Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers

Episode 327: What Should the Rest of Your Class Do During Small Groups?
You’ve planned an intentional lesson for the students at your small group table—but then comes the other question: What should the rest of your class be doing while you teach?
For years, Emily assumed small group instruction automatically meant centers and rotations. One group was doing word work, another was reading, another was on the computer—and every 15 minutes, everyone rotated. But small groups don’t have to be that complicated. Your students can all work on the same meaningful literacy activity, or you can rely on a few predictable routines that students already know how to complete independently.
In this episode, Emily shares practical ways to simplify what the rest of your class is doing during small group instruction—without constantly searching for, creating, and prepping new activities. You’ll learn four literacy routines you can use again and again: partner fluency practice, sentence writing, writing about reading, and purposeful independent reading. The goal isn’t to create an entirely separate literacy block for your independent students. It’s to build on the instruction and routines you’re already using.
Emily also shares why independent work needs a clear connection back to your instruction, how a quick whole-class check-in can create accountability, and one mistake she made when assigning graded work during small group time.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why small groups don’t have to mean complicated centers and rotations
How predictable routines can make independent work easier for students—and require less planning from you
Four meaningful activities students can do while you teach a small group
How to use partner fluency practice as a repeatable routine where the structure stays the same and the text changes
How sentence writing and writing about reading can extend instruction you’re already doing
How to make independent reading more purposeful by connecting it to the knowledge students are building
Why bringing students back together after independent practice creates accountability and helps you catch misconceptions
Why you should be thoughtful about assigning graded work when some students will have less independent work time because they’re meeting with you

Next week, we’re continuing our Small Group Success series with a conversation all about behavior management during small groups—including setting expectations, reducing interruptions, and helping students work independently while you focus on the students at your table. Pasted text(20260925-153458)
Resources Mentioned:
FREE Sentence Writing Activities: stellarteacher.com/sentences
You’ve planned an intentional lesson for the students at your small group table...but then comes the other question: What should the rest of your class be doing while you teach?
For years, Emily assumed small group instruction automatically meant centers and rotations. One group was doing word work, another was reading, another was on the computer—and every 15 minutes, everyone rotated. But small groups don’t have to be that complicated. Your students can all work on the same meaningful literacy activity, or you can rely on a few predictable routines that students already know how to complete independently.
In this episode, Emily shares practical ways to simplify what the rest of your class is doing during small group instruction—without constantly searching for, creating, and prepping new activities. You’ll learn four literacy routines you can use again and again: partner fluency practice, sentence writing, writing about reading, and purposeful independent reading. The goal isn’t to create an entirely separate literacy block for your independent students. It’s to build on the instruction and routines you’re already using.
Emily also shares why independent work needs a clear connection back to your instruction, how a quick whole-class check-in can create accountability, and one mistake she made when assigning graded work during small group time.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why small groups don’t have to mean complicated centers and rotations
How predictable routines can make independent work easier for students—and require less planning from you
Four meaningful activities students can do while you teach a small group
How to use partner fluency practice as a repeatable routine where the structure stays the same and the text changes
How sentence writing and writing about reading can extend instruction you’re already doing
How to make independent reading more purposeful by connecting it to the knowledge students are building
Why bringing students back together after independent practice creates accountability and helps you catch misconceptions
Why you should be thoughtful about assigning graded work when some students will have less independent work time because they’re meeting with you

Next week, we’re continuing our Small Group Success series with a conversation all about behavior management during small groups—including setting expectations, reducing interruptions, and helping students work independently while you focus on the students at your table.
Resources Mentioned:
FREE Sentence Writing Activities: stellarteacher.com/sentence
Small Group Success Checklist: stellarteacher.com/smallgroup

Small group instruction is a regular part of many literacy blocks—but what actually makes a small group effective? And do you really need to meet with every student every day?
In this episode, Emily is joined by Dr. Julia Lindsey to rethink some of the traditional ways teachers approach small group reading instruction. Instead of starting with rotations, reading levels, or the pressure to get every student to the teacher table, Julia encourages teachers to start with something much more important: the specific needs of their students.
Julia shares why small group instruction is most powerful when it gives teachers an opportunity to differentiate instruction, provide immediate feedback, and target the skills students need additional support with. She also explains why small groups don't have to look the way they've always looked—and why it's okay if every student doesn't meet with you every day.
You'll also hear practical advice for using assessment data and informal observations to make instructional decisions, managing the rest of your class while you're meeting with a group, and designing a small group schedule around your students rather than trying to fit your students into a predetermined schedule.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why effective small group instruction starts with student needs, not a predetermined schedule or rotation
How small groups give teachers an opportunity to differentiate instruction and provide immediate, precise feedback
Why you don't have to meet with every student every day for small group instruction to be effective
How to use assessment data and informal observations to identify targeted skills for small group practice
Why reading comprehension is complex—and what that means when you're deciding what to teach in a small group
How a triage approach can help you prioritize which students need additional teacher support
Why knowing your readers is one of the most important parts of making small group instruction more effective
How to rethink traditional small group structures and create an approach that works for the students in front of you

If small groups have ever left you feeling like you need to do more, meet with more students, or somehow fit more rotations into an already packed literacy block, this conversation is your reminder that small group instruction is a tool you can use—not a structure you have to serve. Focus on knowing your students, identifying what they need, and designing your instruction from there.
Resources Mentioned:
Small Group Success Checklist: stellarteacher.com/smallgroup
Check out the Stellar Literacy Collective: stellarteacher.com/join

Small group instruction is probably built into your literacy block—but have you ever stopped to ask: What is the actual purpose of small groups?
For years, Emily knew she was supposed to teach small groups, but she wasn't always sure what students should actually be doing once they got to the teacher table. Like many teachers, she focused on creating groups, planning rotations, finding leveled texts, and managing the rest of the class. But the most important question often got overlooked: What do these students need to practice with my support?
In this episode, Emily breaks down the real purpose of small group instruction and shares a simple mindset shift that can completely change the way you plan. Small group isn't a curriculum or a specific type of lesson. It's an instructional structure that gives students more opportunities to practice a targeted skill while you observe, provide immediate feedback, and adjust your instruction based on what you notice.
You'll also learn why strong small group instruction starts with specific student needs (not reading levels) and how using multiple layers of data can help you pinpoint exactly what students need to practice.
In this episode, you'll learn:
The real purpose of small group instruction—and why it's not simply getting every student to the teacher table
Why small group is an instructional structure, not a curriculum
How small groups increase opportunities for meaningful student practice
Why immediate, precise feedback is one of the biggest benefits of teaching students in a smaller setting
The planning shift from “What am I going to teach?” to “What do my students need to practice with my support?”
Why effective small groups should be flexible and responsive to what you notice about your students

Next week, we're wrapping up our Small Group Success series with a special guest! You're not going to want to miss that!
Resources Mentioned:
Small Group Success Checklist: stellarteacher.com/smallgroup

Small group instruction can be one of the most powerful parts of your literacy block—but it can also be one of the hardest to figure out. In this episode, Sara and Emily are bringing back our Dear Stellar Teacher style episodes and sharing six small group mistakes they made in their own classrooms (and what they would do differently now!).
In this episode, we talk about:
Why too much teacher talk can take away from the practice and feedback students really need.
Why you don’t need to meet with every student in a small group every day (or even every week).
How relying on one data point or fixed reading levels can keep you from identifying what students actually need.
Why small group instruction should focus on the specific skills students need to become stronger readers, rather than simply reteaching your whole group lesson.

If small groups have ever left you wondering, Am I even doing this right?—this episode is for you. We’ve made the mistakes, learned a lot since then, and we’re sharing it all so you can feel more confident with your small group instruction.
Resources mentioned:
Small Group Success Checklist: stellarteacher.com/smallgroups
Reading Intervention Kit: stellarteacher.com/intervention

What does MTSS actually look like in your upper elementary literacy classroom? Understanding the tiers is one thing, but knowing what instruction should look like at Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 can feel much more complicated.
In this episode, Emily breaks down how to put MTSS into practice with practical examples you can use in your literacy block. You’ll learn what strong Tier 1 literacy instruction should include, how to identify the specific skills students need during Tier 2, and how Tier 3 increases the intensity of support without necessarily requiring an entirely different program.
We’ll also walk through a simple Tier 2 fluency routine and a five-day phonics and decoding intervention routine to help you see what targeted support can actually look like.

Resources Mentioned:
Free Fluency Resource: stellarteacher.com/fluency
Stellar Intervention Toolkit: stellarteacher.com/intervention
Stellar Literacy Collective: stellarteacher.com/join