Differentiation+of+Instruction

 This Is Differentiation in the Classroom
 * You provide choices for the student to show their understanding. This will maximize their interest
 * Pre-test as often as you can - if they know it, why make them sit there and listen to it again? Let them move ahead or go deeper. You are likely to find that they already know the entire chapter of math!
 * Teach it once then check if they have it, because most likely they will. In my primary classroom, I teach a concept if all kids need it, check to see if my gifted and/or high achieving students have it, then have another activity for them to move on to while I re-teach the lesson(s) to the other students
 * What they miss on a pre-test, teach it to them directly and then let them move on. Again, often they only need it taught one time and they have it
 * Let them show what they know with a few problems, not the whole page. Is that really necessary for a kid who already grasps the concept to do 25 math problems?
 * Give them ongoing problem solving activities that are mentally stimulating and challenging. These types of activities are a great way to go deeper into the curriculum instead of going wider
 * Have activities at different levels (think Bloom's Taxonomy).

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 * Specific Differentiation Ideas**
 * Compact the Curriculum: assess knowledge and provide alternative activities for content already mastered. You will need to provide a learning contract that lets the student choose what activities will be completed. Give credit for the knowledge already known.
 * Tiered Assignments: a series of related tasks that vary in their complexity. All the activities relate to the key skills the students need to have. I like to do a Tic-Tac-Toe board and the students choose 5 activities to complete.
 * Independent Study Projects: if you have a student who is truly interested in a topic and wants to work on it, let him do this research project. The amount of help you provide will vary between grade levels, but remember that all kids need a teacher to teach them (don't just ignore them).
 * Buddy Study: like an ISP, but with a few other like-minded students. This social aspect is very important for gifted kids, and you may need to help them work on those skills because many gifted students find it difficult to work with others.
 * WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION?**
 * At its most basic level, differentiation consists of the efforts of teachers to respond to variance among learners in the classroom. Whenever a teacher reaches out to an individual or small group to vary his or her teaching in order to create the best learning experience possible, that teacher is differentiating instruction.**
 * Teachers can differentiate at least four classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or learning profile: (1) content--what the student needs to learn or how the student will get access to the information; (2) process--activities in which the student engages in order to make sense of or master the content; (3) products--culminating projects that ask the student to rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has learned in a unit; and (4) learning environment--the way the classroom works and feels.**
 * Content. Examples of differentiating content at the elementary level include the following: (1) using reading materials at varying readability levels; (2) putting text materials on tape; (3) using spelling or vocabulary lists at readiness levels of students; (4) presenting ideas through both auditory and visual means; (5) using reading buddies; and (6) meeting with small groups to re-teach an idea or skill for struggling learners, or to extend the thinking or skills of advanced learners.**
 * Process. Examples of differentiating process or activities at the elementary level include the following: (1) using tiered activities through which all learners work with the same important understandings and skills, but proceed with different levels of support, challenge, or complexity; (2) providing interest centers that encourage students to explore subsets of the class topic of particular interest to them; (3) developing personal agendas (task lists written by the teacher and containing both in-common work for the whole class and work that addresses individual needs of learners) to be completed either during specified agenda time or as students complete other work early; (4) offering manipulative's or other hands-on supports for students who need them; and (5) varying the length of time a student may take to complete a task in order to provide additional support for a struggling learner or to encourage an advanced learner to pursue a topic in greater depth.**
 * Products. Examples of differentiating products at the elementary level include the following: (1) giving students options of how to express required learning (e.g., create a puppet show, write a letter, or develop a mural with labels); (2) using rubrics that match and extend students' varied skills levels; (3) allowing students to work alone or in small groups on their products; and (4) encouraging students to create their own product assignments as long as the assignments contain required elements.**
 * Learning Environment. Examples of differentiating learning environment at the elementary level include: (1) making sure there are places in the room to work quietly and without distraction, as well as places that invite student collaboration; (2) providing materials that reflect a variety of cultures and home settings; (3) setting out clear guidelines for independent work that matches individual needs; (4) developing routines that allow students to get help when teachers are busy with other students and cannot help them immediately; and (5) helping students understand that some learners need to move around to learn, while others do better sitting quietly (Tomlinson, 1995, 1999; Winebrenner, 1992, 1996).**

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 * This is a video that shows a classroom in an old cartoon to contrast it with a modern elementary school classroom. Take it for what it's worth**...

Concept of **Scaffolding** from youtube [|video]: Need to provide ways for every student to access curriculum by creating opportunities for them to participate, show skills they need to increase where they're at, and show them what you (as the teacher) are expecting