Educating Young Children Volume 1 - Winter 2026 | Page 68

where to start reading on a page, and noticing the features of words and letters. They can also help children understand concepts of pictures( how pictures work in texts) and how words and images work together to tell a complete story.

These small-group activities provide children with the personalized attention and practice they need as they work to become readers.

When following whole-group interactive read alouds, small groups empower young children to become active and thoughtful participants in their literacy development. During this time, educators should target specific skills. They can decide which ones to focus on by considering a child’ s current skills and knowledge, individual strengths and areas for growth, and the broader curriculum and learning goals. The book they read will also guide their planning: A rhyming book, for example, is great for teaching phonological awareness skills; a complex story can target vocabulary and content knowledge and reading comprehension.

Examples of playful small-group activities I have used include

› Retelling a story, where children used props to retell the story they heard during whole-group time. I found that this helped build sequencing and comprehension skills.

› Discussing and acting out vocabulary, using gestures and synonyms to introduce new words keyed to a text. As children acted out or drew the words’ meanings, they strengthened their oral language and vocabulary skills.

› Examining characters’ thoughts, actions, and feelings, linking them to real-life situations. This helped children build social and emotional awareness and critical thinking skills.

› Hunting for print, where children used magnifying glasses to hunt for specific letters or sounds in a book. I found that this supported children’ s alphabet knowledge and made learning about print fun.