Small Group Instruction Done Right

In our October newsletter, we featured an article by Mike Schmoker and Tim Shanahan called Small-Group Reading Instruction is Not as Effective as You Think. While I hold both Schmoker and Shanahan in high regard, I want to emphasize that, when implemented properly, small-group reading instruction can greatly enhance students’ reading achievement. In fact, I would argue that their viewpoint is rooted in an outdated philosophy of guided reading instruction—a perspective that lingers today but should not exist in quality schools committed to maximizing every learning opportunity in each literacy lesson.

I would agree that for upwards of thirty years many schools have devoted far too much time for guiding reading groups that were based on any one of the following themes:

1. Grouping students by interests, for example, those who like baseball would read a baseball book together with the teacher.
2. Grouping students by text “level” (commonly A-Z), which unfortunately provides little insight into individual reading challenges or how to support growth based on level assignments.
3. Grouping students based on casual observations—such as stumbling over words, losing attention, or lacking stamina to finish a text.

These approaches do indeed waste valuable literacy time. While some students participate in these small groups, others spend independent time on “menu options,” like reading on their own (even if they can’t yet read), listening to audiobooks, flipping through picture books, doing cut-and-paste activities, or working on other subjects. Most of the time, these activities don’t qualify as literacy instruction.

It’s possible—and necessary—to make small group instruction effective.  Classrooms are full of students with a staggering array of reading abilities and struggles.  Schmoker and Shanahan are right that strategic use is crucial.

We can get small group instruction right, and we should. Reviewing Hattie’s meta-analyses on small group instruction yields impressive effect sizes between 0.4 and 0.5. Keep in mind, in order to do small group instruction correctly, we must impose several criteria.

To be successful, a few criteria must be met: small group sessions should be led by teachers who understand each student’s needs. Data from a foundational reading assessment is essential.   These sessions allow teachers to reteach concepts from whole-group lessons and provide additional practice for mastery.

Repeated practice is especially important for struggling readers. Good readers may reach accuracy after only four repetitions, while those needing targeted support might require five to twenty-five attempts, and severely struggling readers need even more. Whole-group instruction rarely allows the opportunity for this necessary repetition.

The majority of a two-hour literacy block shouldn’t be dedicated to small groups, and the article’s authors rightly stress the importance of whole-group instruction components—including phonics, fluency, vocabulary, reading, writing, and discussion. During literacy instruction, students should have opportunities to be read to and, more importantly, to read on their own.

However, schools that value every instructional minute find ways to integrate meaningful small group instruction. Transition times between groups should be swift—no longer than thirty seconds—thanks to well-established routines.

Extended decoding sessions, where students sort words and read word lists for lengthy periods, aren’t productive. Yet, brief phonics reviews followed by reading decodable texts are invaluable; these help strategic readers become proficient. Small group instruction also benefits advanced readers, giving them opportunities to tackle more complex texts and engage in deeper discussions.

Ultimately, small group instruction must be tailored to student data and needs. It should provide skill practice tied directly to relevant reading materials—be it previously taught or unmastered phonics, fluency practice, or enrichment for advanced readers. Above all, students must spend small group time actively reading, or else valuable literacy moments are wasted.