April 2008 Professional Development Linda Hoffman, UFT Teacher Center/Literacy Coach

1. Flexible Grouping Protocols for Promoting More Effective Student Interactions During Instruction April 2008 Professional Development Linda Hoffman, UFT Teacher Center/Literacy Coach Paula Nieto, ELL Coordinator and ELL Teacher

2. Rationale for Flexible Grouping Protocols and Strategies All content-area teachers need to establish small-group NORMS with their students BEFORE they begin flexible grouping. Students need to understand WHY their teachers group them for DIFFERENT PURPOSES – whole group, homogeneous grouping, mixed-ability grouping, interest-based grouping, learning styles grouping and student-choice grouping. Flex grouping is NOT behaviorally motivated. Flex grouping is the SHORT-TERM grouping and regrouping of students for instructional purposes. Pre-assessment and formative assessment drive flexible grouping.

3. Equity for Teams – Positive Feedback for All • Wonderful Ones • Terrific Twos • Thrilling Threes • Fantastic Fours • Fabulous Fives • Sensational Sixes • Super Sevens • Etc.

4. Equity for Teams- Positive Feedback for All • Blazing Blues • Remarkable Reds • Yummy Yellows • Glamorous Greens • Brilliant Browns • Perfect Pinks • Organized Oranges • Etc.

5. Positive Feedback for Groups – Types of Applause • Looking good! – create an imaginary screen, point with both index fingers inside of it to congratulate the individual • W-O-W! – create Ws with both hands and say “Wow!” • FAN – tastic! – fan yourself with both hands and then motion to the individual • Thank you very much! – said while impersonating Elvis • Let’s give – A Round of Applause – applaud in a circle • Let’s KISS our brains – kiss your hand and touch your brain

6. Positive Feedback for Groups – Types of Applause • Let’s shine our halos – polish the halo at the top of your head • Let’s give everyone a Micro-WAVE – with pinkies only • Alligator applause – stretch out your arms like an alligator’s jaw • Rainbow applause – applaud over your head in a arc • Firecracker – make exploding firecracker motions with your fingers • That’s the Way I Like It! – A-ha – A-ha – sung to the melody of the song

7. 8 Rectangles - Give One, Get One A Flexible Partnering Strategy • Fold paper into 8 rectangles. • On your own, write 4 facts, characteristics, details, etc. in 4 of the boxes. • Now, get up and find four other partners. • The idea is to increase your learning interactions. • Give each of your partners one of your ideas. • In turn, get one idea from each of your partners. • When, you have completed all of your 8 boxes on the rectangle, you may sit down. • When you return to your small group, turn the rectangle over and record 8 more ideas that are brought back by others in your group. • Use this strategy for brainstorming, summary.

8. Three-Step Interview • STEP 1 - Students pair up (one is the interviewer and one is the interviewee). One asks the question and the other gives the answer. Students can record what they learned on an index card or in their notebooks. (1 minute) • STEP 2 – Partners reverse roles. (1 minute) • STEP 3 – Students return to their small groups of 4, 5 or 6 and take turns sharing what they learning from their partner’s response to the question. Students expand their original response list by adding what they’ve heard from other group members. (1 minute share time for each member of the group)

9. Partner Reading • OPTION 1 • Partners read the entire page alternating sentences or paragraphs. • Use when you want students to listen to each other and help each other with the text with a high level of support. • Teacher leads a discussion of the page to check understanding. • Students share a word or words they didn’t understand.

10. Partner Reading • OPTION 2 • Partners read the entire page alternating sentences or paragraphs. • Partner A retells what happened or summarizes facts from the first paragraph. • Partner B retells what happened or summarizes facts in the second paragraph, and so on until they finish the page. • Students share a word or word they didn’t understand.

11. Roundtable with Teams • Clear your desks. • Each group has one paper and one pencil per team. • Each student responds to a question or prompt by writing one answer and passing the paper to the right. • Everyone must be accountable and write an answer. • Continue this process until the teacher calls time out. • The teacher reviews the correct answers/responses. • The team evaluates their answers/responses and counts the number of correct answers/responses. • The teacher reviews each team’s work and provides feedback and positive reinforcement.

12. Numbered Heads Together (1) • TEACHER: • Place students in groups of four according to mixed abilities. • Have students count off 1, 2, 3, and 4 in each group. Have students listen as you read aloud a question that all groups have to answer. Choose the form of their response: several sentences, a paragraph, filling in a graphic organizer or choosing their own manner of response. • After each group has recorded their answers, ask all of the #1s to stand and in turn have each one standing give their group’s response. • Repeat this procedure with at least four questions so each like number in the group gets a chance to stand and respond for the group.

13. Numbered Heads Together (2) • Students: • Number off in your group from 1 to 4. • Listen to the question. • Put your heads together and find the answer collaboratively. Record your responses individually. • Make sure that everyone in your group knows the answer and can explain the answer aloud. Rehearse your responses. • Now, students will respond to the whole class. Be prepared to stand and answer the question aloud for your group when your number is called.

14. Simple In-Team Jigsaw • The teacher divides a text to be read into 4 to 6 equal parts. • Each member of the team becomes an expert on that part and teaches the others. • By the end of the jigsaw, the team has becomes experts on all parts of the material. • Use the jigsaw when you want the team to read a long piece of text, review a long piece of text, or summarize a long piece of text.

15. Simple In-Team Jigsaw with ELL Adaptations • The teacher divides a text to be read into 4 to 6 equal parts. • Students partner up in their small groups. • Partners read by sentence or by paragraph. • Partners use this strategy until they complete the text. • Partners discuss, question, clarify and summarize the text. • Partners share their understanding with their small group. • The teacher debriefs the jigsaw process. What worked? What didn’t work? How can we improve how we use this process? • Small groups create a re-telling or create a poster representation of the text. • Examples of text representations: Mind Mirror, Semantic Flower, and Collaborative Poster

16. TEAM Text Representation –The Collaborative PosterSmall group or partner learning strategy • Students represent their knowledge graphically or symbolically. • Students collaborate to decide on the best graphic representations of the ideas they have arrived at. • Students also use relevant academic vocabulary to deepen their understanding of the ideas. • Each student in the team uses a single marker of a different color to show his or her work on the poster. • Team members share out the elements of their collaborative poster. • The class can evaluate each poster according to a rubric that establishes the criteria for quality work.

17. TEAM text representation – The Semantic FlowerSmall group or partner learning strategy • Students work in partners or small groups of 4 to 6 participants. • Students create a flower with a circular center and large petals. • In the center of the flower, students write the topic, main idea, or concept. • On each of the petals, students write the supporting ideas, reasons, steps, details, etc. that provide explanations and descriptions of the center. • Students share their semantic flowers to explain their thinking to the whole class.

18. Text Representation – The Mind MirrorSmall Group or Partner Learning Strategy • Students start with the outline of a large head – their mind mirror. • Inside the head, at the top, a student writes the title or topic of the reading. • One student selects a significant quote from the text and writes it in the mind mirror. • Another student creates a symbol to represent the text. • Another student uses his own words to summarize the main point of the text. • The teacher could decide on additional ways for students to represent the text.

19. JIGSAW – Home Groups and Expert Groups (many interactions) • The teacher divides the text to be read into equal sections for 4 to 6 students. • Home Group: Put the same number of students into each small group and have them count off 1, 2, 3, 4 or A, B, C, D, E, F. • Home Group: One student in each group is assigned to cover one of the sections of the assigned material. • Students move from their home groups to an expert group with the same number or letter. • Expert Group: Students work collaboratively to become “experts” of their portion of the text. The teacher gives all small-groups a graphic organizer for students to record their learning. • Expert Group: Students can partner read or read individually and then have a small-group discussion. Students reach consensus and record their understandings. • Home Groups: Students move back to their home groups and share the responsibility of teaching their portion of the text to their original small group. • Students are responsible for recording their learning from the other experts.

20. Gallery Walk – Teams (Small-Group) ShareTime • Teams of students post their work on the classroom walls. • Students engage in a walk and review of the work. • Students visit all of the products. • Students may be assigned to evaluate a specific piece of student work. • Students may provide warm and cool feedback by affixing the comments on post-it notes. • The teacher may also provide a rating scale based upon specific criteria to use as a more formal peer evaluation. • The teacher debriefs the process with students so that they come to an understanding of “outstanding” as opposed to “just passing” work.

21. WRITEAROUND - Part 1 • Students clear their desks. • Each student has one piece of paper and a pen (or pencil). • Each student writes one answer to a question or a prompt posed by the teacher. • Then, the student passes the paper to the right. • The student reads the narrative on the paper he/she has just received and writes a sentence to go with that narrative. • This process continues until the teacher calls time out.

22. WRITEAROUND - Part 2 • Writearound continued… • Read aloud the narrative you are holding to your team. • Every team member reads aloud a narrative. • As a team, decide which narrative you like the best. • Delete as needed, add transitions, elaborate when skimpy. • Add a title. • Add a powerful ending or conclusion. • Prepare one of your team members to read it to the whole class. • Revise narrative – 5 minutes. • Rehearse narrative – 2 minutes. • Share narrative – 1 minute.

23. Tea Party (also called Inside Circle-Outside Circle) • Students count off #1 and #2. • All students who are #1s form an inside circle. • All students who are #2s form an outside circle. • Make sure you have a partner facing you. • Shake hands. • You have formed a partnership. • You have 1 minute to discuss a question with your partner. • When the minute is up, say good-bye, move to the right, find a new partner, shake hands, and discuss the next question.

24. Debriefing with Students is Essential • There is always the need to reflect upon what worked and what didn’t work with students. DEBRIEFING: • Brings everyone back together again from their flexible groups DEBRIEFING MAKES US THINK ABOUT OUR LEARNING: • What did you learn from this strategy or skill? • What part of the strategy/skill worked for you? • What part of the strategy/skill did you find confusing? • What could be done to make this strategy more effective for you? • What other reflections could you make about your understanding of your learning goals and your progress?

25. What’s Your Action Plan? • One interesting flex grouping strategy that I will practice is_____________________________________________________. • Another flex grouping strategy that I still need clarification about is ________________________________________________. • Commitment: I intend to implement the flex grouping strategy of __________________________ with class _____ by _____(date) _____. • I want specific help with _______________________________.