Differentiation for LEP Students
May 21, 2014
Connie Rogers
STAR3 Facilitator
WSFCS
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/dynamite-timer/full-screen/
•Success comes from being smart
•Genetics, environment determine
what we can do
•Some kids are smart—some aren’t
•Teachers can’t override students’
profiles
•Success comes from effort
•With hard work, most students
can do most things
•Teachers can override students’
profiles
•A key role of the teacher is to set
high goals, provide high support,
ensure student focus—to find the
thing that makes school work for a
student
HOW????????
Talk at the door
Give interest surveys
 Use formative assessments
 Use small group instruction
 Use dialogue journals
 Have student conferences
 Host open room days
 Ask for student input
 Take notes while kids work
 Use Sticky Notes
Use notebooks
Listen
 Seek varied perspectives
 Start or stop class with kid talk
 Go to student events
 Watch before & after school, & at
lunch
Keep student data cards
 Take notes during class
 Attend extracurricular activities
 Ask parents
Ask students what’s working for
them (& what’s not)
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teac
her-student-relationship?fd=1#
Responsive Teaching…
Who we teach
What we teach
Where we teach
How we teach
IT TAKES ALL THE PARTS
Differentiation is not a set
of strategies, but rather a
way of thinking about
teaching & learning.
Content
Teachers must ensure that ALL students have
meaningful access to the content.
Therefore, teachers do not vary from what they
teach as to how students encounter the
information.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Different graphic organizers
Manipulatives
Role playing
Taped passages of text
Leveled texts
Native language texts
Process
How a student makes sense of, or comes to
understand the information, the ideas, and skills
that are at the heart of a lesson.
Class activity
Homework assignment
Learning center
Research
What the students DO
Product
Assessments or demonstrations of what
students have come to know, understand, and
be able to do as a result of the learning.
It is the child’s opportunity to show what they
have learned. (major assessment)
• APT
• Projects
• Authentic assessments
• Problem based inquiries
• Exhibitions
• Portfolios
Learning Environment
Both the operation and the tone of a classroom.
It is the “weather” that affects virtually
everything that transpires in a classroom.
• Rules
• Procedures
• Balances seriousness about learning with
celebration of success
• Mutual respect
Differentiation
Differentiation is NOT
Differentiation IS
Chaotic
Proactive, qualitative and rooted
in assessment
Another way to provide
homogeneous grouping
Multiple approaches to content,
processes and products
Just “tailoring the same suit of
clothes”
Student centered
The individualized instruction of
the 1970s
Blend of whole-class, group, and
individual instruction
The Role of Pre-Assessment in
Differentiation
Pre-assessment is especially critical to be able to
determine the student's level of readiness to
proceed with the new unit of study.
These three questions should guide every lesson:
Planning: What do I want students to know and/or to
be able to do?
Pre-assessment: Who already knows the information
and/or can do it?
Differentiation: What can I do for them so they can
make continuous progress and extend their learning?
Pre-Assessment
(Finding out)
Pre-test
Graphing for Greatness
Inventory KWL
Checklist
Observation
Self-evaluation
Questioning
Graphic organizers
Time to Plan the Learning Event
All tasks must attend to the same
learning goals
All tasks must be equally engaging
Provide enough challenge to stretch
all students
Differentiation is seldom about different
outcomes for different kids. It’s about different
ways to get kids where they need to go.
Small group
instruction and
or flexible
grouping can be
a powerful way
to differentiate!
NO MORE
Buzzards
Blue Jays
Wombats
Group 1
• Meet with teacher
• Brainstorm for hot topics
• Web ideas for possible
inclusion
• Develop a word bank
• Storyboard a sequence of
ideas
• Make support ladders
• Begin writing
Group 2
• Alone or in pairs, develop a
topic
• Make a bank of power ideas
• Web or storyboard the
sequence and support
• Meet with teacher to
“ratchet”
• Begin writing
• Paired revision
• Paired editing
Graphic Organizers – by readiness
The class does the same activity, but
more guidance is given for those who
may need it.
Character Map-1
How the character looks:
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
How the character thinks or acts:
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
Most important thing to know about the
character _______________________
________________________________
________________________________
Character Map-2
What the character says
or does ____________
__________________
__________________
__________________
__________________
__________________
What the character really MEANS
to say or do ____________
__________________
__________________
__________________
__________________
The author’s bottom line about this character
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
Character Map-3
Clues the author gives us
about the character
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
Why the author gives THESE clues :
____________
____________
____________
____________
____________
The author’s bottom line about this character
_______________________
________________________________
________________________________
Highlighted Text
About 15% of a chapter—e.g.
•Introduction
•Conclusion
•Critical passages
•Key graphics
Intended for English language learners
•Also helpful for students:
•with ADHD
•with learning disabilities
• who have difficulty making meaning
•who are weak readers
COMMENTS FOR THOUGHTFUL READERS
Try using one of these sentence starters when writing about what you have read.
(Try to use a different one than you used last time.)
I like the way . . .
I was surprised . . .
It reminds me of . . .
I’m excited I noticed . . .
I didn’t expect . . .
I’m curious about . . .
I’m not sure about . . .
It makes me think . . .
If I were . . .
It seems like . . .
I wonder . . .
I can’t wait to . . .
I enjoy . . .
It makes me . . .
I don’t understand . . .
COMMENTS FOR THOUGHTFUL READERS
(Use one of the sentence starters when writing about what you read,
Be sure you tell why you feel as you do.)
Three ways this story is better than____are…
A place the author really grabbed my imagination was . . .
I wondered what the author was thinking when . . .
Something in the story that sounds like my life is . . .
Something in the story that’s absolutely not like my life is . . .
The most creative thing in the story is . . .
If I could change . . .
I understand how a character felt when . . .
I had trouble understanding a character when . . .
An object that most reminds me of this story is . . .
An idea I had whole reading the story is . . .
The most important things to remember about this story are . . .
I think the author . . .
If I could talk to . . . . . in the story, I’d ask….
Choices in Writing Prompts
Learning Goals:
Know – details from Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day
Do – Write; refer to textual details in this writing
Understand – The descriptions and events in a story help a
reader know more about the feelings and choices of a character .
Choose one of the following and write your response. Use details
from the story that we read.
o Compare Alexander’s Terrible, Horrible Day to one of yours.
How are they similar and different?
o Create a different ending to the Terrible, Horrible Day by
changing some of the details of the story.
o Pretend you could talk to Alexander the day BEFORE his
Terrible, Horrible Day. What advice would you give him to help
him make it better?
Speaking of Choices…..Consider
Think Tac Toe Activities.
Think Tac Toe
Think-Tac-Toe plays off the familiar childhood game. It
is a simple way to give students alternative ways of
exploring and expressing key ideas and using key skills.
• As with related strategies, it is important that no matter
which choices students make, they must grapple with the
key ideas and use the keys skills central to the topic or area
of study.
• In other words, whichever choices the student makes,
he/she should be addressing the same KUDs as the others
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
list, define, tell, describe,
identify, show, label, collect,
examine, quote, name,
who, when, where
summarize, describe,
interpret, contrast, predict,
associate, distinguish,
apply, demonstrate, calculate,
complete, illustrate, show, solve,
examine, modify, relate, change,
classify, experiment,
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
analyze, separate, order,
explain, connect, classify,
arrange, divide, compare,
select, explain, infer
combine, integrate, modify,
rearrange, substitute, plan,
create, design, invent, what
if?, compose, formulate,
prepare, generalize, rewrite
assess, decide, rank, grade,
test, measure, recommend,
convince, select, judge,
explain, discriminate,
support, conclude, compare
estimate, discuss, extend
Comprehension or Application or
Evaluation
Evaluation
Knowledge or
Analysis
Underground Railroad - The Drinking Gourd and Barefoot - Grade 3
Choose your own assignments! You must choose at least three
activities in a tic-tac toe design. Color in each box as you complete
each assignment. Have fun!
Build a
constellation with
min-marshmallows.
Compare/contrast
Underground
vs.
“Real” railroad
Use a Venn diagram and
then write 3 paragraphs.
Technology Geometry
KidPix Project Design a quilt.
Drama & Sounds
• Act out Barefoot’s
story and interject
sounds being heard.
• Video the
performances
Journaling List of things runaway
will need for safe
passage, advice about
signals and possible
route.
Research stations
that existed in RI.
Mapping •Select route
between two
designated points.
•Calculate distance
runaway traveled
each day.
Music a. analyze symbolism in
song
b. create your own verse
Debate/TrialDifferent roles unlawful
unethical
?consequences
How to change law
Let’s look a
little closer
at a couple of
strategies
• Tasks that students move to automatically after
completing assigned work.
• Essential to student learning - not just time fillers
• Linked to curricular K-U-Ds
• Options offered from teacher and/or student
generated lists
• May be generic or specifically linked to a topic of
study
• Provide opportunities for all students to use anchor
activities
• Seldom graded
used in any subject
whole class assignments
small group or individual assignments
tiered to meet the needs of different
readiness levels
Interdisciplinary for use across content
areas or teams
Types of Anchor activities
DEAR Time - Silent Reading
Journal Writing or Learning Logs
Vocabulary Work
Math “Problem of the Day”
Learning Centre
Spelling Practice
Portfolio Management
Choice Boards (for different content areas)
Using Anchor Activities to
Create Groups
Teach the whole class to work independently and
quietly on the anchor activity.
Half the class works
on anchor activity.
1/3 works on
anchor activity.
Flip-Flop
1/3 works on a
different activity
Other half works on
a different activity.
1/3 works with
teacher---direct
instruction.
… an engaging, high level strategy that
encourages writing across the curriculum
… a way to encourage students to…
–assume a role
–consider their audience,
–write in a particular format
–examine a topic from a relevant
perspective
All of the above can serve as motivators by giving students choice, appealing to their
interests and learning profiles, and adapting to student readiness levels
Role
Audience
Format
Topic
Me
Myself
Talk inside
my head
My top 5 ideas about
being a good friend
Classroom
gerbil
Mouse
Conversation Let me tell you what I
outside the after school saw today that makes
me happy about the
window
boys and girls who take
care of me.
Raffi
1st graders
Rhyme or
song
“Here’s How to Be a
Friend”
Bunny
Other
bunnies
His Bear
children
Story or
cartoon
Chart or list
What we should do to
help each other
Our class
Jigsaw puzzle Together, we make the
Papa
Berenstain Bear
Our class
vocabulary
words this week
Best Bear Behavior in
School
big picture of a
respectful community.
Possible RAFT Formats to Differentiate by
Learning Modality
Written
Visual
Oral
Kinesthetic
Diary entry
Bulleted list
Obituary
Invitation
Recipe
Movie critic
FAQs
Editorial
Gossip
column
Comic
Crossword
puzzle
Map
Graphic
organizer
Print ad
Photograph
Fashion
design
Song
Monologue
Radiocast
Museum
guide
Interview
Puppet show
Political
speech
Story teller
Model
Cheer
Mime
Demonstration
Sales pitch
with demos
Sew, cook,
build
Wax museum
What is Cubing?
Cubing is an instructional strategy designed to
help students think about a topic or idea from many
different angles. A cube includes 6 commands, one on
each of its six faces, followed by a prompt that
describes the task the students should do related to
the command. Cubing can help students think at
different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Example of how a command and task can be related to the same topic,
but differentiated in order to meet the needs of lower ability and
higher ability students:
1. Lower Question- Describe the desert using
as much information as you can, and involve
your five senses in the description.
2. Higher Question- Describe how your life
would change if you moved to the desert. Use
your senses and explain why changes would
occur.
Side One: Locate It
In two minutes, make a list
of all of the places in
which we find fractions in
every day life. Have your
partner time you.
Side Two: Define It
What is a fraction? How
would you explain what
a fraction is to a first
grader?
Side Three: Solve It
Complete fraction problems
1-10 on page 65. Have
your partner check your
work.
Side Four: Analyze It
What are the parts of a
fraction? Define each
part and describe their
relationships to one
another.
Side Five: Think About It
When dividing fractions,
why do we have to “invert
and multiply”? Show your
thinking on paper.
Side Six: Illustrate It
Create a children’s
picture book
about fractions. Use “Give
Me Half!” as an example.
A
Bloom’s
Cube
KNOWLEDGE
• Who is the main
character?
• State two things that
happened in the story.
COMPREHENSION
• Write a summary
of the story.
• List 2 words that
describe the main
character.
APPLICATION
• Create a time line of the
events in the story.
• Illustrate the climax or
turning point in the
story.
ANALYSIS
• Compare yourself with
the main character.
• Compare this story with
another one by the same
author.
SYNTHESIS
• Create a reader’s theater
from the text.
• Create an award for this
story and explain its
significance.
EVALUATION
• Write a review of this
story for the newspaper.
• Persuade the media
specialist to buy or not
buy this book.
ThinkDots:
􀂙􀂙 Students begin ThinkDots by sitting with other students
using activity cards of the same color.
􀂙􀂙 Students roll the die and complete the activity on the
card that corresponds to the dots thrown on the die.
􀂙􀂙 If the first roll is an activity that the student does not want
to do a second roll is allowed.
􀂙􀂙 Teachers can create an Activity Sheet to correspond to
the lesson for easy recording and management.
Make an acrostic poem using
one of the main parts of a
plant. Use the letters in the
word to begin your poem. Draw
a picture to illustrate your
poem.
Read the book The Little Seed.
Choose a plant and draw the life
cycle, beginning with the seed.
Write a creative story about a
Go to the enchanted learning
plant and what it needs to
website and choose the Little
survive. Illustrate your story
Explorers English picture
and then read your story to a
dictionary. Choose five words to
friend.
research. Write the words and the
definition on index cards.
Make a flip book about plants.
Label each page with a
different plant part (soil, seed,
root, stem, leaf, and flower).
Include a sentence and a
picture on each page.
Draw a plant and label each
part. Be sure to include the
soil, seed, roots, stem, leaves
and flower. Draw two things
the plant needs to survive in
the background.
Closing Analogy
"Teaching school is like teaching swimming lessons. You
have a couple of students that you can send off to the
deep end and they will probably be okay by themselves.
There are a bunch of kids in the middle who you can teach
something new to and then they can go off and practice.
But there are a few kids who if you take your eye off of for
even a minute, they will drown.” (5th grader)