Refining Your
Reading
Workshop
Session 6 – Strategy Groups
Agenda
 Purposes
of small groups
 Strategy
group vs. Guided Reading group
 Logistics
of using small groups
Purposes for small groups
Purposes of Small Group
Instruction
 Read
increasingly more challenging texts
 Read fluently with expression
 Read strategically
 Engage in meaningful, invigoration
conversations about books
 Read with engagement and enthusiasm
Questions to explore….
 What
were your own small group
experiences with reading groups?
 What
are the small-group structures you
rely on the most in your classroom to
teach reading?
Strategy groups vs.
guided reading groups
Two types of groups…
Guided Reading
Group



Strategy Group
Children all read the
same book.
Purpose is to provide
supported practice with
text that may be
difficult.

Emphasis is often about
the characteristics of
the level of text
difficulty.


Children read different
books.
Purpose is to provide
practice with a strategy
the child hasn’t
mastered using easy or
familiar text.
Teaching points are
similar to mini-lessons,
but reinforces strategies
not being used.
Where have all the bluebirds
gone?
 Use
a balance of both types. There is a
purpose and use for both.
 Groups should be flexible in their
members, and length of time spent
together.
 Heterogeneous grouping
Unintended consequences of
ability grouping

By the spring, children in low-ability groups
show 3X as much inattentive behavior as
children in high ability groups.

Receive more isolated skill and drill and fewer
comprehension activities. (worksheets)

Have fewer opportunities to read and write.

Are interrupted more often when they miscue,
and not given the opportunity to learn to
problem solve and self-correct.
Strategy Lessons: “miniature
workshops with small groups”
 Mini-Lesson
on
strategy
 Reading time
 Coaching/supporti
ng use of strategy
 Sharing strategy
uses
 Making
inferences
 Tackling tricky
words
 Self-correcting
 Summarizing
 Fluency issues
 Etc.
Choice between guided
reading and strategy groups
Guided Reading
 Same
level of text
 Book introduction
 Reading books
independently
 Teaching point
Strategy Groups



Shared text – easy or
instructional teaching point
Name and
demonstrate
strategy (resembles
Mini-lessons)
Read books
independently
Spotlight Video
 Debbie
Diller – Inferring group
Jigsaw Articles
Differentiated Instruction for Building Strategic,
Independent Readers – Jennifer Serravallo
Group A - Read Chapter 1: Beyond Reading
Groups, Beyond Guided Reading
Group B - Read Chapter 4 – Guided Practice Toward
Independence: Strategy Lessons for Comprehension,
Print Work, and Fluency
p. 97 – 109
Group C - Continue chapter 4 p. 109 - 117
Jigsaw Sharing
 Discuss
-
-
the article with your letter group.
Chart the VIP’s of your section.
Meet with your number group and share
information with people who read
different articles.
Beyond Levels
 Read
about each of the 12 students.
(p. 43 – 44)
 Identify strategies students are using and
neglecting.
 Form groups based on student needs
Logistics of planning and
teaching small groups
Keeping the groups “flexible”
 REMEMBER:
Groups are not permanent.
 Assess
the students OFTEN to determine
success with a strategy being taught. (running
records, retellings, etc.)
 Move
students who are meeting status.
 Changing
groups every 2-3 weeks depending
on area of focus. (comprehension, fluency,
vocabulary)
 Creating
heterogeneous groups for different
time periods. (Book choices, interests, etc.)
How do you assign children to
groups?
 Skill

and or instructional need
Using running records and conferencing
notes to notice the strategies or skills that
students need to focus on.
What is the best group size?
 Keeping
groups between 2 – 5 students is
optimal.
 This provides for more focused instruction
and engages more learners.
How many groups should a
class have at a time?

There are as many answers to this question as
there are teachers!

Juggling 6 – 8 small groups a day borders on the
impossible and impractical constraints of daily
classroom schedules.

Typically, most teachers see 2 groups a day. Some
primary classroom may be able to see as many as
4.

Overall, having 4 – 5 groups is more feasible.
How long should groups stay
together?

The groups should stay together until they have
accomplished the purpose for forming.

Some may be together for as little as 1 to 2 sessions,
others may stay together for 1 to 2 weeks.

Groups should not stay together for an entire year.

When you sense that groups become static, consider
how to deliberately shake them up to make them
more dynamic. If this isn’t done, group assignments
begin to feel like permanent sentences and can
interfere with even the best instruction.
Lesson Plan formats
 Keeping
records – noting progress
Things to discuss

Consider what we
have discussed
about using Guided
Reading and
Strategy Groups
within your
workshop…..

What will you take
away from this
learning?