When Do I Move Students to the 'next' Guided Reading Group?

If we already haven't done so, guided reading groups should be 'on the move' as the students gain more consistency at their current level.  In Debbie Diller's book, Making the Most of Small Groups - Differentiation for All (I have a copy if you would like to borrow), she gives some 'things to consider' to assist us in making good decisions about when is the correct time to move students (see below).

Moving students to the 'next group' is different in Primary grades compared to Junior/Intermediate grades.  As Nelson Literacy is our main resource in Junior/Intermediate, moving students occurs as you change reading strategies.  Moreover, our CASI scores also help us determine 'areas of focus' and thus appropriate groupings.  In the Primary grades, we rely on our Running Records, Flexible Small Group Folder & PM Benchmarks to guide our instruction and form our guided reading groups.  However, what is good in one area of the school (eg. Primary, Junior or Intermediate) can also be good in other areas (i.e. it is only the size of the students that changes).

Flexible Small Group Folder - "Reading Levels & What to Focus on in Lessons

From 'Making the Most of Small Groups' - Debbie Diller

As you are making your new guided reading groups, please consider the lesson planning sequence.  Diller reminds us within the first part of her book that deciding on which kids and what book are not enough of a plan.  She says, "Thoughtful teaching in small groups is a lot different than sitting with a group of kids and listening to them read.".  Overall, precision teaching is purposefully planned.

From 'Making the Most of Small Groups' - Debbie Diller

3 Part Math

We had our 2nd in a 6 part series of CILM (Collaborative Inquiry & Learning in Mathematics) this week.  In essence what we do is co-plan, co-teach & co-debrief.  A very positive way to develop the 'collective strength' as a school.  The unanimous comments from all involved were, "It wasn't so bad.  I wish we could do this more often."
The 3 Part Math strategy begins with a Learning Goal derived from a Big Idea.  Using our planning template we then began to 'fill in the blanks' of our 3 Part Lesson.  The lesson begins with 'Minds-On' to get the students engaged with the upcoming lesson (i.e. getting in the right frame of 'mind').  This is followed by the 'Action' (i.e. the 'getting messy' of the lesson).  The teacher moves around the room making observations (i.e. eves dropping) to gain important 'next steps'.  The final stage is called the 'Consolidation' in which the learning (from the students) is highlighted by the teacher.  Also during this stage the Success Criteria are co-created on an Anchor Chart to aid with the independent work.  The entire process doesn't have a specific time frame (i.e. it could be done in one day or take multiple days to complete the 3 parts).

During the Consolidation stage there are a number of 'Questions to consider'...

• What were the learning goals and big ideas of the lesson?  
• Stay focussed even if some students are 'working ahead'...
• What mathematics is evident in students communication (oral, written & modeled)?
• observation/notes
• What language was used to show the mathematics?  What vocabulary requires reinforcement?
• Word Wall, Math Journal, Anchor Chart, etc...
• How are the solutions linked?
• What misconceptions are present in the student work?
• key piece to independent success
• What are the next steps in instruction?
• assessment drives instruction

adapted from "Communication in the Mathematics Classroom", September 2010, Capacity Building Series.

Overall, our planning template & curriculum document (over time) will be our greatest resource as it becomes the 'road to student success'.  For example, if we had a copy of the curriculum for our particular grade along with the Planning Template, then we could 'highlight' the specific expectations as we move from lesson to lesson.  If you combine this highlighting and our notes on our planning templates, then the real strength comes to the surface as we move from week to week, month to month and term to term.  Looking back and utilizing these resources as our 'assessment for, as & of learning' we will see how this then 'drives our future instruction' and precision teaching.


Resources:

http://teachingrocks.ca/three-part-lessons-teaching-math-through-problem-solving/

Debriefing the Thinking Process

At our next Divisional Meetings, we will go through the student-led 'night' in preparation for the Term 1 Report Cards.  Basically, the 'How to' of Student-led (i.e. the script).  We already have a big 'piece of the puzzle' complete with all students having a Portfolio.  The next 'piece of the puzzle' is metacognition (thinking about their thinking).

The students just completed one form of metacognition activity with the student reflection on the Progress Reports.  Why wait for the next reporting period for the students to show their thinking.  Let's practice, practice & practice.  The article 'linked' to metacognition outlines 6 strategies for developing students 'thinking about their thinking'.  There are many good and practical ideas to help us teach our students the 'how to' of  'learning about your learning'.

As educators, we all have an innate ability to demonstrate metacognitive strategies.  Modeling these strategies with our students on a consistent basis is the key to success.  Students need to be able to not only describe the learning goals (i.e. the target(s) they are aiming for) but also how they plan to achieve the goals (i.e. the co-created success criteria).  Afterwards, the learning needs to be 'debriefed' so the students can internalize the learning.  It's not about the 'grade/mark' (i.e. once we put a grade on the page, then learning stops) but the learning that took place achieving that mark/grade that matters.  This is apart of a bigger conversation around Assessment FOR, AS & OF learning (future blog topic).

By modelling and 'debriefing the thinking process' we will instill true 21st century skills in our students. Check out the 2 resources below (located in the bookroom) for some good starting ideas.

Great ready made resources...or get an idea & create your own.

Open Response Questions

Individually we are one drop.  Together we are an ocean.

Ryunokuke Satoro

Open Response questions need to be 'deep thinking' types of questions that force students to both demonstrate & apply content knowledge in some way.  Our 'target' range should always be in the GREEN area of the chart below. This is not to say we ignore the other areas.  There is value here, however, the remaining three areas of the chart could/would potentially be revealed as we are probing the Level 3/4 questions (or used as 'lead-ins' to the 'bigger' questions).  

The real strength comes when we all 'move as one'  school in terms of being focused on all asking the 'deep thinking' types of questions regardless of grade level.  We know that this process is very complicated, in that, it requires precision planning & teaching of skills over time (i.e. grade by grade).  This 'pooling of drops' as an entire school is key to 'building the ocean' of success.  

Q-Chart to guide forming 'deep thinking' Open Response questions