The Elementary Entourage: Making the Most of Small Group Instruction {With The Friendly Teacher}

Hello Elementary Entourage friends!! I am so excited to be blogging on this collaborative blog! My name is Hannah Friend and I blog over at The FriendlyTeacher. I teach 3rd grade in Ohio and I can’t wait to share with you each month!

I am so excited our topic is small group reading this month! Why?! Because it is AMAZING! Small group reading instruction is one of my favorite parts of the day! It is fun, you get to read with kiddos, and talk with them about their reading.

My life saver when it comes to reading groups is my “Reading Tool Box”! It makes my planning easier, it helps me naturally teach, and the students love when it is out!

The reading tool box is a box that goes around the room with me and is full of FUN supplies that you can use while reading. The best part is you can take it anywhere in the classroom, you can just grab things quickly, and it is all in one place! I will share with you what is in my box, but you truly can put ANYTHING that works for you in your box!

Post-it notes are a MUST! We love to write what we are thinking, meanings of words, or main idea and detail for each chapter!

Dry erase strips from Target make for great word chunking!

We use magnifying glasses for “close” reading! They love when I hand them the magnify glass and say dig in! I love to do this when they miss a question or miss a topic that I really do not want them to miss! The magnifying glass is the superhero that makes 100% sure they don’t miss it!

Scented markers make for engaging highlighters during close reading!

We use Hope Kings reading comprehension strategies every day! All you do is print them off and put them on popsicle sticks and they make for great reminders on what strategies to use while reading!

Question cubes make for a great way to end your reading groups and make your kiddos think about their reading! If you want to make it even more fun allow them to throw the cubes around the room and go find their question. They LOVE it!

We use the sunglass for visualization! When I want them to visualize I hand them the glass and read them the passage. They LOVE it! (I told them to spell visualizing in their best 3rd grade spelling, so let's just not talk about her teaches them phonics LOL!)