Last month I wrote about traditional guided reading groups, their form and structure and how to create a routine using them.  This month I will focus on diverse types of small groups that you might want to consider in your literacy-based classroom:  skill/strategy groups and literature circles.

In Jennifer Serravallo's book Teaching Reading in Small Groups, she states "When children are part of a group with a common goal, it is more likely that they will reach out to peers when they encounter difficulty. Small groups give children the chance to hear other students' thinking about their reading process and response to texts." (2010) Skill/Strategy groups and Literature Circles are different than guided reading in that they give ownership of the activities over to the students with teacher as an observer or facilitator.

First step for skill/strategy groups, just like guided reading, is visiting the data: running records, one-one conferences, benchmark assessments, learning strands, and observations. Skill/strategy groups can be homogenous or heterogeneous. Choose a skill/strategy for the lesson. Choose materials; there does not have to be a book or the reading materials can be items such as a science lab report, a timeline, a map key, etc. The key elements of a skill/strategy group are that students practice with instructional level materials, materials can be student or teacher selected, and the structure is the same as guided reading: connection -- why are we here, explicit teaching - either by students or teacher, active engagement - students practice and then a link to whole group classroom work. This can be for any content area, as well. Literacy is everywhere!

Some ideas for skill/strategy groups:  Sign up Seminars where students sign up to work on a specific skill or strategy based on their ideas (check out Jennifer Serravallo's book mentioned above for more on this), how to choose a just right book, book reviews, science labs, social studies in-depth discussions, text features, or writing skills. These are just a few. Skill/strategy groups give students practice with skills and strategies across content areas that all tie into literacy.

Literature Circles and Inquiry Groups are two types of small groups that can be used with students grades 3 and up. New job requirements in our world require workers to work collaboratively, to listen to other ideas and opinions, to question, solve, reorganize and invent. These groups of student-led discussions where each student has a specific role and is driven by a purpose are a meaningful way to focus on speaking and listening standards, as well as college and career readiness.

As with guided reading and skill/strategy groups, Literature Circle/Inquiry Group planning begins with looking at your student data and planning ahead. Books, novels, excerpts, articles, nonfiction, political cartoons, are just some of the materials you can use. Group roles must be planned ahead of time as well. You can Google group roles and get many ideas. This video is helpful www.teachingchannel.org/videos/structure-groups. Next you must explicitly teach the process of group discussion with your students. I would suggest beginning at the start of the year and practicing whole group. As the weeks go on and you practice, you can begin to remove yourself and become an observer/facilitator.

The principles of Literature Circles/Inquiry Groups are:

I hope you begin to think about small groups in your literacy-based classrooms through various lenses.  Small group work, when well-planned and executed, can be student engagement and growth.