A lesson without differentiation is a lesson where not all students are being reached. Differentiation allows all students to be engaged academically at a level that they are capable of reaching. It is my goal as a teacher to make academic material and activities attainable for all students despite their varying levels of ability.
Differentiation is not attainable without getting to know your students and their abilities. Understanding a student's interest and their skills can help you differentiate lesson activities to suit their needs. In my classroom, I try and find basic activities that all students are capable of doing as a centerpiece of a lesson/activity. I then branch off from that activities in a few different ways to meet the needs and abilities of different groups of students. This way everyone is able to do the main part of the activity and be challenged at their own ability level within the same lesson.
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I understand the struggles my students face while asked to be sitting quietly and focused for 6 hours a day in a classroom setting. A majority of my classroom activities are hands on or require movement through the room. It isn't always quiet and sometimes it can be messy, but my students WORK bell to bell on a daily basis.
The pictures on the left are examples of scoot notes and scavenger hunts I set up throughout the room. Scoot notes are note-taking stations. They always take less than 20 minutes and end with an activity or discussion. Scavenger hunts are kinesthetic ways to review material - each station has a different question, a hidden letter than can spell out the mystery phrase when all questions are completed, and a puzzle that leads them to their next station in the room. |
In the 6th grade, students are still learning about their LREs (least restricted learning environment) and what works best for THEM- not their best friend, not for Ms. Cummins, but for themselves. When possible, I prefer to have students collaborate and make it mandatory for them to do so on lab days. When learning about new concepts though, my students are more than welcome to work alone or in pairs in order to scaffold their work. Understanding that changes and challenges could be scary for students and seeing where need is in the classroom has allowed me to focus on student growth and attainment rather than management. Behaviors tend to disappear when students are responsible and accountable for the choices they are making!
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