Differentiating The Content
Pepper Skodack
Teachers differentiate:
• Strategies for
delivering content
Multiple ways of
representing content
Content
Process
• Strategies for
engaging
learning and
solidifying
understanding
• The means by
which students
will
communicate
learning and
understanding
Product
The first step in Differentiation is looking at
the Content:
What we want students to know and be
able to do as a result of the lesson!
Content
“Content is what the students learn and the
materials or mechanisms through which
learning is accomplished.”
“It is what a student should come to know
(facts), understand (concepts and principles),
and be able to do (skills) as a result of a given
assignment of study (a lesson, learning
experience, a unit).”
~ Carol Ann Tomlinson, 1999
The Differentiated Classroom, p. 11, 43
When looking at the CCSS to determine
units and lessons;
Teachers Must Distinguish between:
Enduring Understandings
Important to Know and Do
Nice to Know
To Get Guidance on What is
Essential and Enduring, Consult:
• CCSS, (What skills and content within this standard
will be necessary to teach students in order for them
to demonstrate mastery of the standard?)
• programs of study
• curriculum guides
• pacing guides
• other teacher’s tests
• professional journals
• textbook scope and sequence
• textbook end-of-chapter reviews and tests
• professional organizations
• quiet reflection
When Differentiating Content:
• Teachers provide a variety of options for students
to take in and receive the content.
• It presents what the students need to learn and
outlines how the students gain access to the
information.
• It does not mean teaching different content; it
means teaching the content differently by
adjusting the levels of depth, complexity, and
readability of the materials.
Assessment drives the instruction and informs the
teacher in making strategic adjustments before,
during, and after teaching.
This is accomplished through strategies such as:
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Audio Books / lessons
Graphic Organizers
Note-taking Organizers
Varied levels of texts
Various supplementary materials
Adjusting proximity of ideas to student
experience(s)
Reading Partners / Reading Buddies
Choral Reading
Think-Pair-Share
Small groups to reteach or extend
We differentiate Content by knowing our
students:
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Ways to Differentiate Content
• Varied Texts
• Accelerated Coverage of Material
• Varied Supplementary Materials
• Varied Graphic Organizers
• Independent Study
• Tiered Assignments -based on preassessments
• Interest Development Centers
• Compacting
Tiering
Common Definition -- Adjusting the following to
maximize learning:
– Readiness
– Interest
– Learning Profile
Tier in
gradations
Rick’s Preferred Definition:
-- Changing the level of complexity or required
readiness of a task or unit of study in order to meet
the developmental needs of the students involved
(Similar to Tomlinson’s “Ratcheting”).
Tier by
Address needs of students who are at
introductory level and those ready for
more abstract or advanced work.
Example
• Some students learn about and create
informational brochure to inform about
environmental issue related to rainforests.
Factual
• Others create brochure to inform of different
points of view about an environmental issue
related to rain forests. Analytical
Tier by
Choose materials at various reading
Levels and complexity of content.
Explore various print options:
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Newspapers
Magazines
Newsletters
Primary sources
Diaries/journals
Tier by
Use same materials but prepare
differentiated outcomes. All students
are building on the same understanding
concept but producing different
products to demonstrate understanding.
Tiering Assignments and Assessments -Advice
• Begin by listing every skill or bit of
information a student must use in order to
meet the needs of the task successfully.
• Most of what we teach has subsets of skills
and content that we can break down for
students and explore at length.
Tiering Assignments and Assessments -Advice
• Tier tasks by designing the full-proficiency
version first, then design the more advanced
level of proficiency, followed by the remedial
or early-readiness level, as indicated by
pretesting.
Tiering Assignments and Assessments -Advice
• Don’t tier every aspect of every lesson. It’s
often okay for students to do what everyone
else is doing.
Tiering Assignments and Assessments -Advice
• When first learning to tier, stay focused on
one concept or task.
• http://youtu.be/1ob4eGz04G4
Other Strategies for Differentiating
Content
Using varied texts and resource
materials
• Build a classroom library that
includes texts of various levels,
magazines, brochures, internet
files, videos etc.
• A rich array of materials ensures
that content is meaningful to
learners of all levels
• Computer programs can present
different levels of challenge and
complexity
Learning contracts
• Can contain both skills and content
components
• Combine a sense of shared goals with
individual appropriateness and autonomy
Mini-lessons
• Some students may not fully grasp newly
taught material
• Meet with these students to revisit these
concepts to extend their understanding and
skill
Strategies for Differentiating Instruction
Based on •Utilize pre-tests to assess where individual
Content students need to begin study of a given topic or
unit.
•Encourage thinking at various levels of Bloom's
taxonomy.
•Use a variety of instructional delivery methods
to address different learning styles.
Strategies for Differentiating Instruction
Based on
Content
Break assignments into smaller, more
manageable parts that include structured
directions for each part.
Choose broad instructional concepts and
skills that lend themselves to understanding
at various levels of complexity.
Change the Verb
Raise or lower the challenge
level by changing the verb
in your prompt:
CONSIDER USING:
Analyze
Decide between
Defend
Identify
Compose
Expand
Recommend
Argue for (or against)
Revise
Why did
Devise
Define
Interpret
Construct
Predict
Contrast
Differentiating Content
Adapt what we teach: Content
can be varied according to
Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Unfamiliar with conceptscomplete tasks at lower levels
such as knowledge,
comprehension, application
• Partial mastery- focus on
application, analysis and
evaluation
• High level of masteryemphasize evaluation and
synthesis
Entry/Exit Cards
Different readiness
levels by asking
students to respond
to tiered prompts as
they interact with
the topic.
SOME GREAT PROMPTS
Synonym
Analogy
Question
Three attributes
Alternative title
Causes
Effects
Reasons
Arguments
Ingredients
Opinion
Formula/sequence
Content: Activity
• At your table read the short article.
• Brainstorm possibilities for differentiating
content for this piece of text as it relates to
readiness, interest, and learning profile.
Foundations and Applications of Differentiating
Instruction:
Competencies Four and Five
S1 - 28
Stage 3: Collaboratively
design a project for the
student to engage in
while others focus on the
general lesson
Stage 2: Note gaps in
knowledge and define plan
to address these
Stage 1: Identify candidates
and assess their
understanding of a
particular subject or lesson
The Equalizer: A Way to Determine Readiness
Foundational to Transformational
Know the basics before looking at in a new way
Concrete to Abstract
Familiarity with the material before exploring
meanings or implications
Simple to Complex
Starting at the most simple details of a topic
and then expanding on them
The Equalizer: A Way to Determine Readiness
Dependent to Independent
• Students vary on the amount of independence they
are ready for
Structured to Open-ended
• Some students are ready to improvise while others
still need more straight forward guidelines to follow
Slow to fast
• Some students will move quickly through one part of
a topic but then need to move more slowly in other
areas
http://youtu.be/LGYa6ZacUTM