Abigail Dougherty, Sue Crosland, Kelly Padilla, Monica Bennett 2017 Summer Administrators’ Conference July 24-25 Landstown High School Leveraging Flexible Small Group Instruction to Transform Student Learning Abigail Dougherty, Sue Crosland, Kelly Padilla, Monica Bennett

This presentation supports building teacher/leader capacity in the following disposition area(s):

LEARNING INTENTIONS Participants will compare and contrast the characteristics of guided reading groups and strategy groups and their instructional use. Participants will deepen their pedagogy around how teachers can transform small group instruction so that students are empowered to lead their own learning.

With your table group, read and sort the cards in your bag With your table group, read and sort the cards in your bag. Ensure that you are able to articulate why you have grouped certain cards together.

Reflecting on our journey: Where we have been… Guided Reading Instruction Daily City-wide Integration of word study instruction and practice Instructional level texts, usually teacher-selected Homogenous grouping Possible alignment with the whole group objective

Reflecting on our journey: Where are we going… Personalized learning that is student-driven Increased collaboration and communication between all stakeholders Student goal-setting that will move readers forward along the continuum of literacy development STRATEGY GROUPS

Strategy Groups in Action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azi2iASKv3I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUdCUtHCKRI

With your group— Revisit your sort if needed. What teacher actions did you observe? What student actions did you observe? Discuss any instructional implications.

Guided Reading Strategy Groups 20 - 30 minute lesson 7 - Instructional level text Independent level text Students reading on similar DRA levels Students reading on different DRA levels (could be the same) “Before , During, After reading” “Connect , Teach, Engage, Link” structure structure Teaching point determined based on Teaching point planned in advance using student actions during reading and mentor text as model taught after reading Teacher confers with each reader during Teacher confers with each reader during reading to prompt for fluency and reading to coach through strategy use comprehension

But what about flex groups?

Implementing Strategy Groups

How do teachers decide what to teach? DRA2 Continuum Formative and summative assessments Anecdotal notes from guided reading Independent conferences New document in front matter to provide structures for conferences

Revised Suggested Daily Schedule

Revised Suggested Daily Schedule

Student Agency Goal-setting conferences allow students to take ownership of their reading development Students who are working on similar goals can be called together for a strategy group, regardless of level During the strategy group, students can determine how they are going to practice and track their use of the strategy that will lead them toward achieving their goal

Collaboration across reading levels Connecting to the 5 Cs Collaboration across reading levels Communication and collaboration with peers on strategy usage Peer-to-peer coaching opportunities

Reflection Have you seen strategy groups happening in your building already? How can your team (administrators, literacy leaders, TLLT, etc.) support teachers in transforming their small group instruction to include strategy groups? What additional supports might your building need?

Strategy Groups… THIS NOT THAT Are purposefully planned Include teacher modeling with mentor text Are a part of the comprehensive literacy model Enable students to be leaders of their own learning and increase metacognition Are done on the fly Use the same text with all students Are done in lieu of traditional guided reading Use grade level text selected to remediate specific grade level objectives

LEARNING INTENTIONS Participants will compare and contrast the characteristics of guided reading groups and strategy groups and their instructional use. Participants will deepen their pedagogy around how teachers can transform small group instruction so that students are empowered to lead their own learning.