Every minute of instructional time is critical. The concise format of small-group lessons facilitates other instructional grouping contexts throughout the day, including whole-class and individual teaching. Small groups are flexible, meaning that students are not locked into a static group; the teacher transitions them to different groups based on developing needs and interests.
Yet, in recent years, the value of small-group reading instruction (SGRI) has become the subject of debate, causing confusion and misunderstandings about the power of this essential practice. In their September 2025 EducationWeek opinion piece, Mike Schmoker and Tim Shanahan argued that SGRI is not effective because it may limit instructional time for many students. Later that year, Nell Duke and Claude Goldenberg countered that SGRI—when done well—has many benefits and can be an important component of effective literacy instruction.
When carefully planned and conducted, small-group reading instruction provides the Tier 1 context for effectively enhancing students’ reading achievement. For example, flexibly grouping students based on a specific skill or strategy need (e.g., decoding words or making inferences) allows the teacher to provide short, targeted lessons. This type of targeted instruction accelerates student learning because it provides explicit teaching in areas of need, while allowing the teacher to constantly monitor and assess student progress.
In March 2026, the Institute of Educational Sciences (IES) released a toolkit for providing differentiated reading instruction in Grades K–3, based on recommendations from their research-based practice guide. The materials highlight evidence-based methods for establishing and managing small groups to provide opportunities for assessment-driven and targeted instruction.
SGRI is most effective when teachers select texts that align with a specific teaching point and are highly engaging. Karianne Grønli and her colleagues have also demonstrated that SGRI allows teachers opportunities to provide each reader with targeted feedback to develop skills while also fostering student agency and motivation. Finally, well-designed small-group instruction fosters accountable, meaningful student talk and enables deeper engagement with texts.
When these elements are in place, teachers can maximize instructional time to meet the needs of all of their students, solidifying the value of small-group reading instruction in today’s classroom.
This post was developed in conjunction with members of ILA’s Administrator Collaborative, which includes Heidi Becker, Nabat Erdogan, Lisa Hill, Aileen Hower, Kristin Johnson, and Jill Tussey. For more information, register for the webinar on September 30, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET, for an opportunity to explore SGRI more deeply and ask questions live.
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