Targeted Independent Practice | Phonics
Should teachers use phonics worksheets in reading intervention for targeted practice?
As a teacher and parent, I have always heard that worksheets are super frowned upon and the mark of a lazy teacher passing out busy work.”
“NO WORKSHEETS!” has been drilled into me in teacher prep, workshops, etc. However, recently I had a chance to visit some upper elementary and middle schools to visit successful teachers. The direct instruction was excellent as expected, but what was not expected was what happened afterwards in the schools I visited. After teaching the lesson, out came the worksheets! And unlike what I’ve always been told, these worksheets were excellent–short, focused practice on what the teacher just taught.
In some classes, students worked quietly on their own; in others, students worked on the worksheets in pairs. In a few classes, teachers interrupted students working on the worksheets when some of the students had finished “early” and reviewed answers with the class. In some, students who finished started on another worksheet.
I asked why this worksheet was unrelated to the focus of the initial practice worksheet, and teachers told me that each student has been diagnostically assessed and assigned corresponding worksheets to master their individual deficits. Wow! So if the lesson were on r-controlled vowels, when the students finished, they might be working on individualized spelling or grammar worksheets until all students had finished the first practice worksheet.
In one class, students kept going up to teacher’s desk during “worksheet time.” I thought they were asking questions (and some were), but as I listened in on a few, the teacher was reading the students’ answers on a short formative assessment at the bottom of the worksheets. In these short, 30-second conferences, students were either assigned an “A” on the worksheet and told to mark it off on their progress monitoring matrix or they received a check √ for completion and a quick re-teaching. Such great feedback for students!
So this makes me wonder why so many teachers and administrators view worksheets as a “no-no,” I guess it depends on the quality of the worksheet, its purpose, and what the teacher does with the completed worksheet.
I love what Dr. Tim Shanahan, Professor Emeritus University of Chicago and Research Lead on the National Reading Panel, recently had to say about worksheets:
Like most professors, I have long looked askance at worksheets and their role in reading instruction (though I had relied upon them as a teacher)… Good teachers often use a mix of direct instruction along with some practice sheets (Shanahan on Literacy).
Of course we all believe that direct, explicit, whole-class instruction should be our priority, but some small group and individualized work is necessary to differentiate instruction, and it certainly makes sense that the independent worksheets and/or activities we use in our classrooms can help maximize learning and differentiate tiered instruction..
I’ve found that independent practice, targeted to specific, diagnostically assessed literacy deficits, gets the best results. And worksheet practice should conclude with formative assessment to determine mastery of the practiced concept or skill.
Check out Targeted Independent Practice | Phonics for phonics worksheets to extend independent practice of an explicit lesson AND differentiate instruction. BONUS! The program includes a fantastic diagnostic phonics assessment to pinpoint individual needs. See the whole program!
Targeted Independent Practice
My Targeted Independent Practice series supports teachers with quality assessment-based independent learning. Each program includes 1. A comprehensive diagnostic assessment to determine student needs 2. Targeted worksheets corresponding to the specific diagnostic test components 3. Formative assessments to determine mastery. View each program in its entirety.
*** Reading Fluency and Comprehension
*** Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics
*** Executive Function and Study Skills
Not sure if your students need interventions? Download the free Targeted Independent Practice Diagnostic Assessments and let the data inform your instructional decision-making.