How to support kids who miss instruction due to pull-out programs

Hi Angela! I stumbled upon your website looking for ideas on behavior management, and found I LOVE IT! I have since ordered your book also. I have a question for you…our state (and alot of the country I guess) is doing a program called Response To Intervention…my question is this…when my students are out of my room in Tier groups, I’m teaching either Language/Writing or Science/Social Studies….the students out of the room are missing instruction and assignments….I’m having difficulty figuring out what to do in order to keep them on target (obviously, they are students that cannot afford to miss instruction). I’ve tried a few different things but nothing seems to be working…any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank You! Kristen

Hi, Kristen, thanks for writing and giving permission for me to share your question on the blog! This problem is so common I thought I’d answer it here in hopes of helping other teachers and soliciting their ideas, as well.Special education classes, speech therapy, guidance counseling, gifted classes, RTI/intervention pull-outs—there are an endless list of interruptions to regular class instruction.

I’ve struggled with this issue in my own classroom: in one particularly difficult year, my students were pulled out in 5 different intervention groups which met at inconsistent times and frequencies, and were often canceled at the last minute due to staff coverage issues. My 12:30-1:30 math block was a disaster: I only had the entire class from 12:50-1:10 three times a week. Four kids came in at 12:35, six left at 12:40…it was incredibly hard to manage. I see the same difficulties now as an instructional coach, but fortunately, I do have some suggestions to help make the situation easier:

1) Teach core subjects when all or most of your kids are present by using some creative scheduling.

It’s not always possible, but think outside the box for solutions. Can you switch specials, lunch, or recess times with another teacher, even if it’s one day a week? Can you double up on a core subject or activity one day when all your kids are in class and skip it the next when they’re being pulled-out? Don’t be afraid to ask your administration if you know these changes will benefit your kids, and don’t be worry about confusing students. If your procedures are consistent and expectations are clear, changes in schedule won’t really throw them off.

2) Split a subject between two times.

One teacher I know who was tired of her reading pull-out kids missing writing instruction decided to split her 45 minute writing block in half. The first half is in the morning when most kids are in the room, and she does mini-lessons on writing craft and occasionally grammar and handwriting. (Since some kids are pulled out during this time two days per week, she introduces new or foundational skills only on days when everyone is present.) The second half of the writing block is after lunch, and the kids who aren’t in intervention groups practice the skills she taught that day. This way the pull-out kids aren’t missing any actual instruction, and are allowed time to practice the skills on days when pull-outs are not scheduled or canceled.

3) Create challenging projects or activities that only non-pull-out kids are responsible for.

Many on-grade-level kids feel left out and ask, “When do I get to work with another teacher?” Having a special activity that is only conducted when the others are gone can help alleviate that feeling and challenge your higher performing kids. Research projects are perfect for this: they’re easily differentiated to meet the needs of every child, fun enough that the on-grade-level kids will want to work yet not so enticing that the pull-out kids will whine endlessly about missing out, and you never have to worry about make-up work when the intervention kids return to the classroom.

4) Accept the fact that you won’t get to teach every concept to every child, and refine your instructional practices down to only the most effective elements.

Part of the frustration with pull-out groups is that everything feels too important for any kids to miss. But is that second worksheet really helping your kids master the skill? Do your students truly need to copy vocabulary definitions into their journals? Use the pull-outs to help you examine how you use your students’ time. If it’s not important enough for intervention students to make up later, is it important enough to assign? Cutting out 30 minutes of ineffective routines and practices leaves you with 30 extra minutes to focus on what kids really need.

5) Set up routines that allow pull-out kids to re-join the group seamlessly.

One year, my special needs students always missed the first ten minutes of math instruction, so I had the class do warm-up activities, journaling, or partner math games during that time. The latecomers knew to come in wordlessly and take out the same materials the other kids were working with, and immediately begin participating in the last 5 minutes of the warm-up. For children who weren’t able to make this transition easily, I had other group members set up the materials for them, so all they had to do was sit down and start working. This expectation had to be taught, modeled, practiced, and reinforced, but it only took a few days for the kids to get the hang of it.

6) Bring pull-out kids up-to-date with limited and structured peer-tutoring.

It’s unfair to expect another child to reteach your lessons, but it’s okay to set aside small periods of time for pull-out kids to work with high-performing children who enjoy helping and benefit from synthesizing their knowledge and skills. First thing in the morning or the end of the day can be great times for kids to buddy up and go over key textbook or paper-and-pencil practice that absolutely must be covered. Set up clear expectations so that the time is valuable for all children involved and re-work routines and partners as often as needed. I used to occasionally provide time during my third graders’ guided reading group rotations for 4 ‘student leaders’ to brainstorm, discuss, practice, and refine the teaching techniques they would use to help the pull-out kids. They would review the activity together and make sure each one could articulate the skill and demonstrate multiple strategies for tackling it. It was clear from their conversations that the peer-tutoring experience was helping them address their own misconceptions and walk away with a deeper understanding of the subject area.

7) Examine your teaching style: dealing with pull-outs is most complicated when students are required to be focused completely on the teacher and all doing the same things at the same time.

If your students are used to learning in centers, small groups, cooperative investigations, or workshop-style formats, it’s far less disruptive to have kids filter in and out of the classroom. That’s because those formats allow kids to do different activities at different times, freeing the teacher to facilitate learning (and help transition the kids who are coming and going from intervention groups). If you’re not comfortable with these teaching methods, pick the one you know best and try it out when most of your kids are at pull-out groups. Sure, it takes longer for pull-out kids to understand the concepts you teach in their absence, but when all students are allowed to work at their own pace toward mastery, this won’t become a huge problem. Do most of your direct instruction when the whole class is in the room, and provide guided and independent practice throughout the day. Pull-out groups can be a great inspiration to provide more differentiated instruction and start allowing students to construct their own knowledge instead of depending on you to impart it.

8) When feeling frustrated, remind yourself to be grateful that other educators are helping teach your students.

There are schools that have NO pull-out classes whatsoever. I’ve taught in those environments, too, and believe me, the only thing more frustrating and exhausting than keeping up with 8 million intervention groups is being solely and completely responsible for the success of every child in your classroom. If you are fortunate enough to have someone providing interventions for your most challenging kids, count it as a blessing. Tier groups are worth the hassle because they support you AND your students.

Does anyone else have advice on managing RTI tier groups and other intervention pull-outs?