Differentiated Instruction A Guide For World Langu... - (2 From Content To Process To Product) PDF

2
From Content to Process to Product
Figure 2.1 (from Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006)
There is no one recipe for differentiation, because it’s not really a “method”; it’s a way of
thinking about teaching and learning that can be translated into classroom practice in many
different ways. Still, there are some basic principles and characteristics necessary for
establishing a differentiated classroom.
According to Diane Heacox (2012, pp. 6–7), differentiation is not too scary sounding:
1. “Analyze the degree of challenge and variety in your current instructional plans.”
2. “Modify, adapt, or design new approaches to instruction in response to students’
needs, interests, and learning preferences.”
Copyright © 2016. Routledge. All rights reserved.
Content, or What to Teach

Differentiated content is the most frequently used (and perhaps the easiest) method of
differentiation. Content refers to what I call the “big rocks” of the unit or lesson (story box
later in this chapter). It is the essential information, ideas, attitudes, skills or facts that students
must grasp and be able to use. Students’ access to content is the key building block in a
differentiated classroom. There are several ways to differentiate content.
Blaz, Deborah. Differentiated Instruction : A Guide for World Language Teachers, Routledge, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uwsau/detail.action?docID=4415709.
Created from uwsau on 2020-03-21 05:18:09.
But first, we must determine what content must be taught. I formerly used the grid I
received at a workshop for mentoring new teachers (Figure 3.1 in Chapter 3), which asks us to
“unpack” the curriculum unit into its component parts. Now, I focus on the essential ideas and
skills (ignoring ancillary tasks and activities) and think in terms of a “can-do” statement, such
as “I can talk about what I do during my free time.”
With content topic and goal now firmly in mind, we are ready to differentiate the content.
The teacher would provide a variety of texts, from simple to advanced, from print to
electronic, from leisure reading to commercial to educational, such as magazines, brochures,
newspapers, music, poetry, ads, menus, etc. Texts used may be authentic, or simplified and/or
manufactured for student use. However, using a variety of printed texts alone is not real
differentiation, because printed texts aren’t accessible to all students (i.e., consider those who
are dyslexic, have poor eyesight, or have other difficulties with reading). Other resources to
offer that contain similar information would include audio (radio, podcasts, CDs), photos and
videos, DVDs, guest speakers, field trips, and TPR/TPRS. All this variety is often presented
with a learning center format (see Chapter 3 for concrete examples). Students would read,
watch, listen, etc., and from that glean vocabulary and structures as well as phrases to use
regarding this theme or topic.
This input can be done in several ways. One would be differentiation by interest: each
student could follow his or her own interests, and then in small groups (or online) students can
share and compare what they found. Another way would be to give everyone similar
materials, but pitched at different reading levels, complexity of vocabulary, or support such as
scaffolding.
Variety of texts and other forms of input

CCSS Reading 7, 9, and 10 and if they share in written form: Writing 2a, 7 and 8
ACTFL 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.2, 5.1
DOK Skills and Concept (Level 2) Level 3 possible if they more than just summarize
what is read Bloom’s Understanding, Evaluating
Another way to differentiate delivery of content is to give students choices in the type of
instruction: direct instruction, concrete examples, worksheet practice, graphic organizers,
online work or more complex activities. Differentiating content in this way requires pretesting
(preassessment) to identify students who do not need direct instruction. The ones who
demonstrate mastery on the pretest can go straight to the “application” portion of the unit.
This is often called “compacting” and is discussed more specifically in Chapter 3.
One final note: content must be concept-focused. A list of specific vocabulary wherein every
single word must be learned is not compatible with differentiated instruction. Activities
(Process) and assessment (Product) enable students to practice and demonstrate mastery of the
basic concepts, principles and skills, not minute details.
Figure 2.2
Process, or How to Practice
Referring to the “Big Rocks” story, content is represented by the different types and sizes of
rocks. The steps taken to make the “big rocks” fit into the jar are what differentiation calls
Process:
Process refers to the variety of ways by which students make sense of the content or
input, and come to “own” it. Process should therefore appeal to students’ learning
styles.
Process is also the use of a variety of flexible grouping methods: whole class, large
group, paired, or individual. Students can be united in ability groups, interest groups,
or grouping by learning profile.
The most common method used in differentiating the Process portion of a unit is to begin
with a whole-class introduction to the “big rocks” and then proceed to small group or work in
pairs to use of graphic organizers, maps, diagrams, charts … in which students are encouraged
to organize, seek relationships, and display their comprehension. Varying the complexity of
these materials is an easy way to differentiate Process.
Differentiating Process means selecting a variety of learning activities, questioning (i.e.,
Bloom’s levels), and/or strategies to explore the concepts in the unit, according to students’
interests, cognitive capacity, or learning style. It is important to give students alternatives, but
not a huge list; two or three choices are enough. A day’s lesson must not consist of all drill and
practice, or any single structure or activity. The difficult part is to make every group’s work
hard enough to ensure that equal effort is required from every student. There also should
never be a group of students that frequently does dull drills and another that does primarily
creative work. Every task should be productive and worthwhile (“respectful”), not busy work.
Specific examples of each type of Process are in Chapter 3.
There are three essential components in varying Process:
Preassessment must be done beforehand. Finding out where the starting point is will
make a big difference as to what instruction or practice is needed. As stated in Chapter
1, skills taught should always be slightly in advance of the student’s current level of
mastery, so determining the level of mastery should be the first step. See examples in
Chapter 3.
Provide a balance between teacher-assigned and student-selected tasks. This balance
will probably vary from class to class (even in the same subject) and from lesson to
lesson, unit to unit. Giving students choices is good, but don’t do it exclusively! This is
especially true for language learning, as students might otherwise focus on the skill
they are best at (listening, speaking, reading, or writing) and ignore the other three
areas. And students don’t always know (or choose) what is best for them.
Groups must not be fixed. Grouping students needs to be dynamic, based on ongoing
evaluations of learning and behavior/performance (such as how much effort is being
made). Groups should be based on a chosen aspect such as student interest, learning
style, or performance on a preassessment. Learners in groups are expected to interact
and work together as they develop knowledge.
Finally, remember: Process work should be considered formative; students will not yet have
mastered the material and must feel free to experiment and be allowed to make mistakes.
Feedback is also an essential part of the Process section of a unit.
Product, or How to Assess

Differentiating the Product involves varying the complexity of the Product created by students
to demonstrate their level of mastery of the unit content. Products may be formal (i.e., a
report) or informal (i.e., an interview), based on learning styles or multiple intelligences.
Chapter 3 contains a Bloom’s list of verbs as well as an Integration Matrix (see Figures 3.7 and
3.10) that lists possible products based on both Bloom’s Taxonomy and Gardner’s theory of
multiple intelligences, and another for DOK (Depth of Knowledge). Chapter 4 also has a
variety of products and Appendix A has assessment checklists for many of those products.
Obviously, students with lower ability will be required to perform easier tasks, and more
advanced students will produce work that requires more complex thought or more advanced
accomplishments/tasks. However, it is also often motivating for students to be offered a choice
of Product. Due to interest in the subject, wanting to be with friends, or other motivating
factors, a student of lower ability may wish to join a group or do a project more difficult than
a teacher might assign to him or her. A good differentiated classroom would encourage this
courage and determination, and the teacher might be surprised with what the student can do!
There are several key elements to differentiating Product:
Products should be accessible, challenging but not overwhelming students.

Products should emphasize critical and creative thinking as the students apply what
they’ve learned.
Products assigned by ability level should not penalize the advanced students: there
should be “something in it” for them to choose to participate at the higher level,
whether it is an extremely exciting activity, less homework (but more complex
thought), or fewer activities required. Students should not regard higher-level
participation as a punishment for being smart, but as a reward.
Products should be presented—seen by all members of the group or class, not just the
teacher. Presentations are a very important part of the ACTFL standards.
Finally, products should be considered to be a logical outcome or extension of the
content–Process portion, not just as a way to measure learning, and not even as a very
final event. Students and teachers both should be asking themselves questions before,
during, and after the creation of a product. Reflection is a vital component of the
product process.
Preparing Yourself
Am I ready for differentiated instruction? Let’s see. How many of these statements are true
for you?
I love learning in general.
I encourage student talk.
I say, “This reminds me of” and think aloud.
I revise and reflect on my lesson plans.
I try to grow intellectually and professionally.
I believe learning is a lifelong process.
I look for opportunities to get to know my students better.
I look for strengths instead of flaws/errors.
I give students extra help or extra time to work when they have difficulties.
If you recognized yourself in three or more of these, you are very mentally ready to begin
differentiating. Let’s see how differentiated your teaching is already. Figure 2.3 is a basic self-
evaluation instrument; rate yourself.
To score your differentiation readiness: the right-hand side of the scale refers to teaching
strategies used for differentiated instruction. The closer your responses are to the right side,
the more likely it is that you are already differentiating!
Your responses that are closer to the left are those that you will need to consider modifying
in order to differentiate.
Some of you may be saying to yourselves at this point, “I’ve been differentiating instruction
for a long time; I just didn’t know it!” Differentiation, just like any other teaching method, is
based upon sound teaching principles and a quality curriculum. It just takes a bit more
intentionality to be truly differentiated. Here’s what I mean:
As a “differentiated” teacher, you will …
Know:
What you want students to know, understand and be able to do (key concepts, key
skills—big rocks!) (Content)
A variety of activities that call students to practice those skills at different levels
(Process)
How students will be able to show what they know (Product)
Figure 2.3 Self-Evaluation of Instructional Styles (modified from Heacox, 2002, pp. 19–20)
Be prepared to:
Use flexible grouping consistently.

Give students a voice—talk to them and listen to what they have to say.
Reflect on individuals as well as the group.
Scrounge for a wide variety of materials.
Build a sense of community in the classroom.

Organize materials, space, and curriculum for essential skills and understandings.
Diagnose student needs and strengths.
Think of what could go wrong and try to avoid potential problems.
Share responsibility for teaching and learning with your students (and prepare students
to share these roles!).
You will fail if:
You try too much, too fast.
– Find your own unique balance between differentiated instruction strategies and
your own comfort level (based on personality, subject knowledge and/or
competency in teaching skills). Think of yourself as a student of differentiated
instruction: what is your learning style? Can you leap in, or do you need to test
the waters and soak up things bit by bit? Push yourself too hard, and you’ll
experience stress and failure.
– Developing new units takes time and effort. Gauge how much time you can put
in without overloading other aspects of your life. Try doing some of the
prethinking at a workshop on differentiation, or during the summer break.
– Focus on one aspect at a time: trying too many new things at once will make
you feel like a circus juggler. Try one type of differentiation until you feel
comfortable, then expand your repertoire with another. Rome wasn’t built in a
day, and neither is a functioning differentiated classroom.
– You let excuses stop you from trying things. You know, things like: kids today just
don’t read … they watch too much TV … no one enforces rules anymore … and so on.
You control what goes on in your room. Attitude and enthusiasm will get results!
– You do not reflect at the end of each day, and especially at the end of the unit,
chapter, or lesson. Ask yourself: What went well? What went badly? How could I
improve things? Make notes to yourself for next time you teach the unit.
Preparing the Students
Students come into your room already differentiated as to:
Readiness
Interests
Learning styles
Anxiety levels
Figure 2.4 Learning Profiles
Readiness
To determine readiness, you’ll need to preassess (see Chapter 3 for suggested methods). If the
instrument you choose is not a self-assessment, share this information with students. They
need to know their level of readiness in order to set an achievement goal. This will also assist
you when assigning partner and group work.
Interests
Students generally already know what they are interested in; the key is for you to get to know
their interests. There are many ways to do this, but the earlier in the school year you do this,
the better! Some teachers hand around an information card on the first day and have students
list their interests. (Note: this can easily become a team building game on Day 2, by giving the
students a Find-Someone-Who list. You’d take the interests from the cards, and have students
interview each other to collect signatures of classmates next to items they are interested it.
You can also use the interest cards to make a nickname for each student in the target language
(TL)—a vocabulary building tool or way to introduce culture, i.e., naming a soccer fan
“Ronaldo” or “Victory.”)
I like to use KWL as a preassessment tool, and the W portion will show me what my
students are interested in. (See Appendix B for a definition of this vocabulary-oriented
method.) For example, for a health/exercise unit, the words they write under W tell me what
sorts of activities they are interested in. If I have a whole class full of “skater dudes” then I can
bring in as much information on skateboarding as I can find online or in stores.
Activities like Four Corners, where each corner of the room represents a concept, and
students choose which corner they like most by standing in that corner, help everyone to get
to know preferences, and provide motion and variety. Again, for a health/exercise unit, you
could designate each corner as a season, and have students stand in the corner where they are
most active, and then tell each other (and you) about what they do during that season. A
similar activity, Line-Ups, has students literally take a stand on how strongly they feel about
an idea (as well as stimulating discussion and using vocabulary). Students would line up
according to how they feel about a topic such as vegetarianism (for a food or health unit) or
the environment—anything to have an opinion about—including cultural content such as “I’d
like to travel to (x).”
Four Corners
CCSS SL 4 (presentation)
DOK Level 1
ACTFL Novice
Standards 1.1, 1.3
Line-Ups
CCSS SL 1c and 4
DOK Level 3 (discuss)
ACTFL Intermediate
Standards 1.1, 1.3
Learning Styles
I’d like to provide you with a little “food for thought” before we talk about evaluating
learning styles, in hopes of convincing you that differentiation for learning styles is very, very
important. Remember the list of “Learning Profiles” (see Figure 2.4) earlier in this chapter?
Well, there are even more aspects to each of your students.
Calvin Taylor, a researcher at the University of Utah, says that if teachers consider all the
different talents present in a normal classroom environment, about 90% of students would be
viewed as above average (“gifted”) in at least one area. The eight nontraditional abilities he
names specifically are:
Ability to implement a plan

Communication
Creative thinking
Decision making
Forecasting
Human relations
Planning skills
Recognizing opportunities
In his book Little Geniuses, psychologist Thomas Armstrong lists more than three dozen
“unconventional” talents that children have, which include:
Acting ability
Adventuresomeness
Artistic talent/perceptiveness
Athletic prowess
Common sense
Compassion
Courage
Curiosity/inquiring mind
Intuition
Inventiveness/creativity
Leadership abilities
Manual dexterity
Mechanical know-how
Moral character
Musicality
Passionate interest in a specific topic
Patience
Persistence
Political astuteness
Reflectiveness
Resourcefulness
Self-discipline
Sense of humor
Social savvy
Spiritual sensibility
Strong will/determination
Now, to those above, add 4MAT and Gardner’s nine intelligences. With so many different
talents, how can we not use more variety than the traditional paper-and-pen strategies?
So, how will you set about determining student learning styles? An easy way would be to
use a survey. A couple of bits of advice:
If you give a survey, keep it short.

Tell students why you are doing this survey, and how important it is to take it
seriously.
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Survey
To help both you and your students learn what their learning preferences and talents are, you
will need to administer a multiple intelligences survey, like the one that follows (see Gardner,
2006).
Figure 2.5
After administering this survey and getting the results, here’s what I do: I cut 3×5 index
cards in half, and, on each, put the student’s name. Then I get eight different-colored markers
and put a dot in the corner of the half-card for each intelligence the student reacts strongly to.
Then, when I decide to group students for projects by intelligences, I simply sort the cards out
according to the colored dots.
If you don’t like my survey, you may use one of these online inventories:
Walter McKenzie’s Multiple Intelligences Inventory,

http://surfaquarium.com/MI/inventory.htm
LDPride.net, http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm
Another very useful survey is the following Learning-Style Preference Survey.
Learning-Style Preference Survey

While there is a connection between the intelligences and learning styles, they are not the
same. This learning styles survey will tell you if students are movers or sitters, morning people
or better in the afternoon, and other less conventional characteristics that contribute to success
in learning. There are a variety of these available online, such as at LDPride.net
(http://www.studyguide.org/learning_styles.htm; see additional websites in Works Cited), but
here is the one I’ve been using for about fifteen years and that works very well for me.
Figure 2.6 Student Learning Styles Survey
Figure 2.6a How Should I Study?
This survey will tell me students’ environmental needs, cognitive style, and grouping
preferences, and a little bit about their learning styles. This is very helpful to me in choosing
materials for study (if there are many visual learners, I use more visuals, and I erase the board
more often), giving instructions (breaking it down into small steps if the survey indicates a
need for that), deciding how much group work to do, and how many noisy activities, plus a
heads-up on whether the class will be alert at 8:00 A.M. or not. After administering this, I
introduce activities to help students see how they learn best.
One More Survey You Might Consider Using
As a developing differentiated-learning teacher, I’ve decided that I cannot know too much
about my students. A very useful thing to know about your students is the “cultural capital”
they bring to the classroom. Examples of this concept are: socioeconomic status, language
spoken at home, parents’ attitudes and expectations, support structure or lack of it, travel
experiences, and many more. These, I believe, must be determined and taken into account to
effectively instruct a student. Some of the above (especially socioeconomic level and parental
supervision levels) I should be able to find out from the school guidance counselors. “Tell Me a
Little About You” is an example:
Figure 2.7 Cultural Capital Survey

Explaining Differentiation to Your Students
Either before or after you administer your student surveys (I do it afterward) is the time to
explain to students how you intend to use the information they have given you. Students have
several needs (Tomlinson, 2002) that you should use to frame your explanation.
The first is affirmation:
People here care about me, accept me just as I am, and will listen to me.
People here know how I’m doing, and want me to do well.
People here acknowledge my interests and perspectives and act upon them.
Another is power:
What I learn here is useful.

I can make choices that contribute to my success.
I know what quality looks like and how to create quality work.
Dependable support for success exists in this classroom.
The third that applies to the topic of introducing differentiation is contribution:
I make a difference in this place.

I help other students and the entire class to succeed.
I am connected to others through mutual work on common goals.
Here are the key ideas I generally include in my explanation:
I want to help everyone to be as successful as possible, and will use the information
they’ve given me (in the surveys) to design lessons that will suit them and their talents.
I will make the assignments as clear as possible, so they can do something they will be
proud of.
Sometimes we will all be working together, but due to their different talents, often
they may be doing different activities. A metaphor I like is that of a doctor who
diagnoses and prescribes different solutions for different symptoms.
I want students to be willing to stretch a bit and learn new things with me, without
fear of put-downs from me or other students. I emphasize that I’ll be asking for their
input and feedback on things we do, and that their success will encourage and guide
me in helping them.
Helping Struggling Learners
As we all know, there are different types of strugglers. Some are learning-disabled, from
ADHD to dyslexic to other disabilities (including those who should wear glasses, but don’t!).
Other have such a difficult home life (i.e., parents getting a divorce, or a chronically ill family
member) that all their energy and attention is focused on that, or that they get little rest and
are too tired to focus. Other students just find that learning a language is more effort than they
expected or wanted. The struggling ones take most of our energy and attention, if we let them
—and research shows, they are also the ones who derive the most benefit from differentiation.
Here are some basic principles for dealing with these students:
Use the information you get from the student surveys, and look for what they can do,
and design tasks for them that use these strengths. For example, a student who is
kinesthetic (or has ADD) should get a movement-oriented task, such as pantomiming a
story as it is read (or pantomiming a summary of the story before reading it). Make the
student feel powerful and successful, and he or she is more likely to participate. Do not
just focus on what’s not working; give him or her a chance to enhance strengths as
well.
Make tasks relevant. If possible, make success at a task compellingly important. Work
on learning-in-context, using authentic materials as much as possible. Make the tasks
relevant now, that same day. Activities like “Ticket Out” (Chapter 5) are highly
motivating. Brain research tells us that simulations are the activities that produce the
most long-term retention. Game-based learning seems a good fit as well for the
compelling + relevant model.
Choose key, or “power” concepts. If some students can’t or won’t learn everything,
make sure they learn the basic “big picture” things so they have a framework to build
on when they are able to. Be clear on what they must know!
Challenge them. Don’t make things too easy. Set a task a bit harder than they are
currently able to manage, and then encourage, guide planning, reinforce criteria, etc.
Self-esteem doesn’t come from cheerleading praise, but from the knowledge that
we’ve made progress and done something that was a bit difficult for us.
Give choices. Allow them to demonstrate mastery using a method of their own choice.
Give students as many different paths to reach the learning as you are able to.
Sometimes students’ interests might lead them to attempt something that you might
have judged too difficult for them. Giving students a voice in what they do can make
them more willing to participate, as well as more successful.
Offer a re-do option on some assignments (especially online exercises). These students
benefit from repetition, and they will have a more positive attitude if they are allowed
to make mistakes and show they know how to improve their performance.
Make most of the grades “low stakes, ” until the summative assessment—grade
holistically, or just give a completion grade.
Make feedback personalized, and have them respond to it (perhaps by setting a goal).
Don’t be afraid to show acceptance and a clear vision of a student’s potential.
Overlook the angry, bored, or sullen façade, and give the student these two things that
we all need, whether from a teacher or from our friends and family: a vision of the
good things he or she do, and can become. This one is the hardest, and the most
important.
Helping Bilingual and Heritage Language Students
Imagine you have the following students in your class:
A is fully bilingual, born in another country, arriving here at age 9;

B was born here but English is not spoken at home; his parents are immigrants.
C has one parent who speaks the TL, so two languages are spoken in the home.
What would you do to help them? Many of the strategies listed earlier for struggling learners
will work for them as well. Here are some other suggestions:
Preassess to determine students’ needs: can they speak but not write well? Do they
know the cultural component but not all the vocabulary? If they do well on the
preassessment, then use compacting, or a contract (see Chapter 3).
Give many small assignments rather than one big one (quizzes, homework, writing
portfolio, online exercises, exit cards).
Give lots of choices: choice of activities (game, online, project, video, WebQuest,
worksheet, etc.), choice of media/materials used, choice of product, choice of support
(work alone, open book for five minutes, prompts, word bank, etc.).
Have formatives preview the summative (same format, same types of questions): have
the pre-writing use the vocabulary or forms of the longer assignment, for example.
HL–L 2 (heritage learners and new language learners) pairings using a wide range of
vocabulary, doing aural and written tasks together, showed equal benefits for both
from the activity. Within the pairs, try to use vocabulary that is unfamiliar for both
students, and assign two tasks, with each doing the one that would be hardest for
them. In general an oral task would help the L 2, and a written would help the heritage
learner (Bowles, 2011).
Management Issues and Ideas

Establishing Expectations
Behavior can be a problem in a differentiated classroom, if you don’t set clear guidelines, post
them, discuss them, and be consistent and fair about enforcing them. Everyone has his or her
own comfort level for noise and motion in a classroom. But there are two important steps:
Don’t have too many rules. Assertive discipline advises this one: Do whatever the
teacher says, the first time he/she says it. That can really cover a variety of situations.
Make your rules brief and have students actually practice them. I am very strict about
having students begin the opening activity (on the board or overhead) as soon as the
bell rings. In addition to that, I use a timer that beeps for moving into and out of
groups, getting workbooks, and other short activities, to get them used to getting to
work right away. I also teach students to transition between activities with a minimum
of noise.
Routine is good. Establish expectations for how and when to start class, and what students
should do if they finish early. I make sure every day begins and ends at their seat in a seating
chart, so I can keep track of students (especially on days when some will be in the computer
lab and the others in class with me). I also always begin by introducing a new concept, so I
need a signal to indicate that all attention be directed at me. Other routines and procedures to
teach are things like where finished work should go, where students should go for information
if they have been absent, etc. Practice these strategies, too.
Independence is another concept to discuss. Have students help you list what an
independent learner would look like. Talk to them about how you’d like them to call you for
help (stay in seats and signal, come to you, etc.).
There are several other basic techniques you need to implement in managing your
classroom:
Share your thinking/rationale with students (and their parents)—often. Students are
usually responsive to a classroom that they know has been designed for them.
Make sure you listen to their suggestions as well, nonjudgmentally. Respect and trust
are really important. Students may have some ideas to forestall potential problems you
didn’t foresee, or to streamline things, and your listening will foster an open
atmosphere as well as give students a feeling of ownership for their classroom.
Conversations about their experiences, frustrations, etc., will save a lot of time and
stress in the long run.
You need what Carol Tomlinson calls an “anchor activity.” This is an ongoing
individual or group activity that will free you up to move from student to student or
group to group. This also serves as a “sponge” for students who finish work early, or
who are waiting for you to get to them before continuing. Typical anchor activities
might be journal writing, reading (I have a shelf of little kids’ books as well as a
magazine rack of foreign language magazines), an educational computer game, or
practice papers such as a folder of crosswords, word searches, etc. A Tic-Tac-Toe menu
(see the end of this chapter) also works great as an anchor.
Instructions must be very, very clear and precise. If directions are really complex,
provide a step-by-step checklist on a card, or record the directions for playback. Don’t
forget to give time limits, too.
Make students as responsible as possible for their learning. Don’t underestimate your
student’s capacity for self-governing and self-sufficiency. Use some of the techniques
and ideas presented next to help this happen smoothly.
Grouping Students and Teaching Cooperative Skills
There are many different ways to group students. Sometimes I write a vocabulary word on
the bottom of everyone’s paper, and they seek out others with the same word. Other times I
post a list on the wall or let them self-select their groups, especially if the groups will only
meet occasionally but over a fairly long time span. As stated earlier, I may have “color
groups” based upon learning styles.
Teach students to work with a minimum of noise. Assign a student in each group to
monitor the noise level and remind his or her partners to talk softly. Some students who need
more quiet often choose to wear one of the listening lab headsets to cut out distractions.
Also make sure everyone’s on the same page as to what on-task behavior looks and sounds
like. Most differentiated teachers I know give students a daily behavior grade: check for good
behavior, minus for needing a reminder, check plus for extra-hard concentration, and so on,
and post this on a weekly chart. Praise goes a long way to ensure good behavior, as do
rewards such as bonus points, candy, or whatever you feel comfortable with. Some teachers
prefer to give everyone a hundred points/pesetas/euros at the beginning of the grading period,
and just deduct for bad behavior.
Teach students to move quickly and quietly into and out of groups. Practice a few times
until they get it right and understand your expectations. It’s time well spent.
Designate an advanced student or two as “expert of the day” for when you’re busy and
can’t help, or can’t get around fast enough. I learned to do this when I had a crafts club, and
more than sixty kids showed up: one person from each table would come to me to learn a
skill, and then go back and supervise/teach it to their table, while a couple students with more
experience and I circulated to help those who were really struggling. This is very easy to do
when using technology—there is almost always a student who is familiar with a website or a
technique so will finish early and then can help classmates.
Have signals planned: what will you do if you need the class to stop and discuss an issue
that’s come up, or get ready for a different activity? A certain spot in the room, a sound
(someone on FLTEACH uses an electric door buzzer!), a hand in the air … whatever it is, teach
the group. You certainly don’t want to have to model bad behavior by screeching!
Creating a Sense of Community
Why is community so important in a differentiated classroom—more so than in a non-

differentiated setting? Probably because there are more group activities, but the concept of
community applies to everything that happens in a differentiated classroom. Therefore, you
have to convince students that it is in their best interest to work, and work well, together with
you (you’re part of the community, too) and with each other.
There are several factors common to groups that work well together (Etzioni, 2013).
Friendship. Feelings of friendship and bonding develop among learners as they enjoy one
another and look forward to working together. Community spirit allows learners to challenge
and to help each other. A good way to foster this is for students to find things they have in
common. There are many party-mixer type activities (like the Find-Someone-Who game I
mentioned a few pages earlier) that help them find things they have in common. Sometimes
one of the roles I assign a team member is that of Praiser, who must give frequent
compliments to each team member.
Trust. This must exist between you and your students, and also between partners and
within groups. Giving each group a simple cooperative activity that students can do well
together (a scavenger hunt in the classroom for information on bulletin boards or displays,
following instructions using manipulatives, spelling alphabet letters with their bodies, or
whatever) helps them develop this. When we review directions (left, right, etc.) I blindfold one
person and have a part ner lead him or her through a maze created with chairs and desks. Not
only do students enjoy this activity and really learn directions well, they look at their partners
with more warmth than before.
Maze activity
CCSS SL 4 and 6
DOK Level 2
ACTFL 1.3
Equality. Students must be able to participate as social equals (no bossy leaders) and as
partners who all have an equal opportunity and requirement to participate (everyone has an
assigned role and is a part without which the whole will not be successful). Strategies that
maintain etiquette and civility are good: not being able to speak without holding a certain
object, for example. If one person dominates, give each person the same number of objects (I
use poker chips found at garage sales) that they must “ante” in to speak, touch the project, or
whatever. When they are out of chips, they must let others continue the activity without their
input, unless the group or teacher gives them permission.
Group size. Smaller groups seem to work better. I prefer groups of no more than three
when doing projects. I assign roles that rotate: a leader/reader, a dictionary/resource for the
leader, and a group secretary who also handles manipulatives and signals me when the group
has a question.
One other comment about groups: research shows clearly that the most successful groups
are those where there is an alignment of teaching style and learning stage—and that is just
another reason why differentiation is so good.
Tracking Task Completion
Usually what teachers are most worried about when they design a differentiated activity is
how to make sure students are on task, following directions appropriately, and will finish on
time. Here are some ways I and colleagues do this:
1. You could have students complete a daily work log in which they list their activities
and progress for the day. This is a great “anchor activity” that is summative if done at
the end of a class period, or a good reminder of where they were if done the day
afterward (or you could have them reread the previous day’s log to achieve the same
purpose). Logs should be left in the classroom so you can review them. They are also,
in the student’s handwriting, good evidence of whether work did or did not take
place (as well as of attendance or lack of it) to show an administrator or a parent.
Figure 2.8 Student Work Log
2. Give all students a project checklist. This is especially effective with lower-level
students, who generally need very specific, detailed instructions. Breaking down
assignments into smaller bits, with a sort of time line, each with its own due date, can
encourage students to stay on track for longer activities, as well as provide feedback
that progress is being made, and successful work has been done. I’ve included several
checklists for different types of projects in Chapters 3 and 5, but here is one I use for
my students doing reports on important sites in Paris.
Figure 2.9 Paris Project Descriptor and Checklist
3. Quite a few people I know have a sort of calendar for each class or unit, either on
paper or in electronic form on a classroom management site (like Google Classroom,
Edmodo, and many more!). On it there are due dates for assignments and a space for
each day. At the beginning of a class period, a teacher using the paper version would
have students place homework out for him or her to do a quick completion check,
stamping or marking (check plus for done well, zero for none, an x for incomplete, or
whatever) in that day’s square on the calendar or on a chart (paper or electronic)
while the students do another activity.
4. There is another activity, the Tic-Tac-Toe menu, that I often use as a
Process/formative activity (see the generic example at the end of the chapter), which
is also good to use for homework or when I’m absent. It’s an easy thing to tell the
substitute to have them work on an item from “their grid”! When it’s time to assign a
grade, a quick look at the calendar would make it easy to assign a grade, which leads
me to a related topic: grading. I also sometimes use a Tic-Tac-Toe as a summative
assessment.
Grading
With so many different activities, how can a teacher sanely manage differentiated grades?
Here are some tips.
Relabel the grade book.
– Instead of “Activity 6 page 42, ” use “Practice 3/28” (the date) and list whatever
work the students were doing on that date. Or, label your grade book with the
skill being prac ticed (i.e., “Reflexive verbs”) and credit the students for
progress in work on that skill.
– Consider giving grades for completion, instead of a formal grade. A musician
may practice for hours on a piece, with his teacher’s guidance and comments,
but the “assessment” portion takes place only at the concert. Yet the practice is
very important! This would also remove the fear of making mistakes that
would “count against” them, and stimulate intellectual risk-taking. I always
hated how the math teacher would tell us to read and practice a concept not
yet taught in class, and then take a grade on that practice.
– Consider giving separate grades for different aspects of class work. Categories
could include: growth (changes from beginning of unit to end); standards-based
achievement for tests and quizzes that would predict success on standardized
tests at the state (i.e., Regents), national (i.e., AP), or international (i.e., IB) level;
and for effort in participation such as regular completion of work, staying on
task, and contributing in class. For example, in PE classes, in addition to
completion of tasks (such as doing a variety of balance beam maneuvers) I was
graded on my improvement of skills (i.e., running faster).
Every student could have a permanent folder that remains in the classroom (or part of
an electronic portfolio), with a record-keeping form (such as one of the ones listed
earlier) in it. On the form, students would keep a running record of work completed,
date of completion, student or teacher comments about the work, and the work itself.
Figure 2.10 is an example of such a record-keeping form for one unit. Note: it will be
necessary to clean out the folder after each unit! Those papers pile up quickly!
Figure 2.10
For Activity 2.7

ACTFL Standards 3.1, 4.1 DOK Level 2 CCSS Standards Language 1, 3, 4, 5 Read 4
Bloom’s Apply/Analyze/Evaluate
Students should do as much of the record-keeping as possible. This will also serve the
double purpose of keeping them up-to-date on how close they are to completing their
work/the unit, as well as seeing the progress they are making.
Having a section on the form requiring students to ask questions or reflect on work
done will help them apply the metacognition that is so important to differentiated
instruction. They would easily see strengths and weaknesses and (hopefully) set a goal
for themselves, as in “I need to get better at X” or “do more Y.”
Hold conferences with the students at least once during the unit. Ask students to help
plan a project, set or evaluate goals, and assess progress. Sending the record-keeping
form (see Figure 2.10) home is also a great way to communicate with parents!
Success and personal growth correlate highly with grades. Good record-keeping will help you
and your students easily see accomplishments and success.
Tic-Tac-Toe (British: Noughts and Crosses) Menu
This strategy is one of the most commonly used ones in differentiation. It combines a variety
of activities, student choice, skills and interest, as well as a simple record-keeping practice. I
will include other examples of this strategy in Chapter 3.
The menu shown in Figure 2.11 is given to students for a foods unit for a skills-based
differentiation of practice options. Students get to choose three activities that form a Tic-Tac-
Toe, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally (other options: any three that touch, or put
your most-wanted activity in the center, and tell them the Tic-Tac-Toe needs to include the
center). Clear time frames need to be given for the completion of each of the three activities (I
like to have one due every other day, and these are generally done as homework
assignments). This method is really useful for teachers who don’t see students every day, as it
encourages practice when not in the classroom.
To grade this, you could initial them as they are completed, or shade in a square in your
grade book, or use a special stamp and inkpad. At the end of the unit, the student would hand
in this menu for whatever number of points you assign to it.
Figure 2.11

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2

From Content to Process to Product

Figure 2.1 (from Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006)

Content, or What to Teach

Variety of texts and other forms of input

Process, or How to Practice

and work together as they develop knowledge.

Product, or How to Assess

Products should be accessible, challenging but not overwhelming students.

Use flexible grouping consistently.

Build a sense of community in the classroom.

You will fail if:

Preparing the Students

Students come into your room already differentiated as to:

you when assigning partner and group work.

Ability to implement a plan

If you give a survey, keep it short.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Survey

Walter McKenzie’s Multiple Intelligences Inventory,

Another very useful survey is the following Learning-Style Preference Survey.

Learning-Style Preference Survey

Figure 2.6 Student Learning Styles Survey

introduce activities to help students see how they learn best.

One More Survey You Might Consider Using

Figure 2.7 Cultural Capital Survey

Explaining Differentiation to Your Students

What I learn here is useful.

The third that applies to the topic of introducing differentiation is contribution:

I make a difference in this place.

Here are the key ideas I generally include in my explanation:

Helping Struggling Learners

Imagine you have the following students in your class:

A is fully bilingual, born in another country, arriving here at age 9;

Management Issues and Ideas

Grouping Students and Teaching Cooperative Skills

Why is community so important in a differentiated classroom—more so than in a non-

Tracking Task Completion

Relabel the grade book.

For Activity 2.7

Tic-Tac-Toe (British: Noughts and Crosses) Menu

in this menu for whatever number of points you assign to it.

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