How to Design and Deliver Small Group Reading Instruction and Intervention: Part 2 of 2
Dr. Stephanie Stollar is a nationally respected literacy leader, researcher, and consultant known for her ability to translate reading science into clear, actionable practice. She is the founder of The Reading Science Academy and co-founder of MTSS Collective, online memberships for implementing evidence-based practices.
Dr. Stollar has served as a university professor, a school psychologist, and the Vice President for Professional Learning at Acadience Learning. She has trained thousands of educators in MTSS, assessment, prevention‑focused intervention, and evidence‑aligned early literacy instruction. Her work is grounded in decades of research and hands‑on experience supporting schools in building effective systems that meet the needs of all learners.
Widely admired for her clarity, depth of knowledge, and unwavering commitment to prevention, Dr. Stollar is recognized as one of the field’s most trusted voices. Her presentations consistently empower educators with the tools and understanding they need to create meaningful, lasting change in literacy outcomes.
Now that you are ready to take on small-group reading instruction and intervention, here is what you need to know to make it effective.
Find Out What They Know
The first step is assessment. Universal screening, reading diagnostic assessments, and program placement tests tell you what students know and need to learn next. The percentage of students who score below expectation on universal screening determines if small groups are warranted for classroom reading instruction and intervention or only for intervention.
Form the Groups
Once you know what each student needs to learn, put them into skill-alike groups. As much as possible, group students based on the lowest skill deficit. Try to place the lowest-performing students in the smallest groups. Consider grouping across a grade level, with students coming together from various classrooms. In schools with one class per grade, consider grouping students across two adjacent grade levels.
Align Instruction
Next, select the best available program to use for each group. For struggling and at-risk readers, an intervention program may be a better choice than a core reading program for Tier 1 and will definitely be required for Tier 2 or 3. Instruction aligned across the school day supports students to make faster progress.
Deploy Resources
Rather than being constrained by titles, funding sources, or past practices, try to think creatively about the best staff member to work with each group. Consider pairing the most skilled instructor with the most struggling students.
Find the Time
Be sure to allot enough time to implement the chosen programs as designed. Staggering small-group time across grades allows support staff to push into multiple grades.
Support Implementation
Successful implementation of small-group intervention includes attention to topics such as time for grade-level meetings, staff training and coaching, parent communication, guidelines for decisions about changing groups, allocating funding, and administrative leadership.
Delivering reading instruction and intervention in targeted, flexible, skill-based small groups is one of the concrete actions educators can take to improve reading outcomes. Use these steps to ensure successful implementation in your school.