Peer Assisted Learning
Strategies
Intervention is…

Focused instruction which is based on:
A student’s response to instruction
 As measured by assessment data
(the assessment can be formal or informal)

2
What does intervention look like?
Intervention is not a mini-comprehensive reading
lesson:
 Intervention:

Gives time for extra opportunities for mastery of
concepts and skills
 Group size is smaller
 Focused on one or two areas of instruction

3
Effective Intervention Design
Intensity
Time
Intervention
Instruction
4
Time, Intensity and Instruction

Time: How much time?

Intensity: How many students in a group?

Instruction: What will be the focus of
instruction?
5
What is PALS?
A whole-class, tier II targeted intervention
 Please read Overview Section

Process
The key to this program is successfully
teaching the routines.
 Teachers will need to directly teach routines
and new games/sounds/words
 Continual reinforcement of correct
procedures.
 Students will work in pairs.
 The teacher moves around the room spotchecking procedures and content.

How do I set up PALS?
Scheduling
 Pairing Students
 Preparing Materials
 Teaching Routines
 Monitoring Students and Awarding Points

Scheduling

Once Routines are established,
PALS should …

Happens three days a week
 K-PALS
- 20 minutes for 20 weeks
 PALS First Grade - 30 minutes for 16 weeks
You will need to carve out this precious chunk of
time
 Initial organization is the key to success!!!

Pairing Students
Rank students in terms of reading skill
 Divide the list in half
 Pair strongest reader in top half with the
strongest reader in the lower half
 Continue this process until all students have
a partner (KPALS 9, PALS 24)

Pairing Coaches and Readers
Utilizing DIBELS ranking for Phoneme
Segmentation (kinder) OR Nonsense Word
(First) for Midyear.
 Print your report
 Cut at the midpoint
 Pairs are then side-by-side
 If the majority of your kinder class is
proficient in or better in Phoneme Seg.,
follow the same procedure with the
Nonsense Word Report

Ideas for Management
Handling Absentees
 Moving Students to and from Partners
 Monitoring and Awarding Points
 Triads
 KPALS 9-11, PALS 24-27

Important Details

The Coach corrects all errors immediately


Correction Procedure
The Reader must demonstrate mastery

Master before moving on!
The higher performing student is always the
coach first!
 Demonstrate your preference for positive and
constructive behavior statements



Actively encourage positive interactions
KPALS 12, PALS 28
Types of Lessons
KPALS
 Teacher Games
( 5 min)
 Student Games
(15 min)
PALS
 Sounds and Words
(15 min)
 Story Sharing
(15 min)
KPALS Teacher games

Introduce Letters (weeks 1-5, 7-10, 12-20)


Sound Blending (weeks 3-7)


Students learn how to say words slowly (sound by sound)
holding up a finger for each word
Letter-Sound Correspondence (weeks 13-20)


Say word, ask “What is the last sound?’
Segmenting Words (weeks 13-17)


Say word slowly, hold up finger for each sound, ask students
“what word”
Last Sound (weeks 8-12)


Point to new letter in box, tell name, students repeat
Learn sound-symbol correspondences
Sounding Out Words (weeks 16-20)

Learn how to blend sound symbols to decode words
KPALS Student Activities
KPALS – pg 20
 Name Game (wks 1-20)


Rhyme Time (wks 1-5)


Played 2X, name letters, 3-4 minutes, Switch Roles
Paired pictures, Rhyme ID, 3-4 minutes, Switch Roles
First Sound (wks 1-10)

Pictures, Initial Sound ID, 3-4 minutes, Switch Roles

Say the Word (wks 6-15)

Pictures, Phoneme Blending, 3-4 minutes, DO NOT Switch Roles
Last Sound (wks 11-20)



Pictures, Final Sound ID, 3-4 minutes, Switch Roles
Stretch It (wks 16-20)

Pictures, Phoneme Segmentation, 3-4 minutes, Switch Roles
Each Game is worth 5 points!
KPALS Student Games
Game Sheets
Weeks Played
Games Played
1-15
1-5
Name Game
Rhyme Time
First Sound
16-30
6-10
Name Game
Say the Word
First Sounds
31-45
11-15
Name Game
Say the Word
Last Sound
46-60
16-20
Name Game
Stretch It
Last Sound
PALS Student Activities – Sounds
and words (pg 10-22)
New sound and word is introduced by teacher, then pairs start (15
min)…
 Letter Sounds


Hearing Sounds


Coach reads word, reader stretches it
Sounding Out


Coach points, reader names sound
Coach prompts, reader sounds out word slowly and then reads it
Sentences and Stories
Before reading sentences/stories, coach direct reader to practice
sight words – “Read It”
 Then coach prompts read to read sentences/stories
Each Game is worth 5 points!
Students Complete Entire Sheet before Switching Roles!

PALS Student Activities –
Story Sharing (pg 10-22)
Using books from the coach’s book bags, students read in
pairs (15 min)…
 Pretend-Read


Read Aloud



Picture walk, coach prompts reader to predict story from
pictures, 2 minutes
Coach reads a sentence, reader reads the same sentence,
Pairs complete this routine 2X, 12 minutes
If Pair is done before 12 minutes has passed, switch roles
and reader reads each sentence first (can be a book from
reader’s book bag)
Retell
Coach prompts “What did you learn first?”, “What did you
learn next?”, etc, 1 minute
Each Reading o f the story is worth 5 points!

Correction Proceedures

TELL
Coach tells reader correct response
 “That letter’s sound is /sss/.”


ASK
Coach asks reader to repeat correct response
 “What sound?”


START AGAIN
Coach asks reader to repeat the row again
(correctly)
 “Start again.”

Starting Points
KPALS – All students start at same place
 PALS – Two entry points

Game Sheet 4
 Game Sheet 15
 Based on Sounds and Words placement test (in
Teacher’s Materials)

Start by teaching Routines

Student Training Lessons

KPALS starts on page 25
 Focused
on roles of coach and reader, earning and
marking points, KPALS rules, and partner behavior

PALS Starts on page 31
 First
Lessons focused on roles of coach and reader,
earning and marking points, KPALS rules, and partner
behavior
 Next lessons focused on Story Sharing Routine and
Sounds and Words Activity
How will I know if PALS is
working?

Through careful analysis of …
My progress monitoring data
 Student reading in guided reading and
conferences
 Student writing samples
 Observation of partnerships
