Strategic Reading Groups

Book excerpt: Strategic grouping can transform reading instruction in the middle grades from a hit-or-miss learning experience to a targeted, responsive one. This book features a practical and field-tested model for small-group differentiated reading instruction in Grades 4-8. Jennifer Berne and Sophie C. Degener offer a clear, detailed discussion of how to position this instruction inside middle school language arts or reading classrooms and simple, effective strategies for classroom management, groupings, and assessment. The authors explain how to: (1) balance brief strategic reading lessons with whole-class work; (2) Structure and guide reading groups consistently; (3) Assess students before and during reading groups; and (4)Cue students and gauge understanding as they read. Differentiating instruction is not the flavor of the month in education; rather, it is the essential orientation for maximizing student success. "Strategic Reading Groups" gives teachers the tools they need to differentiate reading instruction in the critical middle years, as students begin to read more complex, content-filled narrative and informative texts. [Foreword by Donna Ogle.].