Join us for conversations that inspire, recognize, and encourage innovation and best practices in the education profession.
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more.
Teaching Reading: K-2 Workshop
Watch the Video | Differentiating Instruction
Lecture
In the session, you will watch Dr. Paratore’s lecture on differentiating instruction for early literacy.
Print Dr. Paratore’s Differentiating Instruction Lecture Posters (PDF). Use the posters to take notes on the lecture.
In this video segment, Dr. Paratore reviews the research on grouping formats. These formats include ability grouping, whole-class instruction, and flexible grouping. Next, she presents classroom practices and routines that reflect the research and support flexible grouping for reading instruction. Use the video image below to locate where to begin viewing.
An accompanying lecture transcript (PDF) is also available.
Video Segment – Dr. Paratore’s Lecture
Find this segment approximately 3 minutes and 35 seconds after the begining of the video. Watch for about 10 1/2 minutes.
After watching the lecture, review your notes and consider these questions:
- When do you use whole-class instruction in your literacy block?
- What do you need to consider when grouping students for reading instruction?
- Guided reading is an instructional approach that groups children with similar needs for reading instruction. How does guided reading differ from traditional ability grouping?
- How do you balance the three reading routines — shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading — in your literacy program? Do you emphasize one more than the others? Why?
Following the lecture, the workshop participants discuss their questions and concerns in providing differentiated instruction to address the needs of all children.
Video Segment – Questions and Challenges
Find this segment approximately 13 minutes and 55 seconds after the begining of the video. Watch for about 3 minutes.
Now return to your Differentiating Instruction Chart. Add any new questions or challenges that have come from watching the video segment. Identify which teaching practices you have successfully implemented for grouping children in grades K-2.
Classroom Excerpts
In this section, you will relate Dr. Paratore’s lecture and your readings to teaching practices in classroom excerpts.
Now you will observe a reading lesson using a flexible grouping model to differentiate instruction. First-grade teacher Valerie Kostandos teaches a grade-level story using whole-class and small-group instruction to meet the needs of all of her students.
Video Segment – Flexible Grouping Classroom Excerpt
Find this segment approximately 16 minutes and 55 seconds after the beginning of the video. Watch for about 7 1/2 minutes.
After watching the classroom excerpt, consider these questions:
- What grouping formats did Ms. Kostandos use in this lesson?
- How did she enable all of her students to read the story?
- How did she support students reading in a small group?
- Some students who read the book on their own were reading another story before the teacher reconvened the whole class. What routines were in place that allowed students to read on their own?
Discussion
In this section, you will watch the workshop participants discuss the classroom excerpt.
After viewing the flexible grouping model, the workshop participants discuss the lesson. Compare your ideas with theirs.
Video Segment – Discussion
Find this segment approximately 24 minutes and 35 seconds after the beginning of the video. Watch for about 11 1/2 minutes.
Following the workshop participants’ discussion, consider these questions:
- What do you think of Ms. Kostandos’s practice of allowing students to choose whether or not they need help in reading the text?
- How would you characterize the students’ response to reading with the teacher?
- How do the ideas generated in the workshop participants’ discussion compare with yours?
More Classroom Excerpts
In this section, you will relate Dr. Paratore’s lecture and your readings to teaching practices in classroom excerpts.
Now you will observe differentiated instruction in which children are grouped by similar needs (homogeneous grouping). You will watch two guided reading lessons, one in first grade and one in a combined first and second grade. Then you will observe two independent first-grade readers as they research spiders with more challenging texts.
Video Segment – Homogeneous Grouping Classroom Excerpts
Find this segment approximately 36 minutes and 10 seconds after the beginning of the video. Watch for about 9 minutes.
After viewing the classroom excerpts, consider these questions:
- Hildi Perez stated that her goals for the guided reading group were to develop fluency, sight vocabulary, comprehension, and making connections. What instructional practices in her guided reading group reflected these goals?
- How did Ms. Perez and Shari Frost support their students in the guided reading groups?
- Did their students’ reading reflect appropriate group placement and choice of texts?
- How did Ms. Perez’s instruction for these two students differ from her instruction with the grade-level guided reading group?
Further Discussion
In this section, you will watch the workshop participants discuss the classroom excerpts.
Following the homogeneous grouping models, the workshop participants discuss the lessons. Compare your ideas with theirs.
Video Segment – Further Discussion
Find this segment approximately 44 minutes and 55 seconds after the beginning of the video. Watch for about 11 1/2 minutes.
After watching the workshop participants’ discussion, consider these questions:
- Several workshop participants commented on the fact that Shari Frost did not listen to every child read during the guided reading lesson. Instead, she focused on one or two children. Why do you think Ms. Frost was confident that she did not need to listen to every child read during the lesson? What do you think about this practice?
- The students in Ms. Frost’s class were a mixed-grade group. But in their discussion, workshop participants thought it was mixed-ability. How did Ms. Frost’s instruction address a mixed-grade group?
- In response to the participants’ discussion, Dr. Paratore concluded:
“Our responsibility is to advance the literacy of every child, even if that child comes to us already capable. Our responsibility is to stretch every child with whom we work.”
How do you advance the literacy development of your students with your instruction, grouping, and literacy routines?
