Ring Elementary School kindergarten teacher, Jennifer Goshgarian, works with her students, Cora Berg, Karzyn Pacheco and Jaydaliez Perez Rosa in a small group to provide very targeted instruction on the individual skills that students need to master.

Small group instruction allows each student to work with the specific skills they need next to fill in gaps or to grow to the next level.

Ring Elementary School is utilizing small group instruction in many different ways with teachers, paraprofessionals and reading specialists all contributing to students’ success.

Ring kindergarten teacher, Jennifer Goshgarian, uses small groups in her classroom to provide targeted intervention for students. She works with a small group of students while the other students in the classroom are working on iPads, writing and counting, rolling dice and writing numbers or letters, stamping words and numbers, or labeling pictures independently. Students are also helped during small groups when paraprofessionals, reading specialists and ENL teachers push into her classroom to reach the needs of all students. The class works in small group stations for 1.5 hours each day while Mrs. Goshgarian provides both math and reading intervention. Each small group has a targeted objective and the adults meet regularly to collaborate and create the groups, which helps ensure the teachers are all on the same page and the students are getting the intervention they need.

“These groups provide very targeted intervention on the skills that students need to master next in order to progress on our priority standards. My groups are flexible, which allows for me to move students as they master skills, so students can move at their own pace,” said Mrs. Goshgarian. “This time allows us to create developmentally appropriate activities for our youngest learners. The children have a very difficult time sitting in one spot for an extended period of time and small group centers or workstations allow the students to move and interact while learning the objectives and meeting our priority standards.”

Ring Elementary School second graders are benefiting from reading teachers who are currently running small reading groups. They are working twofold: first by implementing information from a recent training called LETRS where they are teaching explicit phonemic awareness and phonics skills in combination with text application and secondly, deep comprehension strategies such as using background knowledge to make connections to the guided reading texts they are reading.

See GROUPS, Page G2

Groups

From Page G1

Shortly, the second graders will begin doing guided math also to help students build on their current knowledge and work on the “just right” next skill to continue their math expertise oftentimes in a game-like manner so students are practicing needed skills in a playful, enjoyable way. The second grade teachers also partner with paraprofessionals and ENL teachers to support students’ needs.

“It’s especially important to have small groups this year,” said Ring Elementary School Principal Annette Miller. “Students come to school with a wider range of experiences and learning needs. Small group instruction allows teachers to work more closely with each student, provide explicit instruction and give students more opportunities to practice. When errors in that practice occur, students receive immediate corrective feedback to ensure they are practicing correctly. Increasing corrective practice helps learning become permanent.”