Reading Response 15- Tovani Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is all about small group instruction. I'm thankful for this chapter because of its insight into self-management of the groups which has been one of my fears as a teacher. Tovani mentioned that the groups should be flexible in members (meaning they wouldn't be the same kids in the same groups all of the time). She also mentioned designating a quiet area for students who haven't completed the pre-discussion work to do so before joining a group. I thought both were excellent suggestions, the first of which I want to do in several ways. I'd like to have seating charts for my classes, but I'd like to mix up those charts throughout the year. Or I could do "appointments" like my health/lifetime skills teacher did: every student gets a picture of a clock with twelve slots that they must keep in their binder (and the binder must be with them in class in case of spot-notebook checks); students then move about the room, asking each other to be their appointments for a certain "time" slot; once those slots are filled, our teacher would ask us throughout the year to meet with our "two o'clock appointment" for discussion time.

Tovani also mentioned attaching assignments to the ends of discussions so that students would have something to do after their discussion to signal they are ready to move on in the lesson plan. I haven't quite been able to think about how to implement this since all of my experience teaching has included whole-class instruction about a group activity then waiting for each group to finish so I could again offer a whole-class explanation for the next activity.

I had to start and stop the reading because of my attendance at a mock trial (see previous entry), but I think making connections was my best reading strategy this time around.


Tovani, C. (2004). Do I really have to teach reading?: Content comprehension, grades 6-12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.