Small+Groups


 * Small Group Subsystem**

Student groupings play a key part in organizing my classroom, and they vary based on the needs of each class. With classes of four or less students, I will generally just have one group, and frequently let students work with a different partner each day. For slightly larger classes, I would still frequently use partners, but also have several small groups of three or four students. With classes of more than twenty students, I would probably make groups with four or five students, and still use partners whenever practical.

No matter how many students I have, for second, third, fourth, fifth, and even sixth grade, I designate roles for each person to assume. In second through fifth grade, I always assign the roles, but by sixth grade, my students are generally capable of assigning roles by themselves, because they understand each person's strengths and weaknesses, including their own. I try to pair high functioning students with low functioning students, and I like to keep boys and girls (especially friends) separate as much as possible.

Because I realize that my students come from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, I will teach classroom culture to make sure students are aware of my expectations for their behavior in class. I will usually try to put students in groups that include classmates from different backgrounds to expose them to other cultures and teach multiculturalism.

I truly believe that small group work is beneficial to all students, even if some students may initially dread group work. By letting students work together, we receive the following advantages:
 * Students learn social or team skills
 * Students feel empowered with their own learning
 * The teacher is free to guide, answer questions, and monitor behavior while students work in their groups
 * Learning is more efficient and authentic because students can learn the content in their own unique ways
 * Students can help each other by acting as peer tutors

During group work, I expect my students to:
 * Talk in a voice only heard by their group
 * Respect fellow group members when they talk by listening attentively and waiting their turn to talk
 * Stay on task, and raise their hand to ask for help if necessary