Small Group Resources that Make
Planning Easier
Beginning of the year anxiety is real for students and for teachers! As a special education teacher, one of my biggest goals was to establish my small groups and create a consistent routine for students to address their individual learning goals. I know how hard it can be to plan for multiple groups, at multiple levels, throughout the day. It can be overwhelming! You need resources that are easy to implement and effective at promoting engagement and learning. I want to share a few of my go to resources that helped me prepare for a variety of levels and learning goals.
1) If you are prepping multiple SOR or OG based reading groups a day my OG Based Decodable Passages, Phonics SOR Lessons, Activities & Reading is a really helpful resource. You can get my exclusive freebie sample here. This resource includes lesson guidance, controlled word lists, sentences and passages as well as games and activities that will engage your students and break up the routine. This resource will make planning your reading groups so much easier and includes a variety of concepts including:
- CVC – all short vowels done separately and mixed practice
- Digraphs – sh, ch, th, wh and ck
- Blends CCVC, CVCC, CCVCC
- VC/CV
- Y as a Vowel –my/candy
- Vowel Teams (and Diphthongs) ai/ay, ou/ow, ee/ea, oe/ow/oa, igh, oi/oy, au/aw, oo
- R-Controlled Vowels – ar, er, ir, ur, or
- Consonant +le
- Suffixes -ing, -es, -ed, -ful, -less, -er, -est
- V/CV – focus
- VC/V – robin
2) Build Poetry and Writing into the routine with my Decodable Poems Phonics Poetry. This is another way to break up the routine while Incorporating whimsical poetry, writing and comprehension into the mix. These poems can spark discussion on the ways that language can be used to convey meaning and gives students the opportunity to create their own poetry! A sample poem and activities can be found here.
3) If you are looking to continue the learning with a game that students will ask to play over and over – or just want to have some Friday fun – then my Reading Fluency Practice Games Bundle offers a ton of value. Not only does it include a range of skills to focus on, but each resource has a version of my Uh-Oh Fluency Game, a partner sentence fluency activity and a practice worksheet. To get a free version focusing on silent e click here.
I know planning can be A LOT. Hopefully, some of the resources in here can help make the planning and implementation of small groups a little easier.