Teaching a small group of students sure sounds like a piece of cake, doesn’t it? However, I think you’ll agree (and let me know if you don’t!) that, in reality, small-group time can be the most challenging part of a teacher’s day. It’s not challenging because it’s difficult to work with a small group of students. No, that’s not it at all. The challenge is in keeping tabs on the 20 or so other students in the classroom who are working independently!
I wish I had the answer to small-group classroom management. I don’t, but here are a few tips from my years in the classroom.
• Keep small-group sessions short.
• Move around the room between group gatherings to answer questions and offer encouragement.
• Consider assigning independent workers smaller tasks rather than one large task. Who doesn’t benefit from a sense of accomplishment?
• Keep smiling! A sense of calm confidence is contagious!
Now it’s your turn! What works for you?
Have a wonderful day!
Diane
PS Today is the final day to enter our current giveaway! To be eligible for a dandy duo of prizes, leave a comment at January Perks before midnight.
I want to do a theme on Llama Llama for my preschool class. does anyone have any good llama crafts, songs, cooking, or anything else dealing with llamas?
I agree the small group can be the hardest. I teach small groups. Every 20 to 30 minutes I have a new group–all day long!
Small group, small group…it is bandied about by principals and district staff like it is a piece of cake. The reality is that every minute you are focused on a small group is a minute that the other kids need to have constructive, appropriate, independent tasks. Even though I teach middle school, I’ve come to rely on the Daily 5 as a means of making group work more viable.
I do reading groups in my kindergarten classroom like this. Before we start, I have the kiddos repeat the rules with me (no talking, do your best, don’t get up unless it’s an emergency). We also have a stoplight in the room that I put on red to remind them too. These seem to help get them on the right track. The next part is making sure they understand what they are working on clearly before they begin (minimizes questions) and making sure they have enough work to keep them busy the whole time.
Definitely keep the sessions short. If a small group lesson goes on too long, the students stop paying attention. Several short, small group lessons throughout the day are good.
I always keep my small group lessons associated with our theme. We’ve played Letter Bug Bingo (insects/spiders), counted “gold” coins (fairy tales), matched uppercase & lowercase alphabet mittens (winter), etc.
And just like you said, Diane, keep smiling! 🙂
I agree that the most difficult part of teaching small groups is managing the rest of the class while working with one group. I try to include a computer activity, the listening center and another activity such as a writing activity or an activity that goes along with a skill the children might need to practice. I try to keep the groups to a 15 minute time. The activities also can be differentiated easily. I wish I could say this works easily but that is not always the case. Sometimes I only see 2 groups in a day. Anxious to hear what suggestions others might have to share. Small group time is often the most stressful part of the day!
In my class, we set aside a specific time to do small groups. My assistant takes one group and works on a math concept. I take another group and work on literacy. The third group does an independent activity such as writing, puzzles, cutting, stringing beads to make patterns, etc., something that doesn’t require too much teacher assistance and will keep them busy while my assistant and I are working with the other two small groups. We rotate each day so we get to work with all the children.
I do one group and my assistant the other half at the same time.
During free time we both work one on one with the kids on a rotating basis. Usually we both hit each child in the class in a week.
With all the new standards it can be hard.
What a great idea Tanya, I cant wait to see if anyone has any Llama ideas. Have you checked the authors website???
I keep reading about having an assistant — haven’t seen that in the last 5 years. I try to have one active center—pocket chart sorts/letters or words; something seasonal or related to our unit in a craft variety. Usually something with writing or reading. I keep the plans simple, short (10-15 minutes). I observe the groups as they work and try to plan the length of my focus group to match the attention span of the kindergarten. Some days work better than others. And yes, a sense of humor, lots of stickers for the follow through with the center participants.