Educating Young Children Volume 1 – Spring 2025 | Page 84

In addition to providing targeted instruction, Alex used this small-group session to observe and informally assess each child’ s progression related to the learning goals. He focused his observations on how well the children understood segmenting and blending syllables as well as their overall communication during the experience. By being responsive to the feedback he gathered from moment to moment, he was able to give additional support as needed. As the session came to a close, he briefly noted each child’ s progress. Later, he reflected on this information as he planned future small-group experiences and new learning goals.( Click the lightbulb for additional ideas to scaffold learning about syllables.)

Educators of multilingual learners can tap into the benefits of whole- and small-group instruction through intentional planning, flexibility, and a focus on children’ s unique strengths, needs, and interests. The following suggestions can guide teachers as they create these experiences for multilingual learners in their settings:

› Center children’ s assets. Plan small- and whole-group experiences that create shared experiences and reflect children’ s diverse cultures and identities.

› Foster language development across modalities. Introduce shared content in whole-group activities and tailored support in small-group activities that integrate opportunities for children to listen, speak, read, and write.

› Intentionally promote peer interactions. Plan collaborative whole- and small-group experiences that build children’ s confidence and encourage their sense of belonging.