5 Benefits Of Pals Essay

List five benefits of PALS. Explain why they are valuable to teachers or students.

PALS accommodates learners with different levels of academic ability. This strategy can be implemented for students with learning disabilities, ELLs, general education students, and high-achievers. Therefore, PALS is great for inclusion classrooms. In addition, students work with their peers, rather than constantly with the teacher. This is advantageous for several reasons. It can be more motivating for students, it promotes collaboration and interaction. In addition, if students are working with each other, the teacher’s time is freed to work with students individually and provide the necessary levels of support and feedback. Furthermore, the skills learned

in PALS are cumulative. Finally, PALS is easily implemented, without substantial cost. Principals will likely appreciate this

Compare and contrast the specific reading skills addressed by K-PALS and first-grade PALS.
K-PALS sessions typically last 20–30 minutes and address phonological awareness, and decoding and word recognition. First-grade PALS sessions usually last approximately 40 minutes and also address the decoding and comprehending of text. However, First-grade PALS also focuses on reading fluency and helping students do well on their tests. In comparison, K-PALS is more about recognizing the letters and the sounds associated with them.

Compare the recommended method of grouping students for K-PALS to the method suggested for first-grade students.
In K-PALS, students are grouped in pairs, the highest performing students paired with the lowest performing ones. Therefore, the highest performing student will be paired with the student who scored lowest, the second highest student with the second lowest student, and so forth until the two middle students are paired together.
For first-grade PALS, students are divided into two groups, again, higher and lower performing students.

However, this time, students are paired off with each other in descending order of ability. So, the highest student at the high-performance level will be paired with a student at the highest level of low-performance level. The lowest performer in the high level will eventually be paired with the lowest-performing student in the low-performance level.

Imagine that you are Ms. Sweeney, a kindergarten teacher implementing PALS. Of your 20 students, one is absent, leaving one student without a partner. How would you ensure that each student could participate in your regularly scheduled K-PALS session?

I would have that one student join another group, forming a group of three. The students would take turns acting as readers and coaches, respectively. I would monitor them to ensure all three students have a chance to be in both roles. I would also take into account the extra student’s performance level when forming this three-member group to ensure the grouping runs smoothly.

Imagine you are Mrs. Miselem, a first-grade teacher, and you are planning to implement PALS for the first time. What two steps might you take to promote a healthy team

environment?
To motivate students, I would give out points when students completed their lessons stay on task, follow directions, and cooperate with one another. Once students accumulate a certain number of points, they could exchange those points for a small prize.
In addition, I would also utilize the friendly competition aspect of PALS. The class would be grouped into two teams (which change over the course of the year). The members of the group would tally all their points together, and the team that earned more points would win that week. Both groups would be congratulated for their efforts, but I would likely give the winning team some bonus points or some other prize to serve as a motivator.