Grouping for Reading Instruction

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Grouping for Reading Instruction

• Teaching Reading in a
• Mixed-ability Classroom

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There are four basic questions teachers tend to
ask

• How do I decide which children to put in which
  groups?
• How many groups do I need?
• How large should the groups be?
• How often should I change the groups?

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And the answer is.. It depends!
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Ones purpose is the guide to grouping decisions.
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A variety of grouping strategies is necessary for
effective reading instruction.
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Whole group or small group?
Homogeneous or heterogeneous?
One week or all year?
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Flexible grouping solves many grouping dilemmas.
Flexible grouping refers to having students work
in a variety of differently mixed groups that are
drawn together for a specific purpose.
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How to assign students to groups

• Randomly when the reason is primarily management
  or forming groups of equal size.
• Interest when student interest in a topic is the
  motivating reason for learning about a topic.
• Skill and/or instructional need when you need to
  teach a skill or strategy to a group of students.

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Use whole group/class to

• Introduce a unit, a new book or a new strategy,
  e.g., using dictionary guidewords
• Planning
• Build community
• Tap prior knowledge (e.g., K-W-L)
• Closure

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Use (teacher-led) small groups to

• Provide focused instruction
• Guided practice
• Guided reading
• Some types of assessments

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Use (student-led) small groups for

• Shared tasks
• Collaborative responses
• Shared reading, e.g., literature circles
• Shared writing

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Use dyads and one-on-one to

• Buddy read
• Shared tasks
• Supported practicethink Vygotsky and the ZPD
• Tutoring

• Independent practice
• Individual assessment, e.g., running record
• One-on-one instruction

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Some things to remember about grouping

• NO group should stay together all year.
• No grouping scheme should feel like a permanent
  sentence for teacher or student
• Grouping can change within a lesson.
• Groups should stay together only long enough to
  achieve an instructional purpose.

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One myth about grouping must be eradicated
Just say NO to homogeneous grouping in reading.
Homogeneous reading groups
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Homogeneous grouping in reading is good for very
few readers. Its a management strategy, not an
effective literacy instructional strategy. Using
this grouping scheme, adds to the Matthew
Effect. That is, it helps make the good readers
better, and the poor readers worse.