Differentiated Reading Groups

We are a few weeks into our differentiated reading groups project, and the feedback is very positive.  The students are doing well, and improving upon their individual reading abilities, and the teachers are loving working with same-ability groups.

To summarize:

• We created a literacy support team consisting of 4 classroom teachers, 1 LAT teacher, 1 teacher-librarian, and me, the Principal.  
• We focused on grades 2 and 3, but have added in a grade 1 student who is excelling in reading, and some grade 4s from a 3-4 split class. 
• The grade 2s and 3s were split into groups differentiated by ability, and then the grade 1 and some grade 4s were added to the groups where appropriate. The grade 3-4 teacher kept her strong grade 4s.
• We meet 3x per week, for 1 hour a day.
• The groups with strong readers are bigger (up to 18 students) and the groups with the struggling readers are smaller (down to 5-6).
• The students have already been tested for their reading level.  For example, my group has readers who are all exceeding expectations.  That being said, the Lit Group leader is spending 3 hours a week with those kids, so that person will provide a written comment to the classroom teacher for reporting purposes.

While the teachers with the most challenging readers have a tough job, the really appreciate the small groups and the time that they get to spend with their readers.  I like being able to really challenge the readers in my group where we practice reading out loud and to small audiences, where we work cooperatively with each other and where we challenge them to really push themselves with their reading, their comprehension, and their fluency.

In the future, I will post about some of the projects and the focus of each of the groups. Until then, keep reading!