Differentiating instruction in the elementary classroom by julia l. Differentiation ideas for the ela classroom differentiated. Choose books on differentiated instruction, and try adding one strategy a month from what you read. Differentiation of instruction in the elementary grades. Many of the accommodations would work in any writing lesson.
Differentiation in health and physical education published. The research findings supported the work of learning styles theorists dunn, griggs, olsen, beasley, and gormann, 1995. Opportunities for children to think for themselves is clearly evident. They represent a brief glimpse into the array of ideas and strategies available to instructors who want to incorporate the concepts of differentiation into their classrooms. Positives and negatives of tiered activities strategy positives megan. Case studies of schools implementing early elementary strategies vii staff in four programs reported that they had observed improvement in students vocabulary or oral language skills, socialemotional development, and engagement or attendance, as well as increased parent involvement after implementing their programs.
What works for differentiating instruction in elementary. Several teachers shared their best ideas during the chat. Differentiated instruction strategies in the classroom. Reasons for differentiating instruction at all tier levels. Differentiated literacy and language arts strategies for. Reflections on the achievement gap by courtney arthur, med adam ran through the school door and down the hall, late yet again. An ascd study guide for differentiation in the elementary grades. In fact, there are many, many times when wholeclass instruction is appropriate and preferable and it has been suggested that differentiation to be effective and manageable can be implemented approximately 20% of the time. Strategies to engage and equip all learners was written by kristina j. Jun 04, 2015 18 teachertested strategies for differentiated instruction from the edutopia community 2. Hong penn state altoona this paper presents the philosophy and goals of differentiated instruction in the social studies.
Because the differentiated instruction strategy allows students to process your lesson content individually, in a small group and in a large group, it caters to your classrooms range of learning and personality types. If students work independently in your classroom, a digital curriculum removes the downtime they experience whenever you have to change gears or jump to the next lesson. If you try something new and it succeeds, showcase it for your colleagues and tell parents about it. Aim to create one or two robust, differentiated units of study by the end of the year. Differentiation instructional strategies tiered activities. Using differentiation in science to teach every student.
Strategies to improve all students mathematics learning and achievement 1edc adams world. Differentiation is a flexible approach to instruction. Differentiation is a potential response to regular and ongoing analysis of students characteristics and students learning. Differentiation is better for or easier in some grade levels or subjects than others. Thats why this 2018 ela menu update targets two groups. Plus, the pdf and excel session exports will keep all of your lessons data organized so you can easily assess and adapt. The curriculum advocates the use of a broad range of active learning methodologies such as use of the environment, talk and. Differentiated instructional strategies to accommodate students with varying needs and learning styles abstract.
By now, were all familiar with the fact that we need to differentiate instruction, but actually being able to meet the specific needs of each students can be a. Managing differentiation differentiated instruction. What follows the list is some explanation of each strategyapproach, along with related strategies approaches where applicable. Differentiation is a simple idea thats less simple to actuate. Strategies that differentiate instruction literacy leader. Introduction most educators agree that differentiated instruction helps students, but the reality is that implementation can be a challenge when faced with students with diverse needs and abilities. To help create lessons that engage and resonate with a diverse classroom, below are 20 differentiated instruction strategies and examples. Low prep strategies include choice of books, reading buddies, and varied journal prompts. Create change for yourself and students this semester. Differentiated instruction in elementary social studies. Teachers divide students into groups based on information from a pretest. Differentiated teaching provides paths to learning so that the classroom becomes a good fit for. Differentiated instruction in inclusive elementary classrooms.
Specific teaching strategies to differentiate instruction. Learn about differentiated instruction in the classroom with these tips and guidelines from teaching expert laura robb. Preassessments can take a lot of instructional time and sometimes provide teachers with little usable data. Case studies of schools implementing early elementary. Differentiation is primarily an approach to teaching certain groups of. There are many resources, mainly in the form of books, offering teachers a large number of strategies, but these often lack the philosophy of differentiated instruction. The descriptive task cards are colored coded for the ability level. Whether youre new to differentiated instruction or looking to expand your repertoire of its strategies, differentiation in the elementary grades will show you classroomtested ways to better engage. Because of this active interest in differentiated instruction for all learners, many quickfix ideas have been proposed. This is an excerpt from carol tomlinsons book, leading and managing a differentiated classroom. All of them can be differentiated by simply giving students options so they can make their own choices. The 10 best books on differentiation in the classroom early. Defining differentiating instruction the universal design curriculum model includes instructional differentiation i. Differentiation is about providing a balance of strategies.
The strategies provided in this booklet, on target. Differentiation embraces many of the processes, strategies, and approaches supported by best practice and research. Establish a regular meeting time for collaborative planning. They started small, and theyve grown and honed their strategies each year. Differentiated instructional strategies to accommodate. High prep strategies include tiered activities, tiered products, and choice boards. The 10 best books on differentiation in the classroom. A reading list for differentiated instruction edutopia. Differentiation is primarily an approach to teaching certain groups of students e. Instructional strategies list washoe county school district. Rather a differentiated approach to classroom instruction is one that can be applied to any content area at any grade level. What follows the list is some explanation of each strategyapproach, along with related strategiesapproaches where applicable. Available in a condensed and printable list for your desk, you can use 16 in most classes and the last four for math lessons. Differentiation is commonly used in heterogeneous groupingan educational strategy in which students of.
Differentiation refers to a wide variety of teaching techniques and lesson adaptations that educators use to instruct a diverse group of students, with diverse learning needs, in the same course, classroom, or learning environment. Strategies to improve all students mathematics learning. Differentiation is teaching according to students needs. Here are seven effective strategies for teaching elementary math. On each level, i have two different activities, one for the lower to average student and one for the average to higher level thinker. Differentiation calls for instructional adjustments that responds to.
Differentiated assessment principles and methods of. You may pin blog posts, anchor charts, freebies, and products related to differentiation but please pin products responsiblyno more than one for every 2 other pins. The 2014 ela panel of experts and ospi agreed many of the same strategies would be in both menus. Teachers are using lots of graphic organizers, audio books, assi. I felt that most of the students were successful in creating a well thought out and technically well done color wheel. Refine them, use them again the next year, and start building more. Differentiated literacy and language arts strategies for the elementary classroom by shellie hipsky in chm, djvu, fb2 download ebook. In todays 21st century classroom the challenge to reach all learners is one that is everpressing on the back of every great educators mind. Differentiation allows all students to access the same classroom curriculum by providing entry points, learning tasks, and outcomes that are. Varied questioning 20 towards a wholeschool approach 21 appendices 1. Project and problembased learning are also key in differentiated instruction and assessment. Findings also suggested that the differentiation strategies of choice and interest play a vital role in achievement and student satisfaction.
English language arts menu of best practices and strategies. Preassessments take too long to administer, and they frequently just show that the majority of the class has not mastered the material. Apply speech contents to your daily life comprehension 3. Pdf elementary school english teachers in taiwan face classes of students with differing levels of english proficiency, to the point where about. Effects of differentiation in primary education 612 years. Choral response is a very simple technique in which the teacher asks questions to the class as a whole and the students answer in unison. Try the ones that best apply to you, depending on factors such as student age. Need for training in classroom management for differentiation. Differentiation is a rational approach to meeting the needs of individual learners, but actually making it possible on a daily basis in the classroom can be challenge. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws.
A wonderful teaching method that creates learning experiences for students at their own ability levels is differentiation. Dean, elizabeth ross hubbell, howard pitler, and bj stone covers nine practices that can provide high yields in learning. When strategically used, music educators can better meet students needs and make great strides in individual and overall student achievement. Differentiation is not confined to a single content area or a specific grade level. Lessons and assessments are adapted to meet the needs of all students. Helping each child learn within the elementary classroom.
While teachers instruct one group, another group is taking part in science activities individually or in small groups. Differentiating music instruction can be done well with a bit of forethought and crea tivity. Differentiated math instruction strate g ie s and example s 17. Joseph renzulli differentiation is a journey that all teachers must take. Differentiation incorporates a range of instructional strategies, including wholeclass instruction. Differentiating instruction in the elementary classroom. Low prep strategies for differentiating instruction region. Researchbased strategies for increasing student achievement this classic book by ceri b. Below is a list of 49 instructional strategies, or approaches, that have been adapted with the working groups of the washoe county school district. Teacher tested strategies for differentiated instruction. Carol tomlinson lists low prep and high prep differentiation strategies.
Strategies to engage and equip all learners doubet, kristina j. Tailor assignments based on students learning goals using differentiation strategies to shake up the end product that students turn in for assignments can also help you reach different learners. Differentiating instruction in the elementary classroom prufrock press inc. Start at the highend of the curriculum, using differentiated instruction to bring students to that level. Whether youre new to differentiated instruction di or looking to expand your repertoire of di strategies, differentiation in the elementary grades will show you classroomtested ways to better. Elementary math can be difficult because it involves learning new, abstract concepts that can be tricky for children to visualize. Apr 21, 2016 using effective differentiation strategies can improve your lessons to help students engage and retain class content. It asks teachers to know their students well so they can provide each one with experiences and tasks that will improve learning. On the other hand, students are also not frustrated by learning material that is too difficult.
Try to imagine what its like for a fiveyearold to see an addition problem for the very first time. Feb 25, 2020 this collaborative board is geared toward helping people improve differentiated instruction in their classrooms. I create a task to address each level of blooms taxonomy knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation related to our unit. Differentiated instruction strategies choral response. This is a good way of assessing the classs overall understanding without singling students out. Students differ in their previous learning experiences, readiness. Finally, selected strategies for struggling writers are described. Renzulli university of connecticut true differentiation requires that we look at all the characteristics of the learner in addition to achievement levels. It also provides practical strategies and lesson ideas for elementary art teachers who want to apply the differentiation teaching method in their classrooms.
Strategies that differentiate instruction, grades k4, are only a beginning. Differentiation is more likely to happen where the school leadership emphasises student diversity as part of educational provision and as integral to both the curriculum and pedagogy. Differentiation takes time, patience, and good classroom management skills. Pdf on jan 1, 2014, john mcgee and others published differentiation strategies find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. I also use task cards or centers to differentiate instruction. We all have heard it and all have felt it the need, the pull, and the drive to reach every child. If we can trick them into learning something through a game or activity that they enjoyed, even more so one. Lapserved students in grades k12, and all students in grades k4. An elementary writing example here is an example of an elementary writing lesson plan, followed by possible accommodations to meet student needs. Differentiated assessment is the way by which teachers modify and match assessment with the varied characteristicsprofiles of students in order to meet the students individual needs, thereby enhancing their learning and boosting their ability to show what they have learned. Through the use of differentiated instructional strategies, teachers can meet the varying needs of all students and help them to meet and exceed the established standards levy, 2008. Differentiation lets some students out of standards. Childrens literature is incorporated to highlight five.
Such instruction is tied to dynamic, ongoing assessment. Cusumano and mueller 2007 reported on their elementary schools effort at implementing differentiated instruction to address their students diverse learning. Elementary school students are not bored with lessons and activities that are too easy for them. Students enter classrooms with different abilities, learning styles, and personalities. Differentiated instruction strategies carsonnewman college. Teaching and learning strategies for differentiated. Instructional strategies that facilitate differentiation include learning centers, interest groups, group investigation, complex instruction, compacting, learning contracts, tiered activities, and tiered products. Childrens literature is incorporated to highlight five practical and easytoimplement strategies. Differentiation requires the teacher to vary their approaches in order to accommodate various learning styles, ability levels and interests.
Differentiation is more than a set of instructional strategies. Differentiated instructional methods and strategies. Every teacher differentiates instruction in one way or another, for example, by giving a. Differentiation techniques in teaching art synonym.