PALS Strategy Critique and Possible Use inside a Public School, by Brian Mac Farlane, MA.Ed

A Reading Strategy for Grades 2–6

1.       List five benefits of PALS.

1.       Allows all students—those with and without learning difficulties—to be actively involved in peer-mediated sessions

2.       Makes it possible for students with disabilities to spend more time in the least restrictive environment, thus increasing their access to the general education curriculum

3.       Can be used as a research-validated reading approach in schools implementing response to intervention

4. Motivates students
5. Promotes collaboration and positive social interactions among students

2.       Name the three reading activities for PALS (Grades 2–6) and describe the reading skills targeted by each.

Partner Reading with Retell, Paragraph Shrinking, and Prediction Relay are three reading activities for PALS grades 2-6.

3.       Describe a typical  PALS session. Be sure to discuss the roles of  both the students and the teacher.

Paragraph Shrinking, is designed to improve comprehension. Mrs. Nash learns that this activity will help students to: monitor their own comprehension and focus on the main idea of each paragraph, pay attention to important details, and elaborate on the content. There are four  lesson steps;

Step 1. The higher-performing student reads for five minutes, beginning where the second reader left off in Partner Reading and stopping at the end of each paragraph.

Step 2. At the end of each paragraph, the higher-performing reader identifies the main character (i.e., the who or what) and summarizes the main idea in 10 words or fewer.

Step 3. After switching roles, the lower-performing student picks up where the higher-performing reader left off in the text, reading for five minutes and stopping at the end of each paragraph.

Step 4. At the end of each paragraph, the lower-performing reader identifies the main character (i.e., the who or what) and summarizes the main idea in 10 words or fewer.

The Coach monitors and provides immediate and corrective feedback when his or her partner commits an errors: For example, the partner may incorrectly summarizing the paragraph or they could attempt to summarize using more than 10 words. This lesson is time efficient as it takes only ten minuets, so the teacher can add it into the daily schedule with minimal loss of required instructional mandates ( math, ELD or  computer based learning).

4.       Imagine that you are Ms. McVee, a sixth-grade teacher implementing PALS with a class of 29 students. Choose one of the two methods discussed in this module for moving students for partner reading. Explain why you chose this option.

I would select option one which argues since students are partnered for a three- to four-week period, the teacher can create a new seating arrangement—one in which partners are seated next to one another—each time new partners are assigned. Doing so will eliminate the need for students to move around the classroom to join their reading partners. Similarly, I selected this strategy because it  fosters relationship building, reduced transition time, and minimize the amount of time my students are engaged in a non-academic activity.

5.       Again, imagine that you are Ms. McVee. Of your 29 students, three are absent. As a result, three students are without their regular partners. How would you ensure that each student could participate in your regularly scheduled PALS session?

I would consider the below four strategies to ensure that all students can engage in a reading activity even in the event that one or more students are not present.

ü  A higher-performing reader might read independently for the session. (For obvious reasons, this should be done sparingly, if at all possible.)

ü  The student might join another pair of students to form a triad. Each student will serve as the Coach for one of the three reading activities.

ü  If the partners of two students are absent, those students can be paired for the session. As always, the pairs will read from the lower-performing readers’ book.

ü  Although less likely, a student from another classroom who is engaged in PALS and does not have a partner for the day might join the class for the session.

PALS  Strategy Critique and Possible Use

PALS (Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies)  is characterized as a peer-tutoring program teachers can utilized  within school classrooms ( K through 12) to improve student proficiency in reading. Its core purpose is not intended to replace but supplement students’ existing reading curriculum. Moreover, PALS  was created for students with diverse academic needs as well as English language learners. PALS benefits students because it creates an active involvement through  in peer-mediated sessions. Students with disabilities benefit because PALS increase their access to the general education curriculum by increasing the time spent  in the least restrictive environment. Finally, PALS represent a research-validated reading approach for teachers who implement RTI.  Partner Reading with Retell, Paragraph Shrinking, and Prediction Relay are three reading activities for PALS grades 2-6. In addition to being trained in each of the reading strategies, students are taught to correct their partner’s reading errors, award points for correct responses, and provide consistent encouragement and feedback. Developers recommend that tutoring sessions last approximately 10-35 minutes and be conducted three to four times a week. 

PALS  can be utilized at any school site as it permits the  integration of  more strategic instruction during my RTI rotations as well as  small tutoring sessions.  Partner Reading with Retell, Paragraph Shrinking, and Prediction Relay are three reading activities can  allow teachers to  meet the individual needs of my  IEP and RTI level three students.  Similarly these  PAL reading strategies  utilizes the fundamental ability differences of  each student  within a  classroom setting.  Therefore, PALS will  eliminate the need  to consider “Push In”  because all the students are serviced  in one classroom but work on different levels.