Is It Me, Or Is Small-Groups Reading Instruction Slipping Away

Since COVID, reading instruction has changed. Obviously. But what happened to small group reading instruction? Is it me, or do you look around wondering what happened to a staple of so many elementary and intermediate classrooms of years past? As more programs are instituted in classrooms, small-group instruction is less frequent. This is not to blame any educator, rather, it’s complicated to learn a program and monitor how students respond to instruction.

Further, at one point in life, literacy blocks were considered “sacred time” or at least that was the intent. These blocks were often 2 hours or more. At that time, it was not uncommon to meet with 2-3 different groups daily, discussing a different book in each group. If that wasn’t the case, it was possible that throughout a lesson, I’d pull two to three groups, be it in reading or writing, to support and scaffold students facing confusion. More importantly, meeting with groups was fun, be it a guided reading group or a book club to hear what students thought and felt. Thus, from my vantage point, small-group instruction is somewhat of a lost opportunity.  It was where we could engage students authentically and confidently.

Today, that opportunity has slipped away. Perhaps it’s because of the new emphasis on the Science of Reading or the implementation of programs.  Maybe it’s because there’s such disdain for leveled reading or leveled texts, that the essence of small-group instruction has been overlooked. Then again, there was little in-person learning during COVID, meaning no small groups. Upon return, there wasn’t a priority on reconvening.

Perhaps I’m wrong. Then again, one look at the Scholastic book order conveys the same story. There was a time I eagerly poured our flyers mulling over which book sets I could afford or specifically instructing students. Now I attempt to convince readers that a book club would be an enjoyable experience.

Hence a sort of irony. With the challenge teachers face with readers struggling to sustain reading traditional chapter books, reading grade-level appropriate texts, or even reinforcing foundational skills, why are small groups being overlooked? Whether it’s because students are facing new difficulties tracking across text or using strategies, like visualizing, that are ready-made because of graphic novels, or decoding challenges that prevent students from accessing grade-level text and instruction, it would seem that it’s timelier than ever to incorporate small-group instruction into our daily routines.

With that said, I believe there are consequences of absent small-group instruction. At most, it’s the abstention of an effective tier I intervention.  For instance, successes I have had with students have come with small groups where students are more comfortable collaborating and around peers possessing similar challenges. In other words, they don’t feel alone. Small-group instruction provides access to students not found in whole-group instruction by touching base with students before moving on to the next.  Nor is that access available for more reserved students who shine in small groups but are insecure about sharing with a whole class.

Just as it’s important to create mutual trust and respect for students as who they are through conferring, small groups were a way to connect on an intimate level, a way to provide differentiation rather than having students get washed out, even with a structure like the gradual release model. Instead, students are kept and feel distant from the relationship that is required to produce achievement and improve self-perception.

Students also deserve special attention. Or in today’s world, it needs special attention. Small groups, and conferring for that matter, gave students a place to be noticed, for who they are and what they want to be known as. I think of students who receive whole-class instruction in the mainstream classroom, but small-group instruction in their ESOL, Special Ed. or pull-out interventions (something I never thought I would say). They love it! They love it because they can be themselves. With a small group of similar peers, they can laugh with each other and recognize that no matter what their challenges they aren’t alone.  These students want to be away from the classroom.  They are valued in small-group settings, where they have social capital. Back in the mainstream classroom, these students don’t have social capital or the skills to “compete” with their peers, be it academically, behaviorally, or worse, because our attention is focused so much on other students, that they are left to themselves.  In other words, be it outside of the classroom, or inside, small groups can be a sanctuary for students.

There was a day when small-group instruction was a main component of classrooms, and students enjoyed being there. I can recall when students didn’t want to leave for services because they liked the attention, teaching, and learning they received in my small groups. The breadth and depth of classrooms and the needs of students are forsaken by keeping students at length to deliver broad-brush instruction.  This is further compounded by digital learning platforms like i-Ready and Lexia, where the headphones are on and students enter into isolation amongst their peers, displacing the enjoyment of small-group interventions.

Despite the ever-changing literacy classroom, be it the Science of Reading, program-based instruction, or (severe) time limitations, I am finding the need, more the value, of reinstituting small-group instruction. For some students, it’s a few days of connecting to motivate independent reading.  It could be a weekly session to follow up on strategic reading practices. I am not saying groups have to meet daily or run three or four groups a day, as in the past, but whole class, touching base is not connecting. More often than not, there’s no laughing.  There’s just not the being recognized and celebrated that can be offered within small groups, where students feel safer. I know it’s time for me to reassess my approaches within the new literacy landscape to put forth what is most important, the reader.