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Overview
Overview
Scaffolding is the intentional support teachers provide to help students tackle tasks just beyond their current ability. The Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) is the plan for fading that support — moving from I Do (teacher models) to We Do (guided practice) to You Do Together (collaboration) to You Do Alone (independent practice).
🎯 Why It Matters
🎯 Why It Matters
Supports all students in mastering complex skills step by step
Bridges the gap between new learning and independence
Reduces frustration and increases confidence
Provides clear structure for Explicit Teaching and Worked Examples
Ensures all learners get “just right” challenge and support
Scaffolding isn’t about doing the work for students — it’s about giving them the tools to do it well, then stepping back.
🧠 Strategy Checklist
🧠 Strategy Checklist
🔹 BEFORE THE LESSON
☐ Identify what parts of the task/concept need scaffolding
☐ Plan your I Do → We Do → You Do Together → You Do Alone sequence
☐ Prepare visuals, anchor charts, sentence stems, or graphic organizers
☐ Develop questions and prompts to check understanding along the way
🔹 DURING THE LESSON
☐ Start with clear modeling: show how and why
☐ Move into guided practice (We Do): solve or create together with support
☐ Facilitate structured peer work (You Do Together): partners or small groups apply the learning
☐ Release responsibility to independent practice (You Do Alone) when students demonstrate readiness
☐ Adjust supports in real-time based on student responses
🔹 AFTER THE LESSON
☐ Check student work for evidence of independence
☐ Reflect with students: What supports helped you most?
☐ Use feedback to plan what scaffolds can fade — or stay — next time
☐ Reinforce the idea that supports can flex up or down as needed
👀 Look-Fors
👀 Look-Fors
Clear, visible sequence from modeling to guided to independent work
Supports (visuals, prompts) match student needs and tasks
Teacher adjusts supports dynamically — not one-size-fits-all
Students can describe what help they’re using and why
Independence is celebrated as the ultimate goal
📈Continuum of Practice
📈Continuum of Practice
FOUNDATIONAL
Teacher:
Teacher delivers whole-group instruction with minimal support or differentiation.
EMERGING
Teacher:
Teacher provides some modeling and guided practice but may not plan steps to fade support.
PROFICIENT
Teacher:
Teacher intentionally plans and delivers clear I Do → We Do → You Do Together → You Do Alone phases.
TRANSFORMING
Teacher:
Teacher flexibly adjusts scaffolds in real time, encourages student self-scaffolding, and fosters independence.
Student:
Students attempt tasks alone too soon; frustration or passive compliance.
Student:
Students benefit from support but may stay dependent on teacher.
Student:
Students use scaffolds to grow confidence and gradually apply skills independently.
Student:
Students know when to seek or fade support, articulate their learning steps, and own their practice.
🗃️ Structures
🗃️ Structures
I DO: MODELING & SETUP
Start strong by setting the purpose, demonstrating the skill, and showing your thinking.
Think-Alouds: Narrate your thought process step-by-step (“First, I notice…” “Now I decide…”)
Visual Models: Annotate text, solve problems under a document camera, or color-code samples
Exemplar vs. Non-Exemplar: Show a strong and weak version side-by-side and talk through the differences
“Watch Me, Then We’ll Try It” Prompts: Signal that modeling is intentional and students will apply soon
WE DO: SHARED PRACTICE
Provide guided practice where students try the skill with your support.
My Turn → Our Turn → Your Turn: Classic gradual release progression
Interactive Modeling: Ask guiding questions as students try the task aloud with you
Group Work with Coaching: Assign a complex task to small groups while you circulate with targeted prompts
Live Error Checking: Make a mistake intentionally and ask students to help identify and correct it
YOU DO (TOGETHER): COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE
Let students try it with peers before full independence, using scaffolds as needed.
Partner Task with Sentence Frames: Encourage academic language and peer teaching
Checklist-Based Collaboration: Give students a success criteria list to self-monitor while working together
Table Talk-to-Try: Quick discussions before completing part of a task independently
Scaffolded Practice Tasks: Reduce support gradually across problems or prompts (e.g., more help on #1–3, less on #4–5)
YOU DO (ALONE): APPLICATION STRUCTURES
Students apply the learning solo — with clarity and confidence from the supports they’ve received.
Exit Tasks Tied to Learning Target: “I can…” statements matched to what they just practiced
Self-Check Rubrics: Students reflect on whether they used the process or strategy effectively
Reflection Journals: “What did I do well on my own?” “What would I ask for help with next time?”
Revisit the Anchor: Encourage students to return to modeled examples or success criteria as needed
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