How can Mrs. Nash implement these activities?
Page 9: Train Students
Before teachers can successfully implement any strategy in their classrooms, they first must ensure that their students are adequately trained. The training for PALS consists of twelve 35-minute sessions, which are typically held three days a week for four weeks. Through them, teachers gradually introduce their students to each of the strategy’s three activities, allowing them more opportunities to discretely practice Partner Reading with Retell, Paragraph Shrinking, and Prediction Relay before all three are combined into one session. The table below offers more detailed information about what students will learn during each session.
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | |
Session 1 | Introduce PALS | Introduce Retell | Practice Paragraph Shrinking | Introduce Prediction Relay |
Session 2 | Introduce Partner Reading | Practice Partner Reading and Retell | Practice Partner Reading, Retell, and Paragraph Shrinking | Practice Prediction Relay |
Session 3 | Practice Partner Reading | Introduce Paragraph Shrinking | Practice Partner Reading, Retell, and Paragraph Shrinking | Put It All Together |
Training Procedures
Mrs. Nash will train her students during the regularly scheduled reading period. In order to teach her students about each PALS activity, she will:
1. Discuss PALS |
Mrs. Nash will introduce PALS, highlighting the advantages of using the strategy. She will explicitly explain what the strategy is for, how it is used, and when it is useful. In addition, Mrs. Nash will:
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2. Model PALS Activity |
Mrs. Nash will model the set-up procedures and each reading activity. Additionally, through presentations and role-playing, she will: PALS Set-up Procedures Any or all of these steps necessary to ensure the successful execution of a PALS session, including but not limited to moving to a partner quickly and quietly, working cooperatively with a partner, gathering materials, and following the rules of PALS.
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3. Allow Time for Guided Practice |
Once her students understand the basic principles of PALS, Mrs. Nash will allow them to practice what they have learned. During this time, Mrs. Nash will guide her students through the process as they:
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4. Allow Time for Independent Practice |
When her students have become familiar with each of the strategies, Mrs. Nash will monitor their practice and provide corrective feedback. She will make certain that the students:
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Devin Kearns explains that all students can learn to implement PALS (time: 0:26).
Transcript: Devin Kearns, MA
We found that everyone can learn the procedures. The lessons are designed to make it possible for everyone to get them, so you may have students who have disabilities and have more difficulty remembering the procedures, or have more difficulty staying organized. And for those students we include a lot of questioning of the students to remind them what do you do after this, what card do you use for this activity, to help them continue to remember.