The most practical tool you have, and the one most easily got wrong.
Five ways to group. Tap each one.
Readiness, interest and learning profile tell you what each child needs. Grouping is how you act on that with thirty children at once. It is the most practical tool you have, and the one most easily got wrong.
Flexible grouping means grouping children for a specific purpose, and breaking the group once that purpose is finished. The groups change because the reason for them changes.
Grouping children by ability and leaving them there for the year is still common, and the research on it is not encouraging. The overall effect on attainment is small, and it tends to fall unevenly: the highest group gains a little, while the lowest group is most likely to be held back by it.
The reason is not really the grouping. It is what comes with it. The lowest group is often given less interesting work, lower expectations and more time on procedure than on thinking.
Children are not fooled. They know which table they are on and what it means, and by Grade 3 many of them have already decided what kind of learner they are.
Nobody is going to see this. Tick the ones that are honestly true of your practice.
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