Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated Instruction

An introduction - part 2

Agenda

• Differentiation strategies

• A closer look at anchoring activities and tiered assignments

Differentiated Instruction:Instructional and Management

Strategies• Introduction• Teaching students about differences and about how

to participate in differentiated (fair) instruction• Examples of self-assessment activities• Strategies for differentiation (not new, may need modification)

Anchoring activities Flexible grouping

Adjusting questions Curriculum compacting

Tiered assignments Learning centers

Learning contracts Independent study

Reading buddies

Brainstorm!

Think/Pair/Share:How would you define the

strategies listed?

What examples of these strategies did you see in the video?

A Closer Look at 2 Strategies

• Anchoring Activities

• Tiered Instruction

• Small group “practice” with these two strategies

Purpose of an Anchor Activity is to:

• Provide meaningful work for students when they finish an assignment or project.

• Provide ongoing tasks that tie to the content and instruction.

• Free up classroom teacher to work with other groups of students or individuals.

Use Anchor Activities to Create Groups

• Teach the whole class to work independently and quietly on the anchor activity

• Half works on the anchor activity

• Other half works on a different activity

Anchor Activities

• Work best:– When expectations

are clear and the tasks are taught and practiced prior to use.

– When students are held accountable for on-task behavior and completion.

Some Anchor Activities• Brain Busters• Learning packets• Activity Box• Learning/Interest Centers• Vocabulary Work• Accelerated Reader• Investigations• Listening Stations• Research Questions or

Projects• Journals or Learning Logs• Content Related Silent

Reading

WHAT IS TIERED INSTRUCTION?

“Tiered instruction is

like a wedding cake;

all one flavor;

same color icing but

multi-layered.”

WHAT CAN BE TIERED?

• Assignments• Activities• Homework

• Centers• Experiments• Materials• Assessments• Writing Prompts

PURPOSE FOR TIERED INSTRUCTION

• To build multiple avenues to content

• Focus on key concepts and understanding of lesson or unit

• To provide optimal learning experiences

• Task difficulty and skill level are slightly above student level

THE CHALLENGE OF THE TEACHER

Developing “Respectful Activities”

• Interesting

• Engaging

• Challenging

REAL LEARNING OCCURS. . .

when the task difficulty

and skill level

are slightly above

the student level.

PLANNING TIERED ACTIVITIES

Step 1Select the activity and identify key concepts or skills.What should students know, understand, or be able to do?

Step 2Think about students and use assessment to determine:Readiness LevelsInterestsLearning Profile

Step 3 Create activity that is:

Interesting

Challenging

Step 4 Adjust activity along the ladder of complexity using the “equalizer”

Step 5 Match the tasks to students based on skill complexity

WHAT CAN YOU ADJUST?

• Materials• Level of Complexity• Amount of Structure • Number of Steps• Time• Level of

Dependence

Small Group Practice• Decide whether you’d like to practice

developing an anchor activity or a tiered activity. (Choice groups)

• Choice groups will count off to form work groups of 3-4

• In your work group, select a grade level and content area.

• Select a group “scribe” who will type up your product and email attach it to the instructor to include in a resource document to share with all members of all TLCI 340 sections.

Small Group Practice• Anchor Activity: Create the student

directions and one activity (writing prompt, vocabulary task, brain buster, etc.) for one form of anchor activity.

• Tiered Activity: Create the student directions for two tiers of activity based on readiness.

Next week