Intervention should be a bridge, not a destination.
-Doug Fisher
One common misconception about intervention is that students who require it will always require it. That is simply not true. It is a bridge to reach grade level, not in a subject, but a specific standard. I would encourage you to shift you mindset from ELA intervention or math intervention to intervention for a specific standard.
Another common misconception about intervention is that it should only start once a unit of study has concluded. However, I would argue that intervention should start as soon as any assessments are complete. That brings us to this post…
It is critical to give beginning of year assessments, and many school districts follow this practice. Once those assessments are complete, you’re ready to start intervention! For this reason, I usually begin my first round of intervention during the first month of school.
PRO TIP: If your students were at your school the year prior, use last year’s end of year assessments to guide your initial intervention groups.
Before: Preparation
Before actual small group instruction begins, you must first set up an intervention area, collect assessment data, and select intervention materials. This answers the who, what, and where of intervention.
- The Where: One of the key pain points of intervention is doing it consistently, which includes where to have small group instruction in the classroom. It must be both efficient and convenient. Setting up an area to not just teach intervention groups but also house the necessary supplies is critical. Therefore, this step must be considered before intervention can begin. For me, I always set up a horseshoe table, a rolling cart with intervention materials, and a post-it note station.
- The Who: I would strongly recommend giving beginning of year assessments in both math and ELA. In math, I assess the main domains for my given grade level, including place value, basic operations, and fractions. In ELA, I usually assess phonics, fluency, and comprehension. Once students have been assessed, identify which topics or standards need to be addressed first. I would tie this closely to your upcoming teaching targets. For example, if my first math unit is on place value and I notice that 1/3 of my class has not met the pre-requisite skills, I would start with an intervention group targeting that topic.
- The What: Once your intervention group’s goals have been selected, it is time to choose intervention materials. My tip to you is don’t be afraid to combine goals! For instance, if you have two students who need phonics intervention and five that need fluency intervention, start with a phonics lesson for the two students and then have the rest of the group join them for fluency practice.
During: Implementation
Now that we have tackled the where, who, and what, it is time to address the how. How can we implement a successful intervention block?
- Be Prepared: I recommend choosing a resource that is easy to prep ahead of time. For example, if you are going to use fluency passages to review phonics skills and apply them to reading, copy enough for a month. This will be one less thing to copy every week. Trust me, as silly as it sounds, it makes a HUGE difference!
- Keep Students Engaged: There are so many options for the other students to do. In fact, I have a whole list of specific resources for your centers here. Whatever resources you choose, make sure they are challenging and something that will keep your students engaged. I have found learning games, book clubs, and online programs to be useful during this time. You can also have students finish any assignments or projects that need additional time.
- Manage the Room: Although we have discussed the importance of setting up your intervention space, it is just as crucial to have an effective management plan in place. I have already discussed the post-it note station and hand signals, but let’s chat about classroom management for a moment. I would suggest implementing a whole class management system that will act as an incentive. In my class, I use Class Dojo. What I especially love about this platform during intervention time is the name picker. When selected, the class hears a ticking sound and the student whose name comes up earns a point if on task at the appropriate volume. (Side note: I do not project the names on the screen so as not to call out off-task students. Rather, I just make sure they can hear the sound. That usually does the trick! I also will sometimes tell the students ahead of time that it is almost time for “Random Dojo”. This announcement also helps.)
After: Evaluation and Reflection
Intervention should last 6-8 weeks, but that is not to say that assessments, even quick check-ins, should not be given throughout that time.
- Progress Monitoring: Assuming that intervention takes place 4-5 times a week, which is best practice, some kind of formative assessment should be given every 2 weeks. It is important to remember that these formative assessments should be quick and efficient. It can even be the pre-assessment given before intervention began!
- Flexible Groups: The purpose of intervention groups is to target specific learning gaps and fill them in, which means that students can and should exit the groups once those gaps have been filled. This may mean that some students will exit the intervention before the 6-8weeks are up. This is a good thing! What I recommend doing is exiting these students from the intervention group but have them “on watch”, meaning that you will continue to assess their progress every so often. If needed, they can always rejoin the next round of intervention. While “on watch”, I like to utilize online programs because they are often self-correcting and highly engaging. Nearpod and Boom Cards are great options!
Intervention does not have to be time-consuming or stressful. The importance is consistency, and I hope with the tips I gave you here and on my last blog post, you are feeling ready to implement small group intervention in your classroom.
Next month, we will explore ways to bring some spooky fun into your Halloween centers. Stay tuned and keep learning!