Glossary · Teaching and intervention
What is the gradual release model?
Definition
Gradual release is a teaching sequence in which the teacher models a skill, then practices it with students, then has them do it alone: I do, we do, you do.
Responsibility moves from teacher to student in steps. In “I do,” the teacher shows and explains. In “we do,” teacher and student do it together, with the teacher prompting and correcting. In “you do,” the student works alone while the teacher watches.
The middle step is where most of the learning happens, and it's the step most often rushed. A teacher who goes straight from a model to independent work finds out about confusion only when the errors are already on paper.
The steps aren't fixed in length. A student who gets it quickly moves to “you do” in a minute. A student who struggles stays in “we do” longer, with more support and more turns.
In a lesson
I do: the teacher spells chop aloud, tapping sounds. We do: teacher and student spell shop together. You do: the student spells chip alone while the teacher watches the tapping.
Examples
Each word with its spelling units, one per sound.
- chopch·o·p
- shopsh·o·p
- chipsch·i·p·s
Words come from our lexicon, checked against a pronouncing dictionary. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out.
Why does this matter for the record?
Note at which step a student needed to stay. “Needed we do for three days” tells the next teacher how much support to plan.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.