Using the Grouping Tool
In the Scholastic Literacy Dashboard, you can use the Grouping Tool to create small groups informed by data gathered in your Scholastic Digital programs (Scholastic F.I.R.S.T.; W.O.R.D.; Literacy Pro; and NSGRA, K–6). The more time your students spend in these programs, the smarter the Grouping Tool becomes. As students progress, you’ll see suggestions for reconfiguring your groups based on new data received from these programs. To begin forming your groups, select Grouping Tool and then Create New Groups.
DEFINE GROUP ORGANIZATION
From the Grouping Tool, you have selected Create New Groups.
Primary Focus
To begin, select the primary organizing principle for your groups. The Grouping Tool offers three ways to automatically form groups based on the most current data. This data is constantly refreshed, and users will get information about reconfiguring groups based on the most current data.
- Reading Level: These groups are organized according to Lexile measures delivered from Literacy Pro or Guided Reading Levels from Literacy Pro or NSGRA, K–6.
- Skills: These groups are organized according to skills data from Scholastic F.I.R.S.T., W.O.R.D., and/or Literacy Pro depending on which Scholastic Digital programs your students are using.
- Interests: These groups are organized according to data about students’ interests from Literacy Pro or NSGRA, K–6.
If one of these choices is disabled, that means that there’s not yet enough data about your students to organize groups in this way. If just a few students lack data related to the organizing principle you selected, you’ll see a note under the corresponding choice.
Note: You can also opt to create your own teachers elected groups.
Tie-Breakers
After you select the primary organizing principle for your groups, you’ll be asked to select the tie-breaker, or secondary, organizing principle.
The Grouping Tool uses the tie-breaker to create multiple groups if there are more than six students that match to the same group. For example, say you’re organizing your groups by reading levels and you’ve selected interests as your tie-breaker. Imagine also that you have 12 students at roughly the same reading level. The Grouping Tool will look at these students’ interests to create multiple groups at this reading level, each unified by similar interests.
- Reading Level (Guided Reading Levels or Lexile measures): If this is your primary organizing principle, you can select skills or interests as your tie-breaker.
- Skills: If this is your primary organizing principle, you can select reading levels (GRLs or Lexile measures) or interests as your tiebreaker.
- Interests: If this is your primary organizing principle, you can select reading levels (GRLs or Lexile measures) or skills as your tiebreaker.
Number of Groups
Next, you’ll indicate the number of groups you’d like to form. (The recommended number of students per group is four to six.) The Grouping Tool may adjust the number of groups to create the best groups, according to the organizing principles you have selected.
Finally, select Continue.
PREVIEW & EDIT GROUPS
After you select the organizing principles for your groups, the Grouping Tool will generate a set of groups.
Group Header
The header at the top of each group provides an overview of the group’s reading level, skills, and interests.
- Reading Level: The range of reading levels, from low to high, within the group. Reading levels are displayed as Guided Reading Levels or as Lexile measures, depending on the choice you made when you were organizing the group.
- Targeted Skills: The skills students in this group are struggling with, according to their performance in their Scholastic Digital programs. Top Interests: The interests that the majority of students in the group share.
- See More Data: This is a complete record of each student’s work in Scholastic Digital programs.
Student Data Summary
Additional detail is available about each student. At the bottom of the screen, toggle to Student Data Summary: On to open each student’s tile and reveal that student’s top three targeted skills and top three interests, as well as his or her current reading level.
Customize Your Groups
You can customize the groups generated by the Grouping Tool:
- Review your groups and make any revisions by moving students among groups (See below.)
- Review the name of this set of groups; revise as needed.
- Review the name of each group; revise as needed.
When you have finished, select Save Groups.
Move Students Within Groups
To move students within groups:
- Check the box(es) next to the student(s) you’d like to move to another group.
- At the bottom of the screen, use the Select a Group drop-down menu to choose the group the student(s) will be moved to. (You can also add a new group.)
- Select Move Students. You’ll see the selected student(s) in their new group. (The data in the Group Header will update automatically.)
- Continue moving students as needed.
- Select Save Groups when you have completed your groups.
Group Data Chart
For detailed information about each student in a group, select the See More Data in the group header to view a Group Data Chart. This printable report displays the most recent data from Scholastic F.I.R.S.T., W.O.R.D., Literacy Pro, and/or NSGRA, K–6 (depending on which resources your students have access to).
Student Data Chart
To view this report by student, select the graph icon next to the student’s name.
TEACHER-SELECTED GROUPS
If you have opted to create new groups based on your own criteria, type in the names of your new groups. Select Add a Group to create additional groups.
Add Students to Groups
You will then see a group roster, as well as your new (empty) groups.
To move students into a group:
- Check the box(es) next to the student(s) you’d like to add to a group.
- At the bottom of the screen, use the Select a Group drop-down menu to choose the group the student(s) will be added to. You can also use this drop-down menu to add a new group.
- Select Move Students. You’ll see the selected student(s) in the new group.
- Continue adding students to each group. Select Save Groups when you have completed your groups.
ADJUSTING GROUPS
Your small groups can be modified at any time. In addition, when the programs have gathered sufficient new information, you will see an alert indicating that you may want to reconfigure your groups. (For teacher-selected groups, an alert will appear every three weeks.) You will be able to preview recommendations for new groups, accept these recommendations, or keep your groups as they are.
Alert: New Student Data Is Available
The Grouping Tool will alert you when new data is available from your students’ Scholastic Digital resources (Scholastic F.I.R.S.T., W.O.R.D. , Literacy Pro, and/or NSGRA, K–6.)
YOU CAN CHOOSE TO:
- Edit Groups: Select Edit Groups to view your existing groups and make changes, based on the data used when the groups were created.
- Preview Recommendations: Select Preview Recommendations to view reconfigured groups, based on new data. You will be able to save or cancel these recommendations.
- Preview New Data: For teacher-selected groups, this banner will appear if you haven’t adjusted a group in three weeks. Select this link to see how new data would affect your existing groups. You will be able to reconfigure your groups or keep them as they are.
View Groups & Links to Additional Materials
After you create your groups, you can review them and find additional materials for them at any time.
Review Your Groups
For every group, you’ll see tiles showing the following:
- Initials of the students in the group
- Name of the group
- Number of students in the group
- Date group was created and last edited
- Teacher or co-teacher who created and/or edited the group
- Number of students assigned to a group vs. total number of students in the class
Group Pop-Up
You can also select a group tile to see details about the reading levels, targeted skills, and top interests of students in this group.
Additional Materials
On the group tile, you’ll also see buttons to take you to additional materials that relate to the organizing principles of the group (reading level, skills, and/or interests):
- SL: Go to additional materials from Scholastic Literacy (SL).
- LBA: Go to additional materials from Leveled Bookroom Accelerator (LBA).
- Group data: View information about students in this group.
Link to Scholastic Literacy Materials
From any group tile, you can select SL for additional materials for this reading group.
Depending on the organizing principle of the group (reading level, skills, and/or interests), you will choose among some or all of the following resources:
- SL Daily Lessons
- SL Shared/Close Reading Library
- Comprehension Toolkit: Review and Reteach Lessons
- Grammar Toolkit
- Phonics and Spelling Toolkit
- Vocabulary Toolkit
- Assessment Toolkit
Link to Scholastic Literacy Daily Lessons
From any group tile, you can select SL for additional materials for this reading group.
Depending on the organizing principles of the group, you may opt to go to Scholastic Literacy Daily Lessons to see results of a search filtered by this group’s grade and skills.
Link to Scholastic Literacy Shared/Close Reading Library
From any group tile, you can select SL for additional materials for this reading group.
Depending on the organizing principles of the group, you may opt to go to Scholastic Literacy Shared/ Close Reading Library to see results of a search filtered by this group’s reading level, skills, and/or interests. You can adjust the filters within Shared/Close Reading Library to further customize your search results.
Link to Scholastic Literacy Toolkits
From any group tile, you can select SL for additional materials for this reading group.
Depending on the organization of the group, you may opt to go to Scholastic Literacy Toolkits for an array of materials at the appropriate grade that focus on this group’s targeted skills. Scholastic Literacy includes the following skills toolkits:
- Grammar Toolkit
- Comprehension Toolkit
- Phonics and Spelling Toolkit
- Vocabulary Toolkit
- Writing Toolkit
- Assessment Management Toolkit
Link to Leveled Bookroom Accelerator (LBA)
From any group tile, you can select LBA to go to search results within Leveled Bookroom Accelerator for books related to the organizing principles of the group (reading level, skills, and/or interests). You can adjust the filters within LBA to further customize your search results.
Link to Group Data Chart
From any group tile, you can select the chart icon to go to complete information about the students in each reading group. This printable report displays the most recent data from Scholastic F.I.R.S.T., W.O.R.D., Literacy Pro, and/or NSGRA, K–6 (depending on which resources your students have access to).
Summary
This section of the Group Data chart includes information about the students in this group, including their reading levels and progress in the Scholastic Digital Suite. This information was used to create the current groups. Scroll left and right to view all data.
F.I.R.S.T. Comprehension
This section of the Group Data chart includes information about the progress of students in this group on the comprehension activities in Scholastic F.I.R.S.T. Scroll left and right to view all data.
F.I.R.S.T. Phonological
This section of the Group Data chart includes information about the progress of students in this group on the phonics and phonological activities in Scholastic F.I.R.S.T. Scroll left and right to view all data.
W.O.R.D.
This section of the Group Data chart includes information about the progress of students in this group on the activities in W.O.R.D. Scroll left and right to view all data.
Literacy Pro
This section of the Group Data chart includes information about the progress of students in this group on the Think More comprehension check-ins in Literacy Pro. Scroll left and right to view all data.
Scholastic Reading Readiness
This section of the Group Data chart includes information about the performance of students in this group on Scholastic Reading Readiness. This data will only appear if students in the group have taken the assessments within the previous two months. Scroll left and right to view all data.
Look For: If you have Literacy Pro in your classroom, guide your emergent and beginning readers to titles with audio.
Interests
This section of the Group Data chart includes information about the top interests of students in this group. Scroll left and right to view all data.
Look For: Keep in mind the interests of individual students and the group as a whole. Refer to them in conversation as you make connections. Use them as hooks for mini-lessons.