Lesson 3: Planning and Delivering Small-Group Instruction

Lesson Overview

Lesson 2 focused on determining what students need. Once the instructional need is clear, the next step is planning instruction that directly addresses that need. Small-group instruction should have a clear objective, targeted instruction, an opportunity for students to practice, and a way to check whether students understood the skill.

In this lesson, you will use an identified student need to plan targeted small-group instruction.

Start With the Instructional Need

In our decimal multiplication example, Students 1, 4, 5, 6, and 11 were identified as needing support with CP3: Multiply by the tens place. The evidence shows that this is the specific skill the group needs to address.

The teacher can now use that need to develop a clear objective:

• Students will accurately multiply a decimal by the tens place.

The objective keeps the small group focused. The teacher does not need to reteach the entire decimal multiplication process when the evidence shows that the group's need is specific to CP3.

Plan the Small-Group Lesson

A targeted small-group lesson should include three parts:

1. Targeted Instruction

   • • • Teach or model the specific skill connected to the group's need.

2. Student Practice

   • • • Give students an opportunity to practice the skill with support and feedback.

3. Check for Understanding

   • • • Have students demonstrate the skill independently so the teacher can determine whether they are ready to move forward.

For our CP3 group, the lesson might look like this:

Objective: Students will accurately multiply a decimal by the tens place.

1. Targeted Instruction: Model multiplying by the tens place and connect the placement of the partial product to place value. 

2. Student Practice: Students solve similar problems with teacher support and immediate feedback.

3. Check for Understanding: Students independently solve a new problem requiring them to multiply by the tens place.

Keep Everything Aligned

Each part of the small-group lesson should connect back to the same identified need:

Student Need → Objective → Targeted Instruction → Student Practice → Check for Understanding

The strategy, task, or resource should be selected because it helps students meet the objective. Keeping each part aligned makes the small group focused and gives the teacher clear evidence of whether the instruction addressed the identified need.