Small Group management strategy: 'Good Group Work' sheets

Working as an Intervention teacher, I have taught small groups of children at times, in order to work on specific skills or areas of learning.

These groups need to be very focused, but often the children who need intervention are those with other behavioural or focus issues. A calm, attentive atmosphere can be difficult to achieve.

One group I had was particularly inclined to be restless and to disrupt each other’s learning. I realised they needed a tangible reminder of the expected behaviour of the group, as well as a ‘reward’ for making an effort.

These are the ‘Good Group Work’ sheets I devised. We discussed the expected behaviours in the group (‘extra work’ - at home- was not compulsory but was well worth recognising). 

The children chose their preferred colour sheet (easy enough to photocopy onto coloured paper). They decorated them as they wished.

At the end of each session (after reminders/prompting if needed), each sheet was stamped in the relevant columns if the child had succeeded in that aspect (or if they had made a real effort– some would find some aspects quite challenging). The children were encouraged to work as a team (or tribe, as the ‘Tribes’ program was in use), so that they would help each other and we would all celebrate their successes in this area as well as in the reading skills learnt.

After several sessions, the reminders were far less frequent and the feeling of achievement was high. The children had better control of their behaviour and they were proud of their increased self-control and their increased learning ability. No further ‘reward’ was needed.

Here is a copy of the ‘Good group Work Sheet’; you are welcome to print it off for your classroom or home use (print/copy in black and white onto coloured paper/card; you can of course use stickers/stars instead of stamps): 

Click on the picture to open the .pdf file