Last week during observation I noticed some excellent example of differentiation and how it's possible to make it work. You do not need to go far afield to see differentiation in action. Let's consider the word work lesson from Megan Millar's classroom.
She went through every aspect of reading in the course of an hour. During the lesson she integrated phonemic awareness, phonics and wrapped it into the application of reading and then comprehension. When students went out to work Megan has modified the assignment in five different ways based on the abilities of the students. Megan's learning intention was to teach the text structure of sequencing.
She modified the independent work in the following ways. Each student was able to access the learning due to Megan's work and planning. In the end 100% of her students were able to demonstrate the learning. |
| Cut and paste the sentences |
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| Write the sentences that go along with the photos |
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| Sequence the photos |
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| Write the sequence in sentences. |
I also watched Felicia Jones teaching a math lesson. She also put differentiation into action with her students. She sent students out to work on the full assignment working with numbers to 1000's. She had a small group at her table who worked on the same concepts but with numbers to 100. While the small group worked independently Felicia would go out to the groups and check on their progress. Yes, another example of differentiation
These two examples from your colleagues illustrate how to make learning accessible to all students. Does it take more time? YES. Does it require the analysis of the data? YES! Does it take more planning? YES! I would argue that these two teachers would say it's hard work but worth the effort. Both of them saw tremendous growth on MAP this winter. They dare to be different and step outside of the norm to make the best choices for their students.
During your PLCs this week please focus on how you are implementing small group and/or other differentiating teaching strategies. Focus on learning about how you and others are maximizing instruction that will result in accelerated achievement. Results should be shown in DFA/CFA as well as MAP results. You have the ability to dare to be different and defy the odds.
In the comments below describe the direction your PLC will take in this area. How will it fit into your common challenge in reading and in math?
We will be starting Lexia this week!
ReplyDeleteOur goal in reading is to move our LoAvg kids in the literary text band to proficiency (15 students) We can differentiate for these 15 kids during reading the whole group and intervention. We looked at the learning continuum and determined that more action was needed in poetry. We are supplementing with the Wonders text with poetry, while still focusing on our comprehension skill of the week. We are going to continue to discuss other areas for improvement and action steps in upcoming PLC.
ReplyDelete2nd Grade- We will work to rearrange small groups and decide what each group is specifically needing. We will also work on focusing on those bubble kids. We will also evaluate where the kids are during their independent work and decide how to give feedback. We will look at the learning progression and decide how to differentiate for the higher and lower kids.
ReplyDeleteIn second grade art, I gave a "pretest" activity to see where the students are on their sewing skills. This allowed me to see who understood how to thread a needle, tie a knot, and do the whip stitch. This also helped guide my teaching and who may need more one on one help or more modeling. Now we are on day three.
ReplyDeleteIn reading we can differentiate our comp skill- Main Idea and Key Details. Students above grade level will identify the main idea and key details independently. On level kids will identify the main idea and key details from a list that is provided. Below grade level would be given the main idea and one key detail where they would need to identify which is which.
ReplyDelete1st Grade: Differentiation is an area we are super focused on. We've looked at how we can differentiate word work skills and apply them to text. We are using the learning continuum to give us some fresh data to build skills groups in reading and math. We are using math intervention and workplace time to fill in some of the misconceptions. Staying focused in our work will build growth.
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