As we
move to more of a workshop model for our classes, we need to continue promoting
classroom habits that enable students to become better at independent and small
group tasks. When it comes to small groups in particular, our goal is to
both help them use their time wisely, to make meaning as a collective team, and
to grow their language of school. While students can develop and practice
their academic language in writing and in full group activities, it is probably
most meaningful to help them do so working in small groups.
It isn’t always easy for
teachers to hand over responsibility to students for small group work.
And for good reason. How many times do we designate learning or
activities to small groups, and then realize that a number of the groups just
don’t function well? Either they are completely off task or one
participant does all of the work. Or worst of all, they all just sit
there, silent, unwilling to do anything at all.
Intervention courses and pull outs might face a
unique collection of personalities where small group work is very difficult.
For starters, small group work is hard because the class itself is not
much larger than a small group. In larger classrooms, the hubbub of sound
that happens when small groups are engaged is nice because it doesn’t feel like
making a comment to the group is a
speech to the class. However, when your
room is small and has only two or three small groups, it can feel as though
your comments are being heard by the entire class-- the room lacks the
background noise that the larger classrooms generate. Additionally,
students in intervention courses sometimes lack the ability to navigate group
work or they just don’t see it as meaningful. And sometimes, certain
combinations of students are just not conducive to small group activities.
Never-the-less, it is
important that we help students to develop some of these skills. It
ultimately will help them to both participate in group discussions across other
classes, and develop the academic language that is such a big part of school.
This will require work on the front end. This involves coaching students
on the expected norms, behaviors, and language of a small group.
Including helpful tools like sentence starters or thought beginners can
jump start things as well.
Whether you teach
smaller sections of struggling students or advanced placement courses, facilitating
small groups is an important and valuable educational choice. Open up the full newsletter to find some small group ideas taken from Jeff Zwiers Building Academic Language.
