Top 10 Small Group Time Questions Answered - What They Are, Why They're Important, and More!

[@sabrinagoodman582]

Thanks for breaking this all way down, this business of small groups😊

[@pfcpreschool]

Great Video Vanessa!!!!! We lovvve everything about your tips for small groups learning❤️

[@dahinnino1618]

What a great, wonderful, smart video, wow! Really great timing! I have 21 children, i can see the differences. That's just great advices, so accurate. Thank you soooooo much Vanessa . Great hair colour 🌷⚘🌺

[@jackzolinejordaan5681]

Great video thank you so much .much appreciated.

[@cherylellis9033]

I would love to see a video of a small group in action and what the other students are doing if they are not at blocks, home living and the sensory table. My class will only do a learning activity if they are with a teacher. They are walking around the room watching what am doing with other students and have a hard time choosing and staying on task for a short time. This year is especially difficult since many students haven’t interacted with others because of COVID.

[@vanessalevin7467]

That's why I recommend in the video doing small groups separate from the traditional learning centers like blocks, home living etc. It takes a long time at the beginning of the year to get solid routines and procedures in place to make small groups work.

[@JJbooga]

@@vanessalevin7467 I came to the same discovery! I teach in a full-day program. While I am doing small groups, students always have the option to draw/write in their journal, look at a book, or do a puzzle--something they can do without help. It has worked really well for me! Kids are excited for their turn at small group. I do a morning small group for about 15-20 min and small groups after rest time for about 15-20 min.

[@nancylee147]

Hello! I don't know if you're still checking comments for this video. I was wondering what other children are doing while you're working with your small group. Do you assign students to work on a specific activity at other tables and have a second adult in the classroom monitor the independent workers? Or, do you place an activity at each table and allow students to choose and activity they'd like to do while you're working with a small group and have a second adult in the classroom monitor the independent workers? In this second scenario, do you let children change activities? Or do you do something completely different. Thank you for your time!

[@PreKPagesvideos]

I have this blog post all about small groups here: www.pre-kpages.com/small-group-activities-for-preschool/ and another about what the other kids are doing while I'm working with one group: www.pre-kpages.com/literacy-manage/ This works best if there's a second adult in the classroom, but I only had a second adult sometimes - so it is possible.

[@abbywoody-chicoineau4961]

Hi Vanessa! I was re-watching this video yesterday because I really need to whip my small group teaching into shape, but I'm still not sure I totally understand how this process is carried out. You advise not to have center play going on at the same time as small groups but that is currently our setup--my coteacher and I call our groups to "pause" their center choice and come join us at small group for a short playtime, then they can go back to their center. If you advise against this, can you talk a little bit more about what the children NOT currently in small group with a teacher are doing? Are they at "table choices" (geoboards, pop beads, Magnatiles, etc) while waiting for their turn in small group? Or how else would you conduct this? I have no problem carving out a dedicated small group time in our day but just am not 100% sure about how you suggest it looks. Thank you for your help!

[@PreKPagesvideos]

You may find these two blog posts helpful: www.pre-kpages.com/literacy-manage/ and www.pre-kpages.com/small-group-activities-for-preschool/

[@abbywoody-chicoineau4961]

@@PreKPagesvideos Awesome, thank you for the additional resources!

[@branzfactor81]

I’m confused. If you don’t recommend having small group during center time, then what do the other children who are not in small group do? I find that the only time I have to do small group is during centers.

[@PreKPagesvideos]

it depends if you're a full-day or half-day program. Here's how I did small literacy groups in my full-day program: www.pre-kpages.com/literacy-manage/ same for math, just with a math focus. If you're in a half-day program then you're going to have to do what you have to do, which in some cases means doing small group during centers.

[@bikymougiou3565]

I appreciate everything you do and the knowledge you share with us. But what happens when you don’t have assistance? I am a kindergarten teacher in Greece. We usually have 20-25 kids in smaller classes than you in America and of course without assistance…

[@PreKPagesvideos]

Most kindergarten classrooms in the US don't have teacher assistants. In this case it is super important to spend plenty of time in the beginning of the school year establishing rock-solid rules, routines, and procedures. Then you practice, practice, practice those things until you're able to have small groups.