The Instructional Strategies standard requires teachers to understand and utilize a variety of instructional strategies to encourage deeper, more meaningful understanding and application of content. This standard is important because there is no truly effective one-size-fits-all instructional strategy; effective pedagogy requires variety and differentiation across disciplines and according to the varying needs of students. Note: The pictures on this page were taken on Wacky Wednesday during Read Across America Week, which is why I look so silly.
Another instructional strategy that I utilized during my field experience was using Kid Co-Teachers during the class discussion of the daily morning work. Each day, two students would work collaboratively to review the morning work by leading them through the steps of finding textual evidence by using the KAP strategy and by providing feedback. By giving students the opportunity to teach their peers, using Kid Co-Teachers allowed students to practice collaboration, oral communication skills, and problem-solving strategies.
In addition to the morning work, my students also participated in an additional daily KAP question and spiral review that discussed the week’s vocabulary as well as concepts that had been taught previously. Consistently reviewing the KAP strategy and previously-taught content serves many purposes, but most importantly, these instructional strategies activate background knowledge before I present new content and ensure that old skills and cognitive processes are actively engaged, allowing effective knowledge construction and long-term retention.
I have frequently led and planned small group instruction both as a preservice teacher and as an instructional assistant, but my favorite example of small group instruction for language arts is book clubs. During my field experience, I had the opportunity to instruct the students as they read their first novels! After modeling proper reading habits with the first novel, we began reading the second novel in our book clubs. The book clubs allowed students to receive more individualized attention, practice their fluency and accuracy, and discuss the novel with their peers at their own pace to allow for deeper, more effective processing of the content.