it fresh in their skill banks until it becomes automatic.

Preschoolers and kindergarteners should start with blending words. The teacher or adult gives the sounds in a word and the child says the word. In order to segment words, the teacher or adult give the word and the child says the sounds back. There are a multitude of activities available for working on these skills. Once it has been taught, children need to be provided with multiple opportunities to use the skills. Look for those opportunities during the day where you can provide the practice needed to keep the skill fresh in their minds and make it automatic. This might be when they are lining up, washing their hands, or waiting in the hall. Use those times to give that little extra practice they need to master these skills. If you have students who are struggling, write their name on an index card to help you remember to make a connection with them at recess or lunch and have them blend or segment a couple of words. This will not only help them with this skill but will also provide a positive reinforcement showing that you care and will help build a stronger relationship with that child in a positive way.

These are skills that have proven to have huge impact on students’ reading and writing in the older grades and are able to be developed as young as four years old. They are skills that can be done in a fun and playful way so the child is completely unaware of the impact you are having on their brain.

Let’s get these little guys blending and segmenting so they will be readers and writers.

Lesson Plan Idea