Amanda Gorski, Jennifer Schnepp, Amanda Williams

Part 5 – Managing the Differentiated Classroom

A Highly Differentiated Classroom...

Looks Like … Sounds Like…

Visualization

WHEN I CONSIDER SOME POTENTIAL CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS

IN A HIGHLY DIFFERENTIATED CLASSROOM, I THINK OF…

ESTABLISHING STUDENT

EXPECTATIONS

ORGANIZINGTHE

CLASSROOM

MANAGING FLEXIBLE GROUPS

9

12

3

6

Clock Partners

ESTABLISHING STUDENT EXPECTATIONS

ROUTINES

Turning in assignments Moving through centers or

to anchor activities

RITUALS

Chants and cheers Deciding with students how

to celebrate something

ESTABLISHING STUDENT EXPECTATIONS

RULES

Conversation levels Getting help Respect for each other Participation &

on-task behaviors Movement Other

SIGNALS

Transitions Stop and Listen Other

Hint Cards

Create a “hint board” or “hint cards” where you can collect reminders of how to do things that students need to know but may have forgotten. Hint boards and cards help students work more independently and thus preserve teacher time to work with individuals and small groups.

Hint: How to Read Maps 1. Look at the legend box on your map. Are you looking at the right county? Its name should be on top.:

Hint: How To Subtract With Regrouping More on top?No need to stop!

More on the floor?Go next door.

Hint: How To Summarize Fiction

SomeoneWantedBut SoThen

Organizing the Classroom

Managing Flexible Groups

WHOLE-GROUP INSTRUCTION

Warm-Ups

Introductions

Read-Alouds

Shared Reading

Instructional Games

Discussions

Other

SMALL-GROUP INSTRUCTION

Random

Heterogeneous

Skills/Readiness

Interest

Cooperative

Other

INDIVIDUAL WORK

Extension Activities

Remedial OR Practice Activities

Projects

Other

FORMING STUDENT GROUPS

Pretests

Sign-Up Charts

Interest Groups

Multiple Intelligences

Other

Traditional Math Lesson

Step 1: Introduce

fraction and decimal

equivalents

Step 2: Provide model problems

to illustrate fraction and

decimal equivalents focusing on

denominators of 2, 4, 5, and 10

Step 3: Students practice with

denominators of 2, 4, 5, and 10.

Step 4: Give an assignment that involves naming

decimals as fractions and

converting fractions to

decimals

Differentiated Math Lesson

Step 1: Check-in: renaming fractions

as decimals

by dividing

Step 3: Students

continue work on table of

decimal equivalents for

fractions

Step 4: Introduce and model fraction

and decimal equivalents

with 2, 4, 5, 10 denominators

Step 3: Reinforce renaming fractions

as decimals

Step 5: Introduce Frac-Tac-

Toe; Assign readiness-

alike partners; Observe

Step 6: Provide

additional reinforcement and practice;

Give assignment

Step 6: Give

assign-ment

Step 7: Students play Frac-Tac-Toe

with 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,

10 denominators

Step 7: Students continue

working on table of decimal equivalents for

fractions

Step 7: Students play Frac-Tac-Toe

with 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,

10 denominators

Step 7: Students continue

working on table of decimal equivalents for

fractions

Step 2: Create

instructional groups based on check-in

results

Fle

Preassess prior knowledge

about deserts.

Assign Web site with basic

information Note-taking: double-entry

journal

Assign Web site with advanced

information

Note-taking: thinking map

Form small groups: create a web of desert

facts

Summarize information in an

essay

Summarize information on labeled poster

When Differentiating Be Flexible in Planning and Teaching

*** Differentiation *** Technology *** Thinking Maps ***

IF I WORK WITH A SMALL GROUP OF STUDENTS, WHAT ARE THE OTHER

STUDENTS DOING?

Anchor Activities

Meaningful, ongoing assignments that students can work on independently while the teacher works with small groups.

ANCHOR ACTIVITIES

Possible Activities That Anchor the Class

Writing journals Creative writing prompts Independent reading Content-related reading Reading games or activities Word games or activities Keyboarding practice Spelling practice Math fact games and practice Art–making art or illustrating current academic work Music–listening, composing music, or writing lyrics Independent projects or studies Small-group projects Extensions Other

Criteria for an Effective Anchor Activity

1. Will this assignment or activity help a student appropriately explore,

practice, reinforce, or extend his/her learning in an identified area of the curriculum?

2. Will the assignment or activity incorporate what we know about learning?

In other words, will it …

Actively engage the students when they need to think about what they are doing?

Reinforce or make new connections with the learner? Provide a different pathway in order to strengthen the

existing connections? Be at an appropriate challenge level for the student?

3. Practice in short chunks to train students how to handle anchor activities.

4. Self-assessment—there needs to be a way for students to self-assess how

they are doing so that they don’t have to go to someone else.

Compare and ContrastUse Inspiration to create a

graphic organizer that compares two states or create a Venn diagram on your own

paper.

Written Document AnalysisAnalyze the provided primary source document using the

Document Analysis Worksheet.

Read-a-PictureUse the questions provided to analyze a given picture of one

of the fifty states.

3 x 3Use the words provided to write

sentences showing the relationships of the cards.

Shuffle the cards and then lay them out in 3 rows of 3. You

should write 8 sentences: 3 for the 3 rows going across, 3 for the 3 rows going down, and 2

for the diagonals.

Time LineUse the Timeliner software folder to create a time line of

the history of one state.

Walk a Mile in My Footsteps

Create footprints to represent a state. One footprint must

contain written information while the other contains only

pictorial representations.

Jeopardy using PowerPoint

Use a Microsoft PowerPoint template to create a Jeopardy

type game that reviews information on five states.

Create a BrochureGo to the Web site

www.mybrochuremaker.com tocreate a travel brochure that

includes information needed by people considering a vacation

in one of the states.

Make Your CaseUse a Microsoft Word template to create a CD Label related to

a selected state. Include a band name, and song titles

that relate to that state.

Fifty States-Tac-Toe

READING TAC-TOE

DRAWDraw a story.

1

ACT IT OUTAct out the story.

2

TELLTell the story in your own words.

3SING

Sing a song that goes with your

story.4

FREECHOICE OF ACTIVITY

5

COUNTCount all the

students who like your story.

6LISTEN

Listen to a taped story. Tell the class how the taped story is different from

your story.7

BUILDBuild a home for

one of the characters in your

story. Use the blocks at the block center.

8

CHANGE ITCreate a new

ending for your story. Tell the class about it.

9

Back-to-School Think-Tac-Toe

InterviewPair up with someone in our

class that you do not know very well and interview them using a

given interview form. Be prepared to introduce this

person to the class!

Back-to-School: The MovieCreate a two-slide movie scene

about something funny or strange that could happen on

the first day of school. Be prepared to act it out!

Dear MeWrite yourself a letter. Discuss your feelings about starting a new school year, what you loved or disliked about the

previous school year, and what you expect to learn this year. Use the correct form for letter

writing.

Design A T-ShirtDesign a t-shirt that tells

about yourself. This could include your hobbies,

favorite foods, movies, etc. Make sure you make it colorful and creative!

Shades of SummerDraw a self-portrait, but instead of the eyes, draw a large pair of sunglasses. In the sunglasses, draw something you did over

the summer. Write a paragraph about what is

“reflected” in your glasses.

Box of MeTake a shoe box and fill it with at least 5, but no more than 8

items that are important in your life so that the class can get to know you better. Be prepared

to share with the class your box of treasures!

“Me” CollageCreate a collage using pictures,

symbols, and words from magazines or items from home

that illustrate things that are important to you.

Back-to-School PuzzlersComplete a back-to-school

puzzler and decoder activity.

Sing-a-LongMake up a song (using the tune from the alphabet song) about the start of the new school year

– be creative!

Literature CenterFeaturing books by Dr. Seuss

Choose

Choose a Dr. Seuss book. Choose a character from the book and create a bubble map.

Put the character’s name in the middle

and adjectives to describe him or her around it.

Choose two Dr. Seuss books and . read them. Create a double bubble map comparing and contrasting the two books.

Choose a Dr. Seuss book. Read the book. Create a flow map retelling the sequence of the story.

Look at several Dr. Seuss books.Dr. Seuss often made up new words. Create a circle map . In the center write Dr. Seuss’s Made Up Words. In the outer circle, write all the made up words that you found.

Read Yertle the Turtle and Horton Hears a Who.

Create a double bubble map comparing and contrasting the two characters – Horton and Yertle.

Create a tree map of your favorite Dr. Seuss books. Your title is My Favorite Dr. Seuss Books. Each category should state the title. Under each category list the characters from each story. Color code repeat characters.

Read The Lorax.Create a bubble map to describe the setting of the Onceler’s town at the end of the story.

Read The Tooth Book.Create a circle map telling what you now know about teeth.

Read The Cat in the Hat.

Create a circle map telling the things the

cat did that the mother would not have been

happy about.

Schnepp, 2011

My Highly Differentiated Classroom...

Looks Like … Sounds Like…

Visualization

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Amanda Gorski, Jennifer Schnepp, Amanda Williams

Part 5 – Managing the Differentiated Classroom