Running Head: DIFFERENTIATED SMALL-GROUP LITERACY INSTRUCTION 1

Ensuring Differentiation Through Small-Group Literacy Instruction

Lauren E. Johnson

North Carolina State University

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Abstract

Differentiation is critical to the success of meeting individual student needs. Teachers are

able to address specific foundational literacy skills and strategies when differentiation is

implemented. A proven effective way to differentiate instruction is through the use of small-

groups during the literacy block. Small-group lessons consist of word work, reading strategies to

use before, during and after reading, and running records which are taught to approximately six

students at a time. There are numerous benefits to working to a student’s instructional level as

opposed to teaching in a whole-group setting. Whole-group lessons teach to one level of learners

and never address the needs of the others. When teachers place a specific focus on the

differentiated content students make literacy gains.

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A Call to Action

In the past few years the study of learning styles has received more attention than ever.

“With contemporary classrooms becoming increasingly diverse, educational authorities, teachers

and school administrators are looking to teaching and learning strategies that cater for a variety

of learning profiles.” (Subban, P. 2006, p. 935) Cathy Weselby explains that each child is unique

and because of that educators should consider differentiated instruction in their classroom.

(2018) The discussion of differentiated instruction came into play when achievement tests

showed major gaps in students’ abilities within the same grade level. The No Child Left Behind

Elementary and Secondary Education Act emphasized the need of skills based instruction.

Models of education based on learning styles have equipped teachers with the ability to plan

their lessons and their curriculum, bearing in mind how students learn best (Strong, Silver, and

Perini, 2001). As the needs of students change so should the approaches of instruction to ensure

students are equip with the literacy instruction needed to be successful in the 21st century.

Tomlinson (1999) has found four ways teachers can differentiate instruction: content, process,

product, and learning environment. Each of these ways can be implemented in small-group

literacy instruction.

How to Begin a Small-Group

To meet the individual needs of students, differentiated small-group instruction is

needed. “Differentiated instruction is implemented during the designated block of time for

reading instruction. Usually, whole group instruction is provided, and then classrooms and

instruction are organized in the form of Reading Centers.” (Kosanovich, Ladinsky, Nelson, &

Torgesen, 2007, p. 1). Reading Centers or Reading Stations look different in each classroom
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depending on a number of variables such as, the amount of support staff present in the

classroom, the independence level of the students, the resources made available to the students,

or the number of students. “The goal of our literacy centers is to provide students with

meaningful independent tasks in order to create time for small-group instruction or one-on-one

reading conferences.” (Just Read, Florida!, 2017) The first step of implementing effective small-

group literacy lessons is to determine the students’ needs. Once a comprehensive standards-

based assessment has been administered to all students the teacher can then review the results

and place students into small like-ability groups. “Using the above, at, and below benchmarks,

create small reading groups of about six students each (educators with large class sizes can

increase but not exceed eight per group). Students grouped together should be within 1-2 levels

of each other to be most effective.” (Schmidt, 2017) It is critical for educators to continuously

assess students to determine their ever changing needs and mastery. Once assessments are

completed teachers should adjust groups by shifting students into new groups with other students

who share their similar ability level. Differentiated small-groups should be fluid and not remain

stagnant over the course of the school year. As students change and develop so should the

manner in which they are taught.

Benefits of Small-Group Literacy Instruction

Once the teacher has divided the class into homogeneous reading groups of about six

students then the planning can begin. Teachers will select appropriate content to be taught.

During the small-group literacy block teachers will lead guided reading lessons. “Guided

reading provides a context in which the teacher can monitor and guide the student’s application

of specific skills in decoding and comprehension to construct meaning while reading.” (Wilson,
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Nabors, Berg, Simpson, & Timme, 2012, p. 33) The lessons typically include word work,

reading strategies to use before, during and after reading, and running records. Each guided

reading group lesson is tailored to address the needs of the students in that specific group. It is

important for educators to remember that the foundations of reading must be taught in order for

students to become successful readers. Students become engaged through guided practice of

explicit skills. Active responses during small-group reading instruction increase student

engagement and motivation to participate (Amendum, Li, & Creamer, 2009). An example of

student engagement during word work would be students using letter tiles to create words that

rhyme with a word their teacher has said. When a teacher is working in small-groups they are

able to see the thinking process of the students and determine if they are mastering the concepts.

If the student has not yet mastered the concept the teacher can see specifically which skills need

to be worked on more.

In addition to active engagement, small-group literacy instruction provides social

benefits. The teacher and the students meet and closely interact. With classroom sizes over

twenty students in primary grades students do not always get direct instruction that is needed to

help build literacy. “Whole-group lessons can often be too challenging for students with the

least literacy knowledge—and too easy for students with the most literacy knowledge.

Therefore, the whole-group approach does not always meet students’ needs, even in

kindergarten.” (Wilson, Nabors, Berg, Simpson, & Timme, 2012, p.31) Small-group literacy

instruction gives the teacher the opportunity to meet the needs of each student in their class. This

is accomplished through differentiated instruction, and the ability to respond more timely and

efficiently to a child’s reading.

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Conclusion

Differentiated small-group literacy instruction is an effective strategy for students.

“Evidence suggests small-group direct instruction is a valid procedure to be used for teaching, in

contrast to the widely used models of 1:1 ‘pullout’ instruction.” (Ledford & Wolery, 2015, p.

289) Although there have been numerous studies completed and published that support the use

of differentiated small-group literacy instruction, it is still not being utilized universally. I have

worked in multiple school districts over the course of my teaching career. The implementation

of small-group instruction was rarely present. Teachers were typically utilizing whole-group

teaching styles and methods. This was troubling for me to witness. Teachers were seeing very

little growth year after year and could not determine how to fix this problem.

When presented with the idea of differentiated small-group instruction they quickly

responded explaining as to why it would never work in their classrooms. I have incorporated

differentiated small-group literacy instruction while teaching fifth grade, fourth grade, and

currently kindergarten. The student growth in reading speaks for itself on the benefits of using

this teaching framework. After some of my peers saw the growth of my students they became

open to the idea of beginning small-group instruction in their own classrooms. I was pleased to

see my entire grade level transition from whole-group instruction to small-group instruction. As

a result of this switch my principal requested professional development to be offered to primary

teachers across the county in differentiated small-group literacy instruction. How can we expect

educators to be experts, if they are not continuously trained with current research proven

strategies in the field of educaiton? Differentiated small-group instruction is paramount to the

success of students literacy achievements and readiness for the 21st century.
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References

Amendum, S.J., Li, Y., & Creamer, K.H. (2009). Reading lesson instruction characteristics.

Reading Psychology, 30(1), 119-143.

J. (2017, December 20). Literacy Centers. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/literacy-centers

Kosanovich, M., Ladinsky, K., Nelson, L., & Torgesen, J. (2007). Differentiated reading

instruction: Smallgroup alternative lesson structures for students. Tallahassee, FL:

Florida Center for Reading Research. 1-9

Ledford, J. R., & Wolery, M. (2015). Observational Learning of Academic and Social Behaviors

During Small-Group Direct Instruction. Exceptional Children,81(3), 272-291.

Schmidt, A. (2017, December 14). How to Use Data to Create Small Reading Groups. Retrieved

April 10, 2018, from https://www.nwea.org/blog/2017/use-data-create-small-reading-

groups/

Strong, R. W., Silver, H. F., and Perini, M. J. (2001). Making students as important as standards.

Educational Leadership, 59(3), 56-61.

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Subban, P. (2006). Differentiated instruction: A research basis. International Education

Journal,7(7), 935-947. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from iej.com.au.

Tomlinson, C. (1999). Mapping a route toward differentiated instruction. Educational

Leadership, 57(1), 12-16.

Weselby, C. (2014) What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of Strategies. Retrieved April

10, 2018, from https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/examples-of-

differentiated-instruction/

Wilson, T., Nabors, D., Berg, H., Simpson, C., & Timme, K. (2012). Small-group reading

instruction: Lessons from the field. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 40(3), 30-39.