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Lauren E. Johnson
Abstract
Differentiation is critical to the success of meeting individual student needs. Teachers are
able to address specific foundational literacy skills and strategies when differentiation is
implemented. A proven effective way to differentiate instruction is through the use of small-
groups during the literacy block. Small-group lessons consist of word work, reading strategies to
use before, during and after reading, and running records which are taught to approximately six
students at a time. There are numerous benefits to working to a student’s instructional level as
opposed to teaching in a whole-group setting. Whole-group lessons teach to one level of learners
and never address the needs of the others. When teachers place a specific focus on the
A Call to Action
In the past few years the study of learning styles has received more attention than ever.
and school administrators are looking to teaching and learning strategies that cater for a variety
of learning profiles.” (Subban, P. 2006, p. 935) Cathy Weselby explains that each child is unique
and because of that educators should consider differentiated instruction in their classroom.
(2018) The discussion of differentiated instruction came into play when achievement tests
showed major gaps in students’ abilities within the same grade level. The No Child Left Behind
Elementary and Secondary Education Act emphasized the need of skills based instruction.
Models of education based on learning styles have equipped teachers with the ability to plan
their lessons and their curriculum, bearing in mind how students learn best (Strong, Silver, and
Perini, 2001). As the needs of students change so should the approaches of instruction to ensure
students are equip with the literacy instruction needed to be successful in the 21st century.
Tomlinson (1999) has found four ways teachers can differentiate instruction: content, process,
product, and learning environment. Each of these ways can be implemented in small-group
literacy instruction.
needed. “Differentiated instruction is implemented during the designated block of time for
reading instruction. Usually, whole group instruction is provided, and then classrooms and
instruction are organized in the form of Reading Centers.” (Kosanovich, Ladinsky, Nelson, &
Torgesen, 2007, p. 1). Reading Centers or Reading Stations look different in each classroom
DIFFERENTIATED SMALL-GROUP LITERACY INSTRUCTION 4
depending on a number of variables such as, the amount of support staff present in the
classroom, the independence level of the students, the resources made available to the students,
or the number of students. “The goal of our literacy centers is to provide students with
meaningful independent tasks in order to create time for small-group instruction or one-on-one
reading conferences.” (Just Read, Florida!, 2017) The first step of implementing effective small-
group literacy lessons is to determine the students’ needs. Once a comprehensive standards-
based assessment has been administered to all students the teacher can then review the results
and place students into small like-ability groups. “Using the above, at, and below benchmarks,
create small reading groups of about six students each (educators with large class sizes can
increase but not exceed eight per group). Students grouped together should be within 1-2 levels
of each other to be most effective.” (Schmidt, 2017) It is critical for educators to continuously
assess students to determine their ever changing needs and mastery. Once assessments are
completed teachers should adjust groups by shifting students into new groups with other students
who share their similar ability level. Differentiated small-groups should be fluid and not remain
stagnant over the course of the school year. As students change and develop so should the
Once the teacher has divided the class into homogeneous reading groups of about six
students then the planning can begin. Teachers will select appropriate content to be taught.
During the small-group literacy block teachers will lead guided reading lessons. “Guided
reading provides a context in which the teacher can monitor and guide the student’s application
of specific skills in decoding and comprehension to construct meaning while reading.” (Wilson,
DIFFERENTIATED SMALL-GROUP LITERACY INSTRUCTION 5
Nabors, Berg, Simpson, & Timme, 2012, p. 33) The lessons typically include word work,
reading strategies to use before, during and after reading, and running records. Each guided
reading group lesson is tailored to address the needs of the students in that specific group. It is
important for educators to remember that the foundations of reading must be taught in order for
students to become successful readers. Students become engaged through guided practice of
explicit skills. Active responses during small-group reading instruction increase student
engagement and motivation to participate (Amendum, Li, & Creamer, 2009). An example of
student engagement during word work would be students using letter tiles to create words that
rhyme with a word their teacher has said. When a teacher is working in small-groups they are
able to see the thinking process of the students and determine if they are mastering the concepts.
If the student has not yet mastered the concept the teacher can see specifically which skills need
to be worked on more.
benefits. The teacher and the students meet and closely interact. With classroom sizes over
twenty students in primary grades students do not always get direct instruction that is needed to
help build literacy. “Whole-group lessons can often be too challenging for students with the
least literacy knowledge—and too easy for students with the most literacy knowledge.
Therefore, the whole-group approach does not always meet students’ needs, even in
kindergarten.” (Wilson, Nabors, Berg, Simpson, & Timme, 2012, p.31) Small-group literacy
instruction gives the teacher the opportunity to meet the needs of each student in their class. This
is accomplished through differentiated instruction, and the ability to respond more timely and
Conclusion
“Evidence suggests small-group direct instruction is a valid procedure to be used for teaching, in
contrast to the widely used models of 1:1 ‘pullout’ instruction.” (Ledford & Wolery, 2015, p.
289) Although there have been numerous studies completed and published that support the use
of differentiated small-group literacy instruction, it is still not being utilized universally. I have
worked in multiple school districts over the course of my teaching career. The implementation
of small-group instruction was rarely present. Teachers were typically utilizing whole-group
teaching styles and methods. This was troubling for me to witness. Teachers were seeing very
little growth year after year and could not determine how to fix this problem.
When presented with the idea of differentiated small-group instruction they quickly
responded explaining as to why it would never work in their classrooms. I have incorporated
differentiated small-group literacy instruction while teaching fifth grade, fourth grade, and
currently kindergarten. The student growth in reading speaks for itself on the benefits of using
this teaching framework. After some of my peers saw the growth of my students they became
open to the idea of beginning small-group instruction in their own classrooms. I was pleased to
see my entire grade level transition from whole-group instruction to small-group instruction. As
teachers across the county in differentiated small-group literacy instruction. How can we expect
educators to be experts, if they are not continuously trained with current research proven
success of students literacy achievements and readiness for the 21st century.
DIFFERENTIATED SMALL-GROUP LITERACY INSTRUCTION 7
References
Amendum, S.J., Li, Y., & Creamer, K.H. (2009). Reading lesson instruction characteristics.
J. (2017, December 20). Literacy Centers. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/literacy-centers
Kosanovich, M., Ladinsky, K., Nelson, L., & Torgesen, J. (2007). Differentiated reading
Ledford, J. R., & Wolery, M. (2015). Observational Learning of Academic and Social Behaviors
Schmidt, A. (2017, December 14). How to Use Data to Create Small Reading Groups. Retrieved
groups/
Strong, R. W., Silver, H. F., and Perini, M. J. (2001). Making students as important as standards.
differentiated-instruction/
Wilson, T., Nabors, D., Berg, H., Simpson, C., & Timme, K. (2012). Small-group reading
instruction: Lessons from the field. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 40(3), 30-39.