I am going to describe to you the two types of groups/teams that I run in my classroom and explain why this method of student grouping works great for my kiddos.
TYPE 1: Groups
I know what you are thinking... Duh!! Let me explain. I run groups twice per day, each time for one hour. We run groups in the morning for reading and again in the afternoon for math. Each group goes to four different centers (I will explain these on a later post.).
My groups are set up homogeneously, also known as ability grouping. I use data from a variety of sources to create my groups; skills-based data from RTI screening and both formative/summative classroom assessments based on standards. I know its not technically data based, but I have also been known to move a kid or two up or down a group because of personality mixtures (Can't have two crazies in one group!). Below are some photos of my group work in action!
TYPE 2: Teams
Teams are seriously one of my most favorite things that we do in our classroom! Teams are heterogeneously mixed. I use the same data from our groups and spread kids from each level of ability into seperate teams. We use teams for projects, competitions, etc. When I first introduced my class to groups and teams, I explained to them that groups are for independent work, just at different stations around the room. Teams are for TEAMWORK (mind blown, right?). I explicitly taught students how to work as a team, and have created various team jobs that are changed every so often. The kids absolutely love working with their teams! Teams are awarded for winning, being Awesome Losers, and for teamwork! So, one team may win all three awards or it could be spread between teams, depending on performance.
Another side note, I heavily trained my students on the differences between the two types of groups (without telling them they are based on kid data). They know automatically what team they are in or which group to go to, and the different expectations for each!
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