1. READING P-Peer A-Assisted L-Learning S-Strategies
Overview by Gail Gilmartin

2. What is PALS? A class-wide peer tutoring program
Students work in pairs or triads to practice and strengthen reading fluency and comprehension.

3. Why Use Peer Tutoring? Increasing diversity in classrooms
Broad range of achievement levels within classrooms
Increasing need to address variety of individual needs through differentiation

4. Important Features of PALS
Reciprocal roles (Coaches and Readers)
Structured Activities
Individualized
More time engaged on task
Includes ALL students
Opportunities for success for all students
Encourages positive peer interactions
Practical AND effective
Opportunities to monitor student progress

5. PALS Research
Statistically significant differences between students who participated in PALS vs Control group
Received ‘Best Practices’ status from Department of Education

6. PALS 2-6 Experimental Results Improvement in Reading: Words read correctly in 3 minutes

7. PALS 2-6 Experimental Results Improvement in Reading Comprehension: Number Questions Answered Correctly

8. ROLES: Coaches and Readers
Provides prompts and helps ‘Reader’
Readers
Reads and accepts help from ‘Coach’
Partnerships rotate every 3-4 weeks
PALS is conducted 3 times a week for 35 minutes

9. PALS Timeline Week 1 Weeks 2-4 Weeks 5-17 Student Training
Partner Reading with Retell
Paragraph Shrinking
Weeks 5-17
Prediction Relay

10. Required Materials for PALS
Teacher Materials
Timer
PALS Rules
Student Assignment Chart
Scripts
Command Card
PALS Video of lessons for students to watch (to model what PALS LOOKS and SOUNDS like)

11. Required Materials for PALS
Student Materials
Book
Question Card
Point Sheet
Pencil
Coach & Reader Folders

12. Teacher’s PALS Duties Assign Pairs and Teams
Select Text of Appropriate Difficulty
Monitor Student’s Reading and PALS Behavior
Assist ‘Coaches’ as needed

13. Absent Students and Uneven Pairs
If two students are absent, their partners may be paired for the day. If the two students are in different books, the pair should use the weaker reader’s book.
Allow a ‘high-performing student’ to read independently.
Form a triad

14. Reading Triads
Assign each of the students to be the coach during one of the three reading activities.
If a permanent triad is necessary because you have an uneven number of students, designate one as a ‘floater.’
Never place learning disabled or extremely low readers in a triad for more than one day, if at all possible.

15. Selecting Text of Appropriate Difficulty
Each pair may read from different texts.
Text should be at weaker reader’s level-no more than 10 errors per 100 words.
Determine page numbers or stories to be read ahead of time.

16. Monitoring Student’s Reading
Provide positive feedback
Ensure correct PALS implementation
Ensure students are using proper correction procedures
Ensure cooperation between partnerships
Award BONUS points
Listen to EACH student
Listen for FLUENCY
Listen for quality of main idea statements

17. PALS RULES Talk to only your partner (or Mrs. G) and only about PALS
Keep your voice low
Cooperate with your partner
Try your best

18. Partner Reading Conducted for 11-12 minutes
Stronger reader reads aloud for 5 minutes
Weaker reader reads the same text for next 5 minutes
Weaker reader retells the story for 1-2 minutes
Readers should read quickly, accurately, and with expression
Coaches listen, correct mistakes, and mark points (earn 1 point for every sentence read correctly and 10 points for correct retell)

19. Correcting Errors There are four types of mistakes to listen for:
Saying the word wrong
Leaving out a word
Adding a word
Waiting longer than 4 seconds
Use Correction Card to help with correction procedures

20. Demonstration and Practice
Coach and Reader read and mark points
Coach makes corrections, if needed
Reader retells story using Question Card
Both Coach and Reader are engaged at all times!

21. Paragraph Shrinking Conducted for 10 minutes
Stronger reader reads new text aloud for 5 minutes, summarizing each paragraph as they read
Weaker reader reads new text aloud for 5 minutes, summarizing each paragraph
Coach listens, corrects mistakes and marks points

22. Paragraph Shrinking
After each paragraph, using the Question Card, the Reader :
Identifies the most important ‘Who’ or ‘What’ (1 point)
Identifies the most important thing about the ‘Who’ or ‘What’ (1 point)
States the main idea of the paragraph in 10 words or less (1 point)
Training includes identifying paragraphs and the main idea

23. Prediction Relay
First 5 minutes- using the Question Card, the Stronger Reader:
Make a logical prediction (1 point)
Reads half of a page (1 point)
Checks the prediction (1 point)
Makes a new prediction
Continues to read
Second 5 minutes- using the Question Card, the Weaker Reader:
Make a logical prediction ( 1 point)