Intro to Differentiation

1. Differentiation through choice

2. Learning Result

3. • Seated side by side in a classroom could be :-
• Students with learning disabilities
• High advanced learners
• English language learners
• Students from diverse cultures
• Students of both genders
• Students displaying varying degrees of
motivation, interests, skills etc.

4. • At its most basic level, differentiating
instruction means “shaking up” what goes
on in the classroom so that students have
multiple options for taking in information,
making sense of ideas, and expressing
what they learn.
- Carol Ann Tomlinson

5. Respectful tasks Flexible Grouping Continual
Assessment
Quality Curriculum Teachers differentiate Class building
Content Process Product Environment
According to student
Readiness Interest Learning Profile

6. Readiness
Interest
Learning
Profile
Are tasks a close match for
student skills? – pre assess
/ formative assessment,
continual re assessment.
Do tasks ignite curiosity or
passion ? – Relationships
& enquiry.
Does task encourage
students to work in
preferred manner – verbal
linguistic, visual spatial,
kinesthetic, interpersonal
etc.

7. • Gender
• Culture
• Learning Style
• Intelligence Preference – ‘although all normally
functioning people use all parts of their brains, each of us
is wired to be better in some areas than others’
( Gardner, Sternberg)
Differentiation based on intelligence preference allows
students to use preferred modes to develop growth in
less comfortable modes.

8. • show what the number 5 means to you
• (you can use the paper provided if you
wish)
• You can carry out this task in any way you
like but your product should have a clear
connection to the number 5

9. • Analytic Task – Make number chart that
shows all the ways you can think of to
show 5.
• Practical Task – Find as many things as
you can in H1, that have something to do
with 5. Report back to class what you saw
and what you did.
• Creative Task – Write &/or recite a poem
about 5 that helps us to understand the
number in many, unusual and interesting

10. • Learning outcomes – Lesson / task
outcomes should be clear
• Rigour – No choice should be seen as
an easy option. It is important that the
criteria for success are clear to the
student.

11. • Formative assessment and pre testing & exit cards for
readiness.
• Preferential learning style – pupil self selection.
• Interest- How do you know the choices being offered will
interest your pupils ??

12. • An engaging high level strategy that encourages
writing and which can appeal to interest and
learning profile across the curriculum
• A way to encourage students to..
-assume a role
-consider their audience, while
-examining a topic from a chosen perspective,
and
- write in a particular format.

13. • Aim – To explore the various events that
occur within a Plant lifecycle.

15. • Your poem/letter/debate/song should :-
• Include all stages of the lifecycle covered.
• Explain the importance of each stage of
the lifecycle to the survival of the plant.

17. • What is the expected learning outcome for this lesson or
activity? (This may be a key idea or skill)

18. • Readiness
• Interest
• Learning profile

19. Pre-testing (Method_______________________)
Students self-select

20. Think-Tac-Toe
RAFT
Tiering
Other_____________
Vs.

21. • Tiered instruction aligns complexity to the readiness
levels, interests and learning needs of students. The
teacher plans different kinds and degrees of instructional
support and structure, depending upon each student's
level. Tiered instruction allows all students to focus on
essential concepts and skills yet still be challenged at the
different levels on which they are individually capable of
working.
• Tiered Lesson Plan
• Explanation of a Tiered Lesson Plan

22. • Think-Tac-Toe plays off the familiar childhood game. It is
a simple way to give students alternative ways of
exploring and expressing key ideas and using key skills.
• Typically, the Think-Tac-Toe grid has nine cells in it like a
Tic-Tac-Toe game. The number of rows and cells can, of
course, be adjusted.
• As with related strategies, it is important that no matter
which choices students make, they must grapple with the
key ideas and use the keys skills central to the topic or
area of study.
• In other words, whichever choices the student makes,
he/she should be addressing the same outcomes as the
others

23. As an ancient mapmaker, you
are commissioned to create a
map of your land including all
natural land forms, a compass
rose and a scale. Also find
examples of each land form in a
modern civilization.
Imagine that you are an ancient
citizen who awakens to discover
that all water has evaporated.
Explain in detail how this would
alter your way of life. Also, do
this for the town where you live.
Assume you are persuading
others to visit your ancient
civilization. Design a descriptive,
accurate travel brochure.
Include both natural and man-
made elements that would
attract tourists.
You are an ancient scribe. Write
and illustrate a thorough
description of a famous
character from each time period
being studied. Profile yourself
also.
Assume the identity of a famous
person from the given time
period. Create a journal entry
reflecting the ideas, values, and
components of daily life for that
person & you.
You are a famous sculptor.
Create a 3D representation of a
well-known leader, god,
goddess, or common citizen.
Include a museum exhibit card.
Written language is an essential
part of everyday life. Your task is
to create an alphabet. Include a
translation into modern English,
a written description of the
language development a & a 3D
artifact of the new language.
Recreate in 3D form a famous
work of architecture from your
time period. Compare and
contrast this piece to one piece
of modern day architecture. Find
one example of this
architecture’s presence in
modern day society.
Find a way to explain and show
the importance of music and the
arts to your culture. Also show
at least 2 examples with roots in
our time.
CONTRIBUTIONSIMPORTANTPEOPLEGEOGRAPHY
Charles Kyle & Kathy Reed * Illinois

24. Write a bio-poem about yourself
and another about a main character
in the book so your readers see
how you and the character are alike
and different. Be sure to include
the m most important traits in each
poem.
A character in the book is being
written up in the paper 20 years
after the novel ends. Write the
piece. Where has life taken
him/her? Why? Now, do the same
for yourself 20 years from now.
Make sure both pieces are
interesting feature articles.
You’re a “profiler.” Write and
illustrate a full and useful profile of
an interesting character from the
book with emphasis on personality
traits and mode of operating. While
you’re at it, profile yourself, too.
Research a town/place you feel is
equivalent to the one in which the
novel is set. Use maps, sketches,
population and other demographic
data to help you make comparisons
and contrasts.
Make a model or a map of a key
place in your life, and an important
one in the novel. Find a way to
help viewers understand both what
the places are like and why they
are important in your life and the
characters’.
The time and place in which people
find themselves and when events
happen shape those people and
events in important ways. Find a
way to convincingly prove that idea
using this book.
Find out about famous people in
history or current events whose
experiences and lives reflect the
essential themes of this novel.
Show us what you’ve learned.
Create a multi-media presentation
that fully explores a key theme from
the novel. Use at least 3 media (for
example, painting, music, poetry,
photography, drama, sculpture,
calligraphy, etc.) in your
exploration.
Find several songs you think reflect
an important message from the
book. Prepare an audio collage.
Write an exhibit card that helps
your listener understand how you
think these songs express the
book’s meaning.

25. List
Bingo sheet
Other_____________

26. • An anchor activity is an ongoing activity
such as a workbook, journal or revision
task that you can get students to continue
with once they have finished the task. This
is useful as it is difficult to ensure that each
of the tasks will take the same amount of
time and that students will work at the
same rate.

27. Things to consider after planning;
Is the learning outcome clearly stated?
Does each of the tasks allow every student to reach
the learning outcome?
Are all parts of the task challenging and respectful?
Is a clear timeframe provided?
Have you provided an anchor activity?

28. • Think Tac Toe – daretodifferentiate (PPT)
• http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/
• VARK -- A Guide to Learning Styles
• http://www.caroltomlinson.com/