PEER ASSISTED LEARNING STRATEGIES

What is PALS? Who will benefit from PALS?

PALS-Reading is a scientifically research-based practice that helps teachers boost the reading performance of low-, average-, and high-achieving students, as well as those with special needs.

PALS is designed to supplement a teacher’s existing reading program.

PALS Benefits

Increase the proportion of instructional time that all students engage in academic behaviors

Provides students with feedback, immediate error correction, and high mastery levels

Can support content coverage

Supports the development of “mental models” – what Ruby Payne calls “the shared understandings of thepurposes, structures, and patterns in information.”

What skills are reinforced?

First Grade:Letter-sound correspondencePhonemic awarenessEarly decoding and word identification,

Reading in context (Sentences and Short Stories)

Fluency-building activities.

Supplies you need

The First Grade Peer-Assisted Literacy Strategies Curriculum Package

A First Grade Peer-Assisted Literacy Strategies Teacher’s Manual Sounds and Words Preparation Exercises – Visual

Presentation Sheets Sounds and Words Placement Test First Grade PALS Rules First Grade PALS Partner Assignments Chart Sounding Out Practice Sheet

All available at http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/pals/ordering/

Everyone Has a Job to Do!

Teacher’s Role

Large Group Instruction: Procedure Lessons (All) Introduce and Model

Sound and Word Reading Activities (K-1st) Partner Reading (1st)

Introduce and Model Through Training Lessons (2nd-5th)

Partner Reading Retelling

Paragraph Shrinking Prediction Relay

Teacher’s Role

Monitoring Partner Work: Listen to pairs of students read daily Notice fluency development Notice the main idea statement

development Provide students with feedback Monitor procedures Timekeeper

Peer Assisted Learning Strategies Peer Assisted Learning Strategies.

A strategy is a plan to get something important done.

Peer Assisted Learning Strategies means everyone is working with a partner to practice reading to become a better reader.

All Students Have Two Big Jobs

CoachLike a tutor - helps their partner

ReaderReads and answers questions

Each student will do both jobs.

Jobs will be switched when the teacher gives a

signal.

Pairing Students for Partner WorkList of class according to

reading ability, high to low.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Partners: 1 and 11 2 and 13 3 and 13…

Being a Good Sport

Rules for Moving to Your Partner

Leave your chair/desk when you move.

Move quickly and quietly.

Take your PALS materials with you.

Quietly move the chair/desk beside your

partner

Review the Rules

1. Talk only to your _____ and only about

____.

2. Keep your voice ___.

3. Cooperate with your_____.

4. Try your ____.

Review for Students

1. We learned that the reason for PALS is to help you become better readers.

2. We learned how to move and stay. Each of you now knows where you will sit during PALS and who needs to move.

3. We learned that there are rules we must follow to make PALS work.

PALS Rules

1. Talk only to your _____ and only about

____.

2. Keep your voice ___.

3. Cooperate with your_____.

4. Try your ____.

Lets get started…

If possible you will want to scan your pals notebook into your computer. It will make it easier for your students if you can project it.

Print off a copy of each page, one set for each partner pair.

PALS LESSON BOOKLET THINGS YOU WANT TO DO TO PREPARE

Divide your students into their partners. They sit right next to each other with the paper on the desk between them, allowing both partners to see it clearly.

PALS partners PALS LESSON 1

How it works…

Coach points to the first letter and asks,” What sound?”

Partner response, with the letter sound. If the player is wrong, the coach says

“STOP what is the sound?” The player then tries again. If they are

right the coach response, “Good, read the line again.” The line is always started over when a mistake is made.

Continued...

If the player is wrong at this point the coach will tell them the correct sound. “No, the sounds is _”. They will then repeat the sound. The coach response, “Good read the line again.”

They start the line over. This will be the same when they read

words and stories. Each PALS worksheet has a coach’s script in the right hand column.

LESSON 1

Coach points to the first letter and asks,” What sound?”

Partner response, with the letter sound.

If the player is wrong, the coach says “STOP what is the sounds?”

The player then tries again. If they are right the coach response, “Good, read the line again.” The line is always started over when a mistake is made.

Watch Students: PALS Lesson 2

Watch these 1st grade students complete Lesson 2 in PALS. They are working with their PALS partners. Watch as they take turns being a coach and a reader.

Stop, Write and Reflect

What concept from PALS really “squares” with your thinking? Name three

facts about PALS that

you learned today.

What question is still rolling around in your head?

Learning for All Students

“People develop feelings that they

are liked, wanted, acceptable, and

able from having been liked,

wanted, accepted, and from having

been successful.” (Combs, 1982)

Throughout the centuries, there were men and women who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. -Ayn Rand