REACHING ALL CHILDREN
IN THE CLASSROOM:
AN OVERVIEW OF
DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES
COMPILED BY JEN MITCHELL
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Differentiation: Introduction
That students differ may be inconvenient,
but it is inescapable. Adapting to that
diversity is the inevitable price of
productivity, high standards, and fairness
to the students.
~Theodore Sizer
Sizer, T. (1984). Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School (p. 194). Boston: HoughtonMifflin
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
Curriculum differentiation is a process used to maximize student
learning by improving the match between a student's individual
needs and the curriculum.

A general term used to describe the range of strategies, which are
used to ensure children’s needs are met.

Curriculum differentiation is a broad term referring to the need to
tailor teaching environments and practices to create appropriately
different learning experiences for different students.

Adapting the curriculum to meet the unique needs of learners by
making modifications in complexity, depth, and pacing.
Teachers can Differentiate the:
CONTENT:
PROCESS:
PRODUCT:
Knowledge, skills and attitudes
we
4 want children to learn;
differentiating content requires
that students are pre-tested so
the teacher can identify the
students who do not require
direct instruction
Varying learning activities /
strategies to provide
appropriate methods for
students to explore the
concepts; important to give
students alternative paths to
manipulate the ideas
embedded within the concept
(different grouping methods,
graphic organizers, maps,
diagrams, or charts)
Varying the complexity of the
product that students create to
demonstrate mastery of the
concepts; students below grade
level may have different
performance expectations than
students above grade level (ie.
more complex or more
advanced thinking~ Bloom’s
Taxonomy)
According to Students’:
READINESS/
DEVELOPMENTAL:
Some students are ready for
different concepts, skills, or
strategies; others may lack the
foundation needed to progress
to further levels
INTEREST:
LEARNING STYLE
Student interest inventories
provide information to plan
different activities that respond
to individual student’s interest
Individual student preference
for where, when or how
students obtain and process
information (visual, auditory,
kinesthetic; multiple
intelligences; environment,
social organization, physical
circumstance, emotional
climate, psychological climate)
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Differentiation:
WHAT To Teach
Essential Questions
•Curriculum Map Template
•Unit Design
•Lesson Planning
•Skills List
•
What to Teach???
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
Essential Questions ~ conceptual
understandings
 (Mctighe

& Wiggins, 2004, p. 91, 93-93)
Curriculum Map/Unit Design
 Curriculum
Map Template
 See other unit template

Sample Skills List (Heacox, p. 61)
Turn, Share and/or revise Essential
Questions or Skills for your Unit of Study
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Lesson
and
Unit
Design
DIFFERENTIATION
STRATEGIES
Parts I, II and III
Differentiation Strategies
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PART I

Pre-Assessment

Curriculum Compacting

Learning Contracts
PART II

Differentiate by Interest, Learning Style & Challenge Levels

Flexible Grouping
Part III

Tiered Assignments

Choice: Project Menus/Tic Tac Toe

Anchoring Activities

Varying Questions
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Differentiation Strategies: Part I
Pre Assessment
•Curriculum Compacting
•Learning Contracts
•
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE/READINESS:
The Value of Pre-Assessment...
Textbook Pretest
Student/Teacher Conference - as short as a 5 minute talk
K-N-W Chart - What do I Know, Need to know & Want to
know
Journal - Write what you know about...
List - If I say ... What does it make you think of?
Concept Map...
Student Reflection
~You can’t figure out what to teach ’em if you don’t know ’em!

Jot down some ideas for “pre-learning assessment”
for your unit; you may want to think about some
strategies represented in Beyond the Blueprint,
Chapter 7
I’ve mapped out the concepts I’ve
already grasped to save you time.
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PACING: Curriculum Compacting
Modify and/or streamline regular curriculum to:

eliminate repetition of previously mastered
material

upgrade the challenge level of the regular
curriculum


determine student “readiness”
provide time for enrichment and/or acceleration
activities
Eight Compacting Steps
(Student Readiness)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Identify objectives ( UbD Stage 1)
Create pretest (end of unit expectations; UbD
Stage 2)
Identify students to Pretest
Administer Pretest
Eliminate content in areas of mastery
Streamline instruction (UbD Stage 3)
Offer enrichment or acceleration activities
(Heacox, p. 139, 142)
Keep records of progress
Learning Contracts

A written agreement between the student and the teacher
which includes opportunities for the student to work relatively
independently on primarily teacher-directed material.
The student has:
 Some freedom in acquiring skills and understandings
 Responsibility for learning independently
 Guidelines for completing work
 Guidelines for appropriate behavior
 Expectations tailored to readiness level
•
See sample: Compacting Form and Project Description (Heacox, p.142)
•
Turn & Talk: Explain how learning contracts support
curriculum compacting?
Differentiation Strategies: Part II
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Differentiation by Interest, Learning Style
(choice) & Readiness (challenge levels)
•
•
Choice: Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
•
Choice: Projects, Presentations & Performance (Heacox)
•
Choice: Products & Performances/Performance Tasks (McTighe &
Wiggins)
•
Readiness: Bloom’s Taxonomy~ Challenge Levels
•
Choice by Challenge Level & Learning Style (Heacox)
Flexible Grouping
•
•
3 Kinds of Groups (Heacox)
Differentiate by Choice: Interest
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
Interest Inventories (Heacox, p. 29-31)
 Grouping
Index Cards/Use for Centers:
 Item
5: Have students list topics they rated 1 and 2 (use
to create teams of common interests)
 Item 7: Use to group for exploratory topics
 Item 13: Use to identify “specialists” for particular areas
of study
 Item 19/20: To create partnerships or learning groups
Review the inventory; how do you think and
learn? Reflect upon how your strengths have
been supported/neglected. Turn and share.
Differentiate by Students’
Learning Style & Challenge Levels
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
Learning Style: How We Think and Learn
 Variety: Multiple Intelligences (Heacox, p. 36-37)
 Howard Gardner
 (Projects, Presentations, Performances;
Heacox, p. 34-35)

Challenge Levels (readiness): Rigor, Relevance
& Complexity
 Challenge! NOT more.
 Blooms Taxonomy: 6 Levels of Thinking
 Challenge Levels (Heacox, p. 69 & 75)
CHOICE: Challenge & Learning Style:
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
Bloom’s Taxonomy & Gardner’s M.I. Brief Lesson
Plan (Heacox, p. 73, 156)

Content + Process + Product = learning experience





Content=what are students learning about?
Process=what level of thinking is required?
Product= how will the results of learning be represented/
assessed?
Ex: Compare and contrast a scene in a novel with
the movie version of the same scene by presenting
your ideas in a storyboard of words and pictures.
Your Turn…
CHOICE: Challenge & Learning Style:
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
Double-sided Lesson Plan Matrix (Bloom’s & Multiple
Intelligences)


Heaxox, p. 78-79, 82-83
Small group (triad/diad) plan to incorporate concepts
into your unit of study using the matrix…
Flexible
Grouping
“A hallmark of an effective differentiated
classroom….is the use of flexible grouping, which
accommodates students who are strong in some
areas and weaker in others.
~Carol Tomlinson
Three Types of Groups:
I. Flexible (readiness, learning style…)
II. Ability/Aptitude
III. Cooperative
(Heacox, p. 87)
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Differentiation Strategies: Part III
Tiered Activities
•Choice: Tic Tac Toe
•Anchoring Activity
•Questioning & Discussion
•
Tiered Activities
Tiered Instruction features:
 Whole group introduction and initial instruction
 Identification of developmental differences
 Ladder Analogy (bottom – up; challenge/complexity)
 Increase or Decrease the:



Abstraction/Challenge Levels (ie. application, analysis & synthesis)
Extent of Support
Complexity of:




outcomes
resources (reading levels, types of text [on-line, magazine, etc…], based on
prior-knowledge levels)
processes (way in which students obtain information)
products (M.I. products)
Tiered Assignment~
Middle School Unit: Dinosaurs
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Objective: In their study of dinosaurs, the students will be able to
research and identify various theories of dinosaur extinction.
Task 1 - After researching and identifying various theories of dinosaur
extinction, students will be able to create their own theory and draw a
picture or diagram illustrating that theory.
Task 2 - After researching and identifying various theories of dinosaur
extinction, students will be able to create a visual representation of their
theory (i.e. diorama, timeline, or three dimensional model).
Task 3 - After researching and identifying various theories of dinosaur
extinction, students will be able to create a visual representation of their
theory and defend their theory during a class debate.


“Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World” example & planning template
Brainstorm your own!
CHOICE:
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




Use as a choice of required products
Code to identify challenge levels or learning
style
Warm-up/Cool-down activities
Pure “choice” time
Alternatives for students
(via curriculum compacting)
 Project
Menu Cards (Heacox, p. 106)
 Tic Tac Toe
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Tic
Tac
Toe
*see book report
example
Anchoring Activity
(See the Anchoring Activity for: The Giver)
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


Self-paced, purposeful, content-driven activities
that students can work on independently
throughout a unit, a grading period, or longer
Meaningful ongoing activities related to the
curriculum
 A list of activities that a student can do at any
time
 A long-term project
 An activity center/learning station located in the
room
These activities must be worthy of a student’s time
and appropriate to their learning needs
Management Suggestions




Explain the activity and the procedures
with the whole class
Make expectations clear – develop ground rules
for:
 Behavior
 Performance
Use tasks that require time and thinking – this is
not an extension of the “seat-work” concept
Provide clear instructions, materials,
responsibilities, check points, and expectations
(rubrics)
QUESTIONING & DISCUSSION
"I have no answers, only questions."
~Socrates, c. 300 B.C.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Study: of questions
teachers ask approximately:
60% require only recall of facts
20% require students to think
20% are procedural in nature
Resource:
Appendix B: Differentiating Classroom
Discussion (Heacox, pgs. 150 & 152); how would
you use this resource during instruction?
Open Ended Questions
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





have no “right” answer
can be discussed and debated
provoke and sustain student inquiry
raise other important questions
address the conceptual or philosophical
foundations of a discipline
stimulate vital, ongoing reflection of big ideas
and assumptions
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“Summer’s over kids!
Now, all you round pegs get back
into your square holes!”
The biggest mistake we have made in
past centuries in teaching has been
to treat all children as if they were
variants of the same individual and
thus to feel justified in teaching them
the same subjects in the same ways.
~Howard Gardner