Teaching Small Groups with Raffaella De Martinis

Teaching small groups can be tricky, however, teaching small groups through distance learning can pose a whole new set of challenges. On today’s episode, I am chatting with a 3rd grade teacher from New Jersey who went into distance learning at the start of the pandemic (March 2020) and still has not returned to teaching in-person (now January 2021). Raffaella De Martinis will share her strategies and tips for keeping reading and writing small groups going, especially in a virtual setting.

Her methods, words of encouragement, and simplicity are golden! I will also share my fangirl moment here by adding that Raffaella taught Jennifer Serravallo’s daughter and has a mention in one of her books! So cool! I hope you enjoy this informative chat with my literacy friend!

In this interview we answer the following questions:

• What one word describes your school year so far?
• How do you create small groups?
• How do you know what you are going to teach in your small groups each day?
• How do you check in with your small groups?
• How do you track data?
• Are there any other tips to share regarding small groups?
• Do you have any words of encouragement for teachers to find confidence and success with finishing the school year strong?

Ways to get connected with Raffaella:

• TpT Store: Thinking About Third
• Instagram: @thinking_about_third

Resources from this episode:

• Reading Goal Bookmarks
• Reading and Writing Strategies Post-Its
• Reading (Lower & Higher) Toolkits and Writing Toolkit
• Small Group Editable Sheets
• Data Keeping Google Sheets Document
• Reading Strategies book by Jennifer Serravallo *Amazon affiliate link*
• Writing Strategies book by Jennifer Serravallo *Amazon affiliate link*
• Jennifer Serravallo books and resources

Connect with Megan:

• Check out my TpT Store
• Join The Literacy Dive Facebook Group
• Subscribe to my E-mail List
• Instagram posts
• Blog posts
• Facebook posts
• Watch my YouTube channel

About The Literacy Dive Podcast:

Do you find yourself seeking new ideas when it comes to literacy instruction in elementary classrooms? The Literacy Dive Podcast was created to offer actionable steps and to share information for teachers, like you, who are always looking to improve their craft! ELA is our jam and we are excited to dive into all things reading and writing with you!

Your host, Megan Polk, is the creator and owner behind Miss P’s Style. She is a literacy specialist and loves to support students and their teachers with curriculum, literacy instruction, best practices, and engaging literacy activities. Through this podcast, she will share literacy tips and strategies that she has learned from the many years of experience she holds from being an elementary teacher and literacy specialist. Megan has taught all elementary grades (K-5), but an intense passion and love for upper elementary came about!

Dive in with us every Monday for a new episode from Megan! She, and her guests, will chat about various literacy topics and will bring you tips and tricks that can easily be implemented in your classrooms… immediately!

You can tune in wherever you get your podcasts! Listen to The Literacy Dive Podcast on platforms like Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Google, and more! If you find value from listening to this podcast, please rate this show, leave a review, and subscribe!