Don't let it scare you...

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Home : 2008 : April : 30

Don't let it scare you...
By Lottalove

Focus on just three main elements--content, presentation and/or assessment...Sometimes only one or all 3 can be "different" for students at different levels. It doesn't have to be "fair" and, yes, your lazy ones will push
this occasionally--just stand your ground...

Content--make it easier or harder, shorter or longer, review or challenge--Obviously that is over simplified but you get the drift...

Presentation--Maybe it needs to be more hands-on for struggling students and more independent reading/research for advanced students...The way you say it or show it or whatever can be adjusted...

Assessment--Same thing. Don't expect your lowest readers to have the same "output" as your reg ed or advanced kids. Say you read a story together and ask the "class" as a whole to write a short summary to the story. For lower end kids, you could ask them for picture demonstrating their fave part or have them review a sequence of beginning, middle and end or write three sentences (or whatever they are capable of). For the advanced group, you could challenge them to write a sequel (what happens next) or pretend they were a reporter getting the story for the news or whatever. Anyway, different end products for different levels.

Some of it is probably stuff you already do but have never labeled it as "differientiation." Some is probably labelled as review or enrichment and so on.