ABC's To Successful Teaching ... Differentiation!

We've all heard...

Every student is an individual and needs to be treated as such.

And so when we think of DIFFERENTIATION we can really become overwhelmed.

How as an educator do I DIFFERENTIATE curriculum so that I meet the needs of every student in my classroom as an individual?

DIFFERENTIATION takes planning and with an educator's plate already full this task can seem daunting.

BUT

Let's give DIFFERENTIATION a POSITIVE spin!!

Let's look at making learning enjoyable and attainable for every student.

DIFFERENTIATION consists of the efforts of a teacher to meet the variety of needs among learners in the classroom.  It means adjusting or changing a lesson and goal based on specific needs of the learner.

You might begin by taking interest inventories and find out everything you can about every student.

How do they feel about each subject matter, where they work and even about how they feel about their own confidence.  At early ages this may be a challenge so I often have them do it with an adult who can help explain some of the questions.  

I also like to ask parents to fill out a survey about their child.

This information altogether can be very helpful.

Think about what are the big ideas, core concepts, and your learning expectations.  

Then think about ways to help students achieve them.

Let's look at some ways teachers can DIFFERENTIATE.

Content:  What do the students need to learn and what can you do to meet varying degrees of difficulty?

Video, demonstration, verbal lesson, text

Process:  How will the content be presented and what can you do to vary the ways of presentation?

Same topic ... different levels

Products:  How will the students demonstrate mastery? (report, picture, play)

Learning Environment:  How is your classroom set up to meet the varying needs for learning?

Quiet, Independent, Move and Learn, Small Group

• Leveled reading.
• Using small groups to teach, reteach, and extend.
• Varying the expectations (write words, write a sentence, write a paragraph).
• Providing choices for way to present a final product. (written report, picture, verbally)
• Provide manipulatives or support tools for students who need them.
• Present material using verbals, visuals, and modeling.
• Provide flexible and varying means of assessment.
• Use questioning techniques adjusted to student's ability.
• Think, Pair, Share
• Teach Up

These suggestions show that a teacher can DIFFERENTIATE content, environment, teaching strategies, and products.  

Here are some things I have found helpful in my classroom in terms of leveling activities about the same topic.

Look for content, environment, teaching strategies, and products used in the following samples.

Below are examples of how you can take a simple topic and read, write and play math games to support varied levels in your classroom.

I included templates so that you can create your own activities.

Download this for FREE.

Tomorrow...