Chapter 9 (Accommodate Instruction to Meet Individual Needs)
- Purpose of Activity: to explore the strategy of flexible grouping.
Flexible grouping is another technique for accommodating learning to meet
the needs of all children.
- Key Concepts:
- Flexible Grouping is a temporary grouping of children. Flexible Grouping options include: teaching skills/strategies, common interests, student choice, social skills of class or randomly.
- Flexible grouping builds on strengths to support the development of weaker strategies/skills/modalities.
- Flexible grouping has limited impact on students' self-concept and self-esteem because it is only temporary.
- Divide your class into groups of four. You might want to simply count off
by fours (1,2,3,4) until everyone has a number. Then place all the ones,
twos, threes and fours in separate places in the room, and have them
form groups of four.
- Assign this work to the groups:
- Read the article: Empowering the Reader in Every Child (i.e., the article above). The focus of the reading should be:
- Defining flexible grouping.
- Identify grouping options and teaching strategies with flexible groupings.
- Draw a scene in a classroom that shows a teacher working with at least two flexible groups. In the drawing, please include what the other students are doing while the teacher is working with the other two flexible groups.
- Allow approximately 20 - 30 minutes for this activity.
- After 30 minutes, have each group post their drawings, and describe them. In order to maintain the focus of your class, please have them list 2 concepts/ideas they found interesting about each presentation.
- When all groups are finished, call on students to share their interesting
concepts/ideas. I suggest that you utilize this technique to increase
participation: call on all ones, twos, threes, and fours randomly.
- Please chart their responses using this suggested format:
- End the class by having your students write a reflection on what they
learned about flexible grouping.
