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Consider all things accomplished! You and your students have arrived at the resolution of our story. You are now seeing more than one small group for differentiated instruction, and your students are working hard in their independent practice. All things are working together for the greater good; including authentic, effective learning, maintenance and application of skills and concepts, and refinement of individual and collaborative learning practices. Here is what that session may look like.

Final Act – Stage 4:

• Review the rules and routines. Review the expectations for both activities and how to manage materials.
• Remind students of the focus. Begin the session by explaining what students will focus on regarding the previous day’s debrief.
• Start the session. Give the signal for students to begin the session. Remember to try to keep independent practice at the same time each day.
• Implement small group instruction; focusing your attention on your instruction and not on the room. You remain the quiet observer. Though you remain aware of what is happening in the room, make a mental note of what needs addressing during the debrief and move on with your instruction. Remember to allow your students to problem solve and work things out on their own. It is great practice for students to learn how to be independent learners and how to monitor their productivity and work habits.
• Close the session. Give the signal for the end of the session. Allow students to manage their materials and to come back together as a whole without your input. Your job is to observe their practice.
• Debrief the session. Say it with me: “The debrief is the most important part of the session.” Ask; “What worked today and what do you feel good about?” and “What didn’t work today and how can we fix it?” Allow students to respond while you facilitate the discussion. Agree, ask clarifying questions, mark important insights, and bring to light any important observations not discussed. Record their responses.
• Set goals for the next session. The final question is; “What should we focus on for tomorrow’s session?” Allow students to choose what the focus for improving their practice will be. Relate goals either to the rules or the procedures of the practice. Keep it simple! Have them come up with solutions to the problem notating each and post your agreements.

Keep your expectations high, and remember to pat yourself and your students on the back. Acknowledge your rooms hard work, tenacity, and growth. I’m proud of you!

Cheers,

Terri Hamilton

You have arrived! Your students are ready; you are ready. It is time to individualize instruction and pull small groups. Once students can accomplish Act 2 to an 85% – 90% level of successfulness (and only then), they are ready for Act 3. In this stage expectations have not changed, there is simply a third activity added. Students’ responsibility is consistent with what they have accomplished in the second stage of independent practice. In this act you will pull your first small group; and just as in the 3^rd act of a play, all things developed in the prior two acts will come to full bloom. That is what this stage is all about, your freedom to now pull a group of students to offer individualized and differentiated instruction while the remaining students work effectively as independent learners. Here is what that session may look like:

Act 3 – Stage 3:

• Review the rules and routines. Review the expectations for both activities and how to manage materials.
• Remind students of the focus. Begin the session by explaining what students will focus on regarding the previous day’s debrief.
• Start the session. Give the signal for students to begin the session. Remember to try to keep independent practice at the same time each day.
• Implement one small instructional group session. Implement your small group; focusing your attention on your instruction and not on the room. Though you remain aware of what is happening in the room, make a mental note of what needs addressing during the debrief and move on with your instruction. Most importantly, trust the work you and your students have done together to get to this point. Allow your students to problem solve and to work things out on their own. This process is great practice for students to learn how to be independent learners and how to monitor their productivity and work habits.
• Observe the practice. After your small instructional group is complete, your role is to be a quiet observer. You are actively monitoring how successful students are able to leave small group, transition into independent practice and how effective the other students are in their independent practice.
• Close the session. Give the signal for the end of the session. Allow students to manage their materials and to come back together as a whole without your input. Your job is to observe their practice.
• Debrief the session. Again, the debrief is the most important part of the session. You may ask; “Did we accomplish our goal?” and “How far were we from accomplishing our goal?” Continue with the usual questions and allow students to respond while you facilitate the discussion. Agree, ask clarifying questions, mark important insights, and bring to light any important observations not discussed. Record their responses.
• Set goals for the next session. The final question is; “What should we focus on for tomorrow’s session?” Allow students to choose what the focus for improving their practice will be. Relate goals either to the rules or the procedures of the practice. Keep it simple! Have them come up with solutions to the problem notating each and post your agreements.

Keep your expectations high, and remember to be gentle within this process. If you find students are struggling, move back into stage two until they are ready.

By: Terri Hamilton

You are on your way to an effective and productive Independent Practice session. It won’t be long before you can begin to individualize instruction and pull small groups. Once students can accomplish Act 1 to an 85% – 90% level of success, and only then, they are ready for Act 2. In this stage, students are given an additional activity, for a total of two, and focus on transitioning from one into the other. This stage is all about transitioning. Here is what that session may look like.

Act 2 – Stage 2:

• Review the rules and routines. Review the expectations for both activities and how to manage materials.
• Introduce the new focus. Begin the session by explaining the focus will be on how students transition from one activity to another. As a side note; students need to transition into the known activity. This means the first activity student will be working on is a different activity, not new, but new to the independent practice block. Organizing in this way will help students manage their transition since they will be moving into a known practice; of which they have experienced a high level of success.
• Start the session. Give the signal for students to begin the session. As much as possible, try to keep independent practice at the same time each day. You may consider having it more than once a day – one for language arts and the other for math.
• Observe the practice. Your role is to be a quiet observer. You are actively monitoring two things: how successful students are able to complete the “new” activity, and; how successful students are with transitioning into the next activity. Make a mental note of what is and isn’t working. Remember that you are interested in the practice, which is the focus of the session.
• Close the session. Give the signal for the end of the session. If you are considering music, it is a way in which students may monitor their clean-up. Select a piece of music that gives students no more than 2 minutes for cleanup. Upon hearing the music cue, students know that it is time to stop what they are doing and to complete cleaning up by the music’s end. When used in this manner, music serves as a self-monitoring tool. Allow students to manage their materials and to come back together as a whole without your input. Your job is to observe their practice.
• Debrief the session. Again, the debrief is the most important part of the session. Ask; “What worked today and what do you feel good about?” and “What didn’t work today and how can we fix it?” Allow students to respond while you facilitate the discussion. Agree, ask clarifying questions, mark important insights, and bring to light any important observations not discussed. Record their responses.
• Set goals for the next session. The final question is; “What should our focus be for tomorrow’s session?” Allow students to choose what the focus for improving their practice will be. Relate goals either to the rules or the procedures of the practice. Keep it simple! Have them come up with solutions to the problem, notating each, and post your agreements.

Keep your expectations high. As with the second act of a play, where things begin to get a bit topsy turvy, this is the most difficult stage to master. Stay consistent and committed to the practice, and remember not to cheapen the debrief process. When students are reflective about their practice, learning is deepened.

By: Terri Hamilton

You have introduced the start of the Independent Practice session, reviewed the rules, identified possible trouble spots, and reminded students of alternative choices to disruptive behaviors. Great job! This next stage can be compared to getting to know the characters, the situation, and the foundation of a story plot. It’s time to put those skills into practice! In Act 1, students engage in a session of independent practice. They will repeat this activity as long as they are at this stage. Here’s what it may look like.

Act 1 – Stage 1:

• Review the rules and routines. Review the expectations for the activity and how to manage any related materials.
• Set the focus. Select one thing to focus on during each session: for example, completing the activity, working collaboratively, or managing materials. After your first session, this can be what the class chose as their goal for the day (see the last bullet).
• Start the session. However you would like to begin this session, whether a “Let’s begin” or ringing a bell, give the signal for students to know that the session has begun. You may consider telling students how long the duration of the session will be to support them in monitoring and managing their time. For example; “Today independent practice will last 10 minutes.”
• Observe the practice. Your role is to be a quiet observer. This is the hardest part. They will try to pull your attention, but don’t give in! Allow students to find solutions to their problems, to rely on their classmates as a resource, and to discover how to work independently in an effective and efficient manner. Make a mental note of what is and isn’t working; you will address it later. I suggest not making eye contact with students but instead keeping a soft eye on the room. This will show that you are interested in the practice, which is the focus of the session.
• Close the session. Give the signal for the end of the session, which may be verbal, a bell, or an alarm. This should last no more than two minutes and is done in an organized, methodical manner. Allow students to manage their materials and come back together as a whole without your input. Your job is to observe their practice.
• Debrief the session. The debrief is the most important part of the session. This is where students are held accountable for their learning and become metacognitive about their practice. In the debrief, the only questions asked are; “What worked today?,” “What do you feel good about?,” and “What didn’t work today and how can we fix it?” Allow students to respond while you facilitate the discussion. Agree, ask clarifying questions, mark important insights, and bring to light any important observations not discussed.You may consider writing down responses.
• Set goals for the next session. The final question to ask is, “What should we focus on for tomorrow’s session?” Allow students to choose what the focus for improving their practice will be. Have them come up with solutions to the problem notating each and posting it. This serves as a commitment to improving their practice, and since it has come from them, there is buy in.

Choose your battles. Trust the process; and believe in your students’ ability to learn and grow. With high expectations, your students will be sure to master this stage quickly.

By: Terri Hamilton

Introducing Independent Practice into the classroom is probably one of the most important yet challenging periods in the classroom. Ironically it is not something that you can just jump into which could be compared to starting a play from the third act. There is a gentle ease into getting students to a point where they are able to work successfully on-task and independently much as there is a flow to the plot of a story. So, let’s keep this analogy going and look at each stage of independent practice as the acts of a play.

Introduction:

• Introduce Independent Practice. This a block of time where the students will work independently or collaboratively without your assistance. Since you will be working with a small group of their peers, it is important that they take responsibility for their own learning. Reaffirm that during this time, you are working in a sacred learning space with their peers and cannot be interrupted unless absolutely necessary. Reassure students that everyone will have their sacred learning time with you each week.
• Review the rules. Keep it simple. Anywhere from 3 to 5 rules is sufficient for success and conveys what students are responsible for and being held accountable to. Yes, I said it. They are being held accountable. For example, I used 3 rules: 1) Don’t talk to the teacher; 2) Manage your materials correctly, and; 3) Do what you are supposed to do. They seem simplistic, but there is a gamut of behaviors which fit into these 3 expectations. Review each rule explicitly and provide students examples to ensure their success. For example, my students understood that unless there was blood, illness, or a displaced body part- not to interrupt my small group. I would ask, “If you have a bathroom emergency, do you come to me?” Students would respond, “No. Go to Sam, the bathroom monitor.” I would respond, “If you discover your ear is hanging below your elbow, do you come to me?” Students respond with giggles, “YES!”
• Provide alternatives to disrupting the small group. Remind students of how they may meet their needs without interrupting small group learning; who to go to for questions, how to go to the restroom, where to find the supplies they need, etc…
• Review the routines. Remind students of the parameters for working independently by asking them explicit questions about how to manage any materials or activities. This may include what to do if you break a pencil, how to travel across the room, where to put finished work, or how to attend to the level of noise in the room.
• Ask for any clarifying questions. It’s just that simple. Provide wait-time to ensure students have time to think about and ask any question. This way, there will be no excuse for not knowing.

A reminder of the rules, routines, and activities should happen before every session. It is a quick hit, less than a minute, that keeps the expectations of practice at the forefront of students’ awareness. Remember this may feel “top heavy” at first, as consistency is key; but over time this will reduce dramatically. With that said, you are now ready for Act One!

By: Terri Hamilton

Introduction to the Series

Effortless. Easy. Dynamic. Impactful. Game Changer!

How do you feel about students working independently in your classroom? Can you identify with the description above, or has your experience been totally different? What does independent practice mean to you and to the success of your students?

These are some of the questions I find myself asking teachers when working in their classrooms. The response is typically that of frustration, a matter of time, or getting students to really work during that time block. I can totally relate. Having taught kindergarten for many years, I know what it is like to be in the trenches of the classroom where we are concerned about our students’ future and overall wellbeing. Where we are performing a balancing act each day to meet our students’ needs, to keep them motivated, and to get the wanted results by the end of year assessment. Ultimately we want what is best for their learning wellbeing and what is most effective for our instructional practice. My ultimate question, therefore, is: how do I support teachers to effectively meet students’ individual needs?

What if I told you that there is an amazing and unutilized practice that is the answer to that question? What if I show you an amazing instructional practice that you already know and most likely do right now in your classroom? It has students working independently and collaboratively while you are in small group instruction. It’s called Independent Practice Block, also known as Independent Work, Workshop, Independent Learning Time, etc… This is the practice, but we are going to look at it differently.

In this series we will look at independent practice from several lenses for the purpose of understanding independent practice and small group instruction as critical instructional game-changer in the classroom. We will explore different types of practice, how to use practice and procedure to prepare students for working independently, how to move through each stage of independent practice, and what to do to insure success.

So let’s do this.

By: Terri Hamilton