1. Differentiation

2. Scaffolding
 Scaffolding is as
important at Key
Stage 5 as in other
years.
 Don’t assume that
just because
students are
studying at A Level
they are all of an
equal ability.

7. Differentiated Group Work: An Example...
• Each student has an allocated (differentiated) role, to
ensure maximum engagement and participation.
• Each group deals with different material, could be
differentiated according to ability/learning
style/behavioural needs.
Task: analysing a section of a text for English
Literature
Student 1: the summariser
Student 2: the analyst
Student 3: the reviewer/interpreter
Student 4: the contextualiser
All linked to a
specific
assessment
objective. Differing
roles/instructions
for each student.

8. Unlocking potential with language (Jim Smith’s
The Lazy Teacher’s Handbook: developing an
independent learning structure)
• ‘What have you forgotten to do?’
• ‘If you were not stuck, what would you do?’
• ‘Try something different...’
• ‘If I gave you a million pounds to be unstuck,
what would you do?’
• ‘What could you do to help yourself?’

9. Teacher Modelling
 Always model a task before asking/when asking
students to complete a similar task.
 By limiting failure in this way - through leading
by example - students will be more comfortable
with the task and in turn, more confident in their
ability.
 This should result in a higher quality outcome.

10. Writing Analytical
Paragraphs

11. Remember to ...
• Begin with a topic sentence.
• Embed quotations into sentences in a way that still
allows them to make grammatical sense.
• Lead into a quotation with terminology and then
pull the quotation apart further through close
analysis, applying (where possible) additional
terminology.
• Find a way to round off the paragraph that relates
back to the set topic.

12. Example Paragraph
This extract from the novel ‘Devil May Care’
supports a number of gender stereotypes, most
notably that men are strong, energetic and violent
with an attraction to fast cars. The foregrounding of
the plosive monosyllabic “Bond” emphasises his
power and importance, adding to his ‘action man’
status. This is enhanced by a lexical set of
movement created by the dynamic verbs “hit”,
“swerved”, “kicked” and “wrenched” which show
Bond to be full of energy. In addition, the adverb
“instinctively” to depict his sudden contact with the
brake show that Bond remains calm and in control
in high stress situations. As a result, the reader is
given an idealised portrait of Bond’s exploits.

13. The Challenge Box: Extension Tasks
• A box of challenging materials/exercises is available for
students when they are ready to move on, ahead of the
group. This can ensure that extension tasks are meaningful
and support progress in a challenging way, rather than
simply ‘the next page of the text book.’
• For example, in English Literature a collection of
challenging critical essays could be available for students to
read and evaluate.
• Extension tasks to be reviewed within the lesson/students
given the opportunity to share what they have learned in
order to give the tasks value.

14. Task:
• In your department time, think of a specific way
that you can use one or more of these ideas in
your subject.
• Come up with one or more of your own
differentiation techniques to contribute to the
feedback.