Small Group Manual 2019-2020

Team Problem Solving An important step in using data-based decision making for planning Tier 2 interventions is to validate the need for support. The achievement coach and IPLC team needs to determine the level of confidence that an identified student may need additional instructional support. All available assessment data should be consider or additional data collected when the decision is not clear. CSD’s 4-step problem solving model is used to help identify barriers, plan for intervention, monitor implementation, and determine intervention’s effectiveness. Instructional Grouping

Initially use screening and other assessment results to establish four skill-based groups. Groupings should consider student performance on the specific literacy skills assessed, availability of resources, and level of student need. The focus of instruction and the instructional materials used vary across groups and the focus of the skill. The specific literacy skills targeted in each group is dependent on the student’s grade level, but usually groups are differentiated based on student performance with both fluency and accuracy. The goal is for students to be both fluent and accurate in their reading skills. If a student is not accurate with a specific reading skill, focus instruction on teaching that skill. For students who are not fluent with a specific reading skill, instruction will focus on building fluency or automaticity. For students who are both accurate and fluent with a specific reading skill, instruction can focus on application of the skill, moving to higher levels and concepts as needed.

In a four-group instructional grouping (Dynamic Measurement Group, 2019), Group 1 targets students who are making expected gains from core literacy instruction (i.e. meet benchmarks in rate and accuracy). The focus of instruction in Group 1 is on further building comprehension and vocabulary. Students in Group 2 meet benchmarks in accuracy, but perform below benchmark in rate. The focus of instruction is on improving fluency. Group 3 includes students who perform at benchmark in rate, but below benchmark in accuracy. These students usually have difficulty monitoring their own errors. Instruction focuses on teaching students to adjust their rate to build accuracy and gain more meaning from text. Students in Group 4 do not meet benchmarks in either rate or accuracy. The focus needs to be on intensive instruction in Phonemic Awareness and Phonics. It is recommended that students in this group receive at least 30 minutes of intervention daily, which includes daily instruction in phonemic awareness.

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2019.08.20

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