Whole group reading is a time-saving way to ensure all your students engage with complex, grade-level texts together.

With the right scaffolds and engagement techniques, you can help every student find success—not just the middle, top, or bottom. While I love small groups when they’re purposeful and targeted (not just checking a mandated list), whole group instruction provides a consistent foundation, fostering rich discussions.

Balancing both approaches allows you to make the most of your instructional time while reaching every student.

Prioritize the key areas of literacy—reading, writing, and grammar. Reading often requires more time because it’s foundational. However, you know your students best, and this can vary depending on their specific needs. Trust your judgment to allocate time where it will have the most impact, based on your assessment of your students' strengths and areas for growth.

Focus on foundational skills. Don’t be afraid to slow down and build a strong foundation when it’s necessary.

Some skills, like inferring, identifying the main idea, and using text evidence, are so essential that they require more instructional time to master because they are the foundation for many other literacy skills.

Focus on your students' readiness. Start by assessing whether your students can handle grade-level grammar skills and effectively use them in their writing. This will determine how closely you can align and integrate grammar with writing instruction.

Real Talk: Sometimes integrating grammar into writing is difficult because we need to go back a couple of grade levels. The reality is many students are not at the level of grammar sophistication in their writing that the standards assume (or that we hope).

Path 1: If Students Are Ready for Grade-Level Grammar Skills

• Integrate grammar directly into your writing instruction. If your students can handle grade-level grammar and write approaching or at grade-level, then grammar and writing can be closely aligned in your schedule and nicely integrated.

Path 2: If Students Need Foundational Grammar Support

• Pull out a specific 15-minute block for grammar instruction if your students are not ready to apply grade-level grammar skills in their writing due to missing foundational skills. Focus on teaching the grade-level grammar they need to know and integrate grammar into writing at their current level, using small groups or whole group lessons as needed.

Maximize impact by blending writing into your reading lessons. Writing and reading are closely connected, so integrating them makes sense when done intentionally.

Examples:

• Have students write short response answers as much as possible (versus multiple choice).

• Have students record notes and quotes (text evidence) using graphic organizers. Then have them use their notes to draft a response.

• Look for opportunities to extend read alouds into writing based on student interest.

For example, when you’re teaching reading skills like text structure, have your students practice by writing paragraphs or essays that follow those same structures. This reinforces their understanding of reading while also building their writing skills.

Clearly outline how you want your students to collaborate and engage during lessons. Whether it's during partner work, independent reading, or group discussions, they need to know exactly what’s expected. For example, I explicitly teach my students clear expectations for how to engage with me during the lesson, with peers during conversations, etc.

Note: This strategy may seem out of place, but it is truly vital for making the most of your literacy time (and independent practice).

Create consistent routines that save time and keep students focused. This is usually done in a behavioral sense but can also be used to impact instruction in the area of academics.

Note: This will help make engagement easier. 

Ensure your students have the support they need to meet academic expectations. This might mean using graphic organizers, providing simpler reading passages for targeted practice, or offering other scaffolds tailored to their needs.

Note: I hold the belief that all students want to succeed and do the work. If they are not doing the work (and sometimes this is the norm or it feels that way), I see if I can remove any barriers to that (other students distracting them, not knowing how to start, needing frames or sentence stems, needing a consistent routine to reduce cognitive load, etc).

Keep your students engaged by using a variety of strategies and resources that resonate with them. Whether it’s through interactive activities, interesting texts, or creative projects, your goal is to keep their interest high so they stay actively involved in learning, and you can maximize the limited time you have.

Note: Sometimes engagement is a barrier to students wanting to work. Simple intentional engagement strategies can make a world of difference. This will allow you to really make the most of independent or student-led practice.

Giving students choices in what they read, how they complete assignments, or which activities they engage in can boost motivation and ownership of learning. This can lead to higher engagement and better outcomes.

Maximize every minute. Plan activities that keep students engaged from the moment class starts until the bell rings. Bell-to-bell instruction minimizes downtime and ensures that every moment is used effectively.

Path 1: Alternate Between Specific Instructional Focuses 

• One way to use A-B scheduling is to rotate between specific instructional focuses, such as reading, writing, and grammar. For example, you could have an A day dedicated to reading and grammar, and a B day focused on reading and writing. This method ensures that each key area gets the attention it needs while providing a balanced approach to literacy instruction.

 Path 2: Alternate Instructional Methods 

• Another approach is to alternate between different instructional methods on A and B days. For instance, A days could be more teacher-led with whole group instruction, while B days focus on small group instruction and independent practice. This variation can help keep students engaged and allows you to tailor your teaching methods to best meet their needs.

Enhance learning with digital resources. Consider using digital resources to approach topics in ways that might be more engaging and interactive for students. Digital resources can also make your teaching life easier, with options like self-grading forms that save time.

Assess in real-time and adjust. Use a variety of assessments to target your instruction and make real-time moves. This can include exit slips, more lengthy assessments, or even just your anecdotal notes on how your students are performing. The key is to be responsive to what your students need and adjust your teaching accordingly.

Review with intention. Use spiral review that is skill-based and focused on what your students have already learned. Prepackaged spiral reviews are only effective if your students have had the necessary instruction—don’t waste valuable instructional time reteaching when it’s supposed to be a review.