4 Effective Ways to Pull Students for Small Group Instruction (EP17)

4 Effective Ways to Pull Students for Small Group Instruction

Hey, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Elementary Math Chat. Congratulations on making it to the month of November! I cannot believe we are here already and that we are almost into the year 2024. It has flown by for sure.

Well, since we are into the month of November, I’m guessing that your small group instruction has been up and running for quite some time now. But this is also the time of year when you might be feeling the need for a change. Or you’re just curious if there’s a better way or an easier way to run these groups.

So, if you’re feeling that way, you’re going to really enjoy today’s episode because I’m going to share four different ways that you can structure your small group instruction.

This is a very popular conversation in a few Facebook groups that I’m part of. A lot of new teachers who’ve never even pulled a small group are wondering, you know, how do they even start this?

Do you pull only your strugglers? Do you work with everyone? Do you have them rotate throughout your group, or do you just pull certain groups at certain times or on certain days? Should you level your groups, or should you make them mixed abilities?

And I would say the most common question I see is what do you have the rest of your class work on while you’re working with those small groups? I think these are all really valid questions, and I think they’re all really important when you’re thinking about setting up your small groups. 

So, I will answer all of those questions. I’ll share what I found to be the pros and cons of each way of pulling groups, and then I’ll share my favorite way that I did the last few years I was in the classroom. And hopefully, by the end of this, you’ll be able to make the best decision for your class.

Now I know it goes without saying, but keep in mind as I go through these ideas that every class is different. Every year is different. So, what works for one teacher may not work for another, and what works for one of your classes might not work for the other class. And a lot of times I found what worked for one class one year did not work for the next class the next year.

So, that’s why I think it’s really important to have a few different ideas. And so, when something doesn’t work, you can just try something different.

Before we get into the different ways of pulling groups. I actually want to backtrack a little bit to what I did right before I pulled small groups because it plays a pretty big role in your small group instruction.

As soon as I was done teaching my lesson, I gave my class a really quick formative assessment. I called it their must-do activity, and once they finished this assignment, then they could go and work on their choice board activities.

Sometimes this assignment was digital, like a Google form, or Boom Cards, or an assignment from our online program. And then sometimes it was printable. Sometimes it was a worksheet. Other times it was a workbook page that was already in their workbook.

So, it wasn’t always the same type of assignment. But it allowed two things to happen. Number one, it gave them an opportunity to practice on their own, and I think that’s a very important part of their learning. And number two, it gave me a little break, and that was much needed after my lesson. I just needed a little breather.

As far as the grading goes, sometimes I didn’t grade them at all. Sometimes it was just an activity that they did. Sometimes I took a completion grade on them. That was helpful because I didn’t give a lot of homework. And so, this allowed me to get at least one grade per week. And then other times I took an accuracy grade, but I only did that if it was a review skill. I never took a grade on something that was completely new to them.

So, I highly recommend giving your students a daily formative assessment before you even begin pulling your groups, and keep it really simple. Five to 10 questions is usually what I did, and that was perfect.

Alright, so now that we’ve covered the formative assessment part of this, let’s go ahead and talk about how you can structure your small groups. Now remember, today I am sharing four different ways that you can do this, and the first two ways are only going to have you work with your strugglers. The second two ways will have you work with everyone.

So, as I go through the details, definitely consider how much time you have in your math block. If you only have 45 to 60 minutes, you probably want to consider one of the first two options because again, you’re only going to work with your strugglers in those situations. You’re not going to work with everyone.

But I know a lot of you have more like 80 to 90 minutes in your block. And so, in that case, you might have time to meet with everyone. And so, you want to pick one of the second two options, or you might do a little bit of both. I know there were some days I met with everyone, and then some days I just met with my strugglers, so you can kind of mix and match depending on how much time you have, and also what skill you’re working on.

So, let’s talk about the first way you can structure your small groups. For this one, you are going to use the data from the formative assessment I mentioned earlier, and you’re only going to meet with the students who struggled on that assessment. 

So, for example, you might look at your data, and you notice that you had eight students who scored a 75 or below on that assignment. This means that they will be the only students that you meet with, and you’re actually going to meet with them the following day. So, not the same day that they take the assessment, the next day.

This is a really popular way to structure small groups, and what I like about this is it not only gives you a chance to look over your data, but it also gives you a little more time to think about what activity you’re going to do with them.

Another benefit to structuring groups this way is because you’re not working with everyone, you’re going to have a little more time. You’re going to get done with your small groups early. That’s going to free you up if you need to help other people who are working on their choice board or other assignments and need your help, or a behavior issue that needs to be addressed. So, this is a really flexible option, especially if you only have 60 minutes in your math block.

All right, let’s move on to the second way that you can structure your small groups, and this one is pretty similar to the first idea. But instead of meeting with students the next day, you could pull them the same day and help them make corrections to the questions that they got wrong on this formative assessment. 

So, I think the easiest way to do this is if you give them a paper-pencil assignment, like a worksheet or workbook page where they would turn it in to you, and then you can check over it. Just skim it and see if anything stands out, and then just have him bring a pencil and meet you at your desk if you want to sit there or sit at your table that you normally pull small groups in and just make corrections.

Talk through the ones they missed. Make sure they understand why they missed it. Do a little reteaching if necessary, and this way, they’re still meeting with you. They’re learning from their mistakes, and you can give them that one-on-one attention.

So, I would say if you have never pulled groups before, or it’s really new to you, this would be a good one to start with.

The only part of this that was challenging for me was when I would pull too many students at one time. I think it’s confusing when you know, one person missed number two and number seven, and I’m trying to work through those questions with them. But then the other person at your table missed different questions, and they’re just sitting there waiting for you to finish with the other students so you can work with them.

So, if you can, pull them individually, but definitely no more than two people at a time.

What’s nice about this way of pulling groups is number one, you do not have to do any planning ahead of time. So, there’s no prep. You don’t have to prepare anything. And number two, you’re not meeting with everyone. So again, just like in the first example, you might have a little extra time to help them on a choice board activity or manage behaviors that tend to get a little out of control during small group time.

So again, this is a great option if you don’t have a really long math block, and it’s also a really good one to leave a sub. I did this a lot when I was substitute teaching, and it was very manageable. It gave me something to do. It held them accountable. So, keep that in mind when you write your next sub plans.

So, my first two ideas that I shared with you only had you meet with strugglers, but the next two ideas are going to have you meet with everyone. So, if you have a 90-minute math block, I think these next two options are going to be right up your alley. 

I’m going to tell you on the front end of this one, that the third way to structure your small groups is my absolute favorite. This is the way that I pulled my groups the last few years that I was in the classroom, you’re going to meet with your students in groups of mixed abilities.

So, in other words, if you have six that are in your group, you might have two students who are really struggling, two who are right on track, and then two who are higher and need more of a challenge. So, it is really important that you choose the right activity that you’re going to use to help them practice because again, you’re gonna have kids that need intervention in the same group as kids who need enrichment.

Now, if the thought of this just kind of sends you over the edge and you’re like, what in the world would I have my strugglers work on that my higher students could also work on? I promise you it is not as intimidating as it may seem.

I do recommend going back if you haven’t listened to Episode 13. That was all about small group activities. I gave you lots of ideas for leveling your question sets, and also if you haven’t listened to Episodes 11 and 12, those are must-listens because that’s where I talked about how to differentiate and level your question sets.

So, those three episodes are going to give you all the tools that you need to plan and carry out these activities when you have a group of mixed abilities.

Just to give you a quick example, it can be as simple as putting questions on your board. I always had a whiteboard right behind my teacher table. So, I did this a lot, and one set of questions is a little bit easier for those strugglers, and then you’ll have a second set that’s right on track for those that are right in the middle, and then another set is going to be a challenge set. And again, in Episodes 11 and 12, I give you specific examples of how to do this. So, make sure you go back and listen to those episodes.

Next, I want to give you a little visual of what it looked like when they came to my small group table. They weren’t there for long unless they were struggling. They stayed a little bit longer if they were struggling. But they had to complete anywhere from three to five problems, and these questions were always over that day’s lesson.

So, if my lesson was on common factors, they were practicing common factors at my table. Now the one thing that’s different about this setup is I did not use data from a formative assessment to make these groups. I was still giving a formative assessment. But I was just pulling everyone and meeting with everyone to practice that skill, and they moved in and out pretty quickly.

You might be thinking that it’s impossible to see every student every day. But for me, as soon as someone finished, I would call another one to my table. And I had a class list there, so I would just cross their name off when they met with me, and then I would call on someone else. And I did this until I got through everyone in the class.

The other thing I want to mention that’s helpful is I always made sure my strugglers were either in the first group or the second group. I didn’t want to save them for the end, because there were times that I just ran out of time, and I was not able to meet with everyone. So, I made sure that they were in the beginning because they were the ones that really needed that extra practice.

So, like I said, this is the system that I used in my classroom for quite a while. But there were a couple of changes that I made that really helped this system run a little bit smoother.

One of those changes was I did not start working with small groups until everyone was done with their must-do assignment. 

I made this change because I kind of noticed that the students who were right beside me, right beside my small group table, were having a hard time focusing when my small group was going on. Because remember, they were working on this must-do assignment at the same time that I was pulling groups. So, that was one reason I just waited until everyone was finished.

Another reason was that a lot of them needed my help with the assignment, and this way I was available and could walk around and help them. Because I’m sure you’ve experienced this, but some of them would sit there for 45 minutes if they were stuck, and they wouldn’t do anything. They just sit there. 

So, the fact that I was walking around meant I was much more likely to catch this and then step in and help them with what they were struggling with.

It was also nice to have the room quiet during this time. I would even set a timer on my screen, and as long as the timer was on, they had to be quiet and in their seat.

I do think the timer also helped them finish their assignment a little faster. You know, they knew they didn’t have 20 or 30 minutes to complete their assignment. They only had eight to 10 minutes. So, adding that timer to my screen was the second change that I made. And again, I think that made a really big difference.

All right, well, let’s talk about the fourth and final way that you can structure your small groups. This one is similar to the previous idea where you meet with all students. But this time, you’re going to level your groups. So, you’ll have a low, medium, and high group. Now, you can also put them into four groups.

That might be better depending on your class size, or it might be better depending on how many low students you have. I found it helpful to split them up. So, you could do two low groups, one medium group, and one high group. Or again, you could just do three groups: a low, medium, and high.

Now, I never leveled my groups for the entire year. I simply did it for the first nine weeks because that’s when we were doing multiplication and division, and I really felt like I could better differentiate my activities if they were in three different groups.

So, that is something to consider. You can just do this for a unit if you want to do it that way. You can do it for an entire semester or nine weeks. You can do it for the entire year if it works for you. But again, I found it best, I felt like I could really meet their needs better if they were in those three separate groups when we were learning things like multiplication and division.

Obviously, the pros to leveling your groups this way is you can provide completely different activities for each group if necessary. For example, if you are teaching double-digit multiplication, you can have each group do something a little bit different all based on that same skill.

You can have your high group solve three-digit by two-digit problems, and they may need a little bit of help but they could probably figure it out on their own. Or they can solve problems that have missing digits involved.

And then your middle group is going to be right on grade level. So, they can practice the two-by-two problems on their own, and you know, they’ll need your support as needed. And then what I liked to do for my lower group was we did a problem together first as a review, and then they practiced on their own.

Sometimes they might have a multiplication chart with them. Maybe they have a work mat to help them and support them. They were still working on grade level, but that group just needed a little more support.

One of the challenges in structuring your groups this way is you need to make sure that you are fully aware of how much time you are spending with each group. It is really easy to lose track of time with this setup because you have to wait until everyone in your group is finished before you call your next group because they’re in these assigned groups.

So, heading into your small groups, if you have 45 minutes, then just plan on each group being about 14 minutes, and then allow that one-minute transition. And then also make sure you’re working with your lowest group first. That way if you do run out of time, it’s with your higher group.

Again, this is a great option if you have ideas for differentiation, or you want to do different activities with your different groups. But I do want to tell you why I eventually moved away from leveling my groups. I kind of mentioned it back in episode six, but I’ll go into a few more details because it was more than just accidentally putting someone in the wrong group.

The first reason I stopped doing this is because my students eventually figured out what group they were in and why they were in that group, and it was really the lower group I was concerned about. I didn’t want them to feel discouraged. Now, I know you might say that this could be a motivator for them, and it could be. But I also worried that it might affect their confidence and possibly their feelings about math.

Another part of this I didn’t like so much was that I often felt really overwhelmed when I was working with my low group. And to be honest, I’m not really sure that putting them all together is the best for them. I mean, it’s easier for differentiation, but I couldn’t give each one of them the attention that they needed if they were all in the same group.

And then the final reason, and this is the one I mentioned back in episode six, was there were times that I had put students in the wrong group. They may have really struggled with place value and needed to be in that lower group. But maybe they were awesome at multiplication and they belonged in a different group.

So, those were the main reasons why I moved away from leveled groups and moved towards mixed-ability groups.

So, there you go. Those are four different ways that you can structure your small group instruction, and when it comes to planning these and choosing which ones you want to use, you’ll definitely want to consider how much time you have. I’ve mentioned that throughout this episode. And you’ll also want to consider the importance of this skill.

So, if you’re short on time, definitely consider one of the first two options. But if you have more time and it’s a really important skill, then you can meet with all students and you can do either option three or four. Hopefully, these ideas give you some choices and help you make the most of your small group instruction.

So, that is going to take us to today’s teaching tip of the week. With it being November, I wanted to share a really fun craft and bulletin board that you can put up in your room or in the hallway for the entire month of November, and they are my Factor Turkeys.

This is something that I sell on TPT, so I’ll have this linked in the show notes for you, and it comes with everything you’ll need to make your cute little turkeys. There are feathers, there’s a turkey template, and it also comes with a work mat. 

So, your kids will complete this work mat before they even put their turkey together. And that way, you’ll know that all of their answers and all of their numbers are correct before they start making the craft.

Now of course, since these are factor turkeys, that means they are going to choose a number from two to 100, and then they’re gonna find all the factors of that number. 

There is a level of difficulty chart that’s included in this document, and this will help them choose their number because you know, your lower students, they’re going to have a hard time writing all the factors of something like 90 or 48 that has a lot of factors.

So, once they’ve picked their number, one that’s just right for them, they go through the work mat and they complete the work mat. They’ll then come and get it checked by you to make sure everything is correct, and then they are ready to put their Factor Turkey together.

So, if you are interested, these will be linked in the show notes. They are only $2, so it is an incredible deal.

All right, friends. That is all for today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great week and I will see you next Tuesday.