Tiered Assignments:
Creating Levels for Student Work
Jacque Melin - GVSU
Tiering is…
 A form of
differentiation
 Differentiation
according to readiness
 Based upon students’
readiness for a
particular task
 Driven by preassessment
 NOT the only kind of
differentiation, though
it is foundational
 NOT locking students
into “ability boxes” -groups are flexible and
vary according to the
task
 NOT more work or
“better” work for some
levels – tasks are
equitable
Tiered assignments should be:
-Different work, not simply more or less work
-Equally active
-Equally interesting and engaging
-Fair in terms of work expectations and time
needed
-Require the use of key concepts, skills, or ideas
-Are used as practice or daily work, NOT as an
assessment task to be graded.
-Learn from each other – share work!
How to Distribute Tiers
Deciding on Who Gets
Which Version on an Assignment
Option 1—Everyone does Tier 1
Option 2—Let Students Choose a Tier
Option 3—Put the Students into Cooperative Groups
Option 4—All Tiers for All Students (Layered
Curriculum)
Option 5—The Teacher Decides Which Students Get
Which Tiers
Basic Elements Defining
the Core Curriculum
Process:
Thinking
Skills
Content
Process:
Research
Skills
Product
Thinking Skill
Subject Matter
Research
Skills and/or
Resources
Culmination or
Exhibition
List
The causes
and effects of
the Industrial
Revolution
After reading
the text, pages
42-49.
Write a
paragraph to
share the
information.
Differentiating the Core:
Modifying the Process Element – Thinking Skills
Process:
Thinking
Skills
Content
Process:
Research
Skills
Product
List
The causes
and effects of
the Industrial
Revolution
After reading
the text, pages
42-49.
Write a
paragraph to
share the
information.
Judge with
criteria
The causes
and effects of
the Industrial
Revolution
After reading
the text, pages
42-49.
Write a
paragraph to
share the
information.
Differentiating the Core:
Modifying the Process Element – Research Skills
Process:
Thinking
Skills
List
Judge with
criteria
Content
The causes
and effects of
the Industrial
Revolution
The causes
and effects of
the Industrial
Revolution
Process:
Research
Skills
Product
After reading
the text, pages
42-49.
Write a
paragraph to
share the
information.
Interview an
American history
professor at the
university; use
the Internet; and
read the text,
Chapter IV.
Write a
paragraph to
share the
information.
Differentiating the Core:
Modifying the Product Element
Process:
Thinking
Skills
List
Judge with
criteria
Content
The causes
and effects of
the Industrial
Revolution
The causes
and effects of
the Industrial
Revolution
Process:
Research
Skills
Product
After reading
the text, pages
42-49.
Write a
paragraph to
share the
information.
Interview an
American history
professor at the
university; use
the Internet; and
read the text,
Chapter IV.
Write an editorial
and debate the
positive and
negative
consequences of
the Industrial
Revolution.
Differentiating the Core:
Modifying the Content Element
Process:
Thinking
Skills
List
Judge
with
criteria
Content
The causes
and effects of
the Industrial
Revolution
The patterns in the
behaviors and trends of
consumers and producers
who contributed to the
causes and subsequent
effects of the Industrial
Revolution.
Process:
Research
Skills
Product
After reading
the text, pages
42-49.
Write a
paragraph to
share the
information.
Interview an
American history
professor at the
university; use
the Internet; and
read the text,
Chapter IV.
Write an editorial
and debate the
positive and
negative
consequences of
the Industrial
Revolution.
3 Levels of Challenge - CbC
Green—Tasks are foundational and appropriate for the
current grade level. Success depends on understanding
and applying required knowledge and skills. Green
level tasks meet a rigorous grade level proficiency
standard.
Blue—Tasks are advanced and complex. Success depends
on extending one’s skills in order to recognize and
address the added layers of complexity.
Black—Tasks are extremely advanced and highly complex.
Success depends on creatively applying and extending
one’s skills, at times in very unfamiliar territory.
Tiered
Graphic
Organizers
Tier 1
Tiered
Graphic
Organizers
Tier 2
Tiered
Graphic
Organizers
Tier 3
Task/Work
• Make sure the directions are clearly stated in studentfriendly language.
• Include specific details (e.g., “Give a minimum of three
examples”)
• Include criteria for quality or a rubric so students
clearly know your expectations for their work.
• As appropriate, sequence the steps students need to
follow.
• Include examples or samples of work as necessary.
• Explain how students will share their work.
• Double-check that the directions can be followed by
students independently.
Task Cards/Work Cards
Write a letter to yourself
stating at least five key
points that you would like to
remember about
differentiated instruction and
how you will use these
things in your classroom.
Write a letter to your principal
comparing what you have
learned about differentiated
instruction to what is
happening in your school.
Write a persuasive letter to
your school board president
convincing him/her that your
school district must adopt
the philosophy of
differentiated instruction in
your district.
Layered Curriculum – Kathie Nunley
“Between various learning profiles, various abilities
and exceptionalities, multiple languages and
cultures, I began to come to two very important
conclusions. First, although I am considered a
regular educator there are no regular students in my
room. And secondly, every student deserves a
special education.”
Dr. Kathie Nunley
Layer C
• Foundation Layer
• Basic knowledge and understanding
• Students collect factual information in a
learning style, reading level, and language that
is most comfortable to him or her.
Layer C
• Can offer as little as 3 or 4 assignment choices or as
many as 20.
• Students will not do all assignments, but enough to
accumulate point totals needed to move on to next
layer.
Example: 30 points are needed to move on. Each
assignment worth 5 points, so student must do 6
Layer C assignments.
Examples:
• All lists of C layer activities should provide
assignments for:
-visual learners (reading, demos)
-auditory learners (lecture, video)
-tactile learners (models, flash cards)
Layer B
• According to Kathie Nunley, the “B” layer deals
with “application or manipulation of the
information learned in the C layer. Problem
solving or other higher level thinking tasks can
be placed here.”
• Relates to application and analysis in Bloom’s
Taxonomy
Examples:
• All “B” layer projects should be based upon
information learned at the “C” layer
–
–
–
–
–
–
Lab activities
Designing a game for a specific topic
Drawing a cartoon
Designing a worksheet
Brainstorming quiz/test questions
Inquiry projects—designing a lab
Layer A
• Critical thinking about the topic.
• Examining how the material integrates into
the world around them.
• Bloom’s taxonomy -- highest order
– Synthesis
– Evaluation
Examples:
•
•
•
•
•
Experiments
Research
Power Points
Podcasts, Movies, Websites
Posters, Books
Sidebars
• SIDEBARS: Another way to differentiate instruction is to be
ready for students who learn the material quickly and
accurately. Teachers can create a “sidebar activity” for
these students who have demonstrated successful
completion of an assignment (or unit). A “sidebar activity”
is an assignment that moves laterally across the curriculum
to further strengthen student understanding and aptitude.
It requires several class periods (or even longer, like an ongoing project). This is not “curriculum compacting”
whereby the teacher accelerates faster students through
the assigned curriculum. Rather, it is more of a “scenic
turn-out” *from the assigned curriculum.
(* Betty Shoemaker)
• For example, here is a SideBar designed for US History
students who successfully completed a reading notetaking
assignment in their textbook.
Sidebars
Create a CliffsNotes study guide for a new student in our AP History course.
This booklet must assist the student in learning how to take notes for this
chapter. If you’d rather, create a “Note Taking in History for Dummies.”
Your guide should include helpful tips for reading the textbook.
For example:
• how to distill 3-4 paragraphs from the chapter down to a couple of
summary sentences.
• how to locate key details that shed light on a main idea
• how to generate study-review questions at various levels of complexity
· quiz-type questions – recall basic information
· essay-type questions – deeper information processing
Your booklet could also include:
• key vocabulary terms
• study tips for learning and remembering historical information
• illustrations / graphics to highlight important points
Differentiation by Readiness
English - To Kill a Mockingbird - Think Dots
LEVEL 1
1) Describe the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird.
2) Explain an example of person vs. person in To Kill a Mockingbird.
3) From whose point of view is the story told? What clues tell you?
4) In a Venn Diagram, compare and contrast one of the characters in
To Kill a Mockingbird to a character in a different book.
5) How do the citizens of Maycomb react to Atticus’s decision to
defend Tom Robinson? Write about two examples.
6) Find three examples of the following in To Kill a Mockingbird:
similes, metaphors, and idioms. Create a list.
Differentiation by Readiness
English - To Kill a Mockingbird - Think Dots (continued)
LEVEL 2
1)Describe how the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird has influenced the
story so far.
2)Explain at least three types of conflict with examples in To Kill a
Mockingbird.
3)In what ways would the story be different if told from another
character’s point of view? Give support for your opinion. “If only
______________ had been telling the story, it would have been
different…”
4)In a Venn Diagram, compare and contrast the Ewells family and the
Cunninghams family to a family in another movie.
5)In a newspaper article, explain how the local reaction to Atticus’s
decision to defend Tom Robinson reflects the time period in which the
novel takes place. Writer the newspaper article as it would have
appeared during the setting of the novel.
6)What effect do the similes, metaphors, and idioms Harper Lee uses
have on a reader’s understanding of the novel? Explain your thought in
a critic’s blurb.
Differentiation by Readiness
English - To Kill a Mockingbird - Think Dots (continued)
LEVEL 3
1)Describe at least three ways the setting is reflected in the context of To
Kill a Mockingbird.
2)Explain the most significant sources of conflict in To Kill a
Mockingbird.
3)In your opinion, what does the point of view tell you about Harper
Lee?
4)In a Venn Diagram, compare and contrast Scout as a narrator to
another narrator of a movie or story.
5)Apply the quote “What is right is not always popular. What is popular
is not always right” as an epigraph to a short essay explaining Atticus
Finch’s decision to defend Tom Robinson.
6)What kind of writing style does Harper Lee have? Provide examples to
illustrate your point.
Additional Resources for
Tiered Assignments
Danzi, J., Reul, K., & Smith, R. (2008). Improving student motivation in mixed ability classrooms using differentiated
instruction. Retrieved from
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/3d/4e/ f0.pdf
Lopez, D.M., & Schroeder, L. (2008). Designing strategies that meet the variety of learning styles of
students. Retrieved from
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/3d/5b/d1.pdf
Mawhinney, T.S. (2000). Finding the Answer. Principal Leadership, 4(1), Retrieved from
http://leading4learning.com/Finding_the_Answer.pdf
McQuarrie, L., McRae, P., & Stack-Cutler, H. (2008). Differentiated instruction provincial research review: Choice,
complexity and creativity. Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI).
Rakow, S. (2007). All Means all: Cassrooms that work for advanced learners. Middle Ground: National Middle School
Association, 11 (1), 10-12.
Roberts, J., & Inman, T. (2007). Strategies for differentiating instruction best practices for the classroom. Waco, Texas:
Prufrock Press Inc.
Tomlinson, C. (1999). The differentiated classroom. New Jersey: Pearson. P. 83-87
Tomlinson, C.A., & Strickland, C.A. (2005). Differentiation in practice. Alexandria, VA, USA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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