“Tiered” Writing Activities for the ELA Common Core Classroom:

Meeting Students Where They Are, Not Where We’d Like Them to Be

With Judy DodgeEducational Consultant & Author

Differentiation in Action (Scholastic, 2005)25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated

Classroom (Scholastic, 2009)judydodge@judydodge.com

©2013 Judy Dodge

“That students differ may be inconvenient, but it is inescapable.”

Grant Wiggins

Turn to a colleague and discuss:How do our students differ from one another?

Zones of Proximal DevelopmentLev Vygotsky

Student’slearningzone

Student’slearningzone

Student’slearningzone

Judy Dodge ©2013 Judy Dodge

The National Research The National Research CouncilCouncil

“Tasks must be at the proper level of difficulty to be and to remain motivating:

tasks that are too easy become boring; tasks that are too difficult cause frustration”

(Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 1999 & 2000).-Carol Ann Tomlinson and Cindy Strickland

©2013 Judy Dodge

©2013 Judy Dodge

What is a “Tiered” Activity?

• A “tiered” activity is one differentiation strategy that addresses student readiness focuses on one particular concept at different levels of abstractness, complexity, and/or independence. (Carol Ann Tomlinson, 1999)

• It usually provides 2-3 levels of instruction that address different levels of thinking using Bloom’s Taxonomy, as well as different amounts of “structure vs. independence”

On-grade concept activity

©2013 Judy Dodge

When Should I “Tier a Lesson by Readiness?

• After I have taught a concept• After I have assessed student understanding and

readiness• After I have determined that I have a wide range of

student understandin

Heterogeneous or Homogeneous?• For what types of activities is it best to group

students heterogeneously?

• For what types of activities is it best to group students homogeneously?

©2013 Judy Dodge

Preparing Students for Tiered/Leveled Tasks• Remind students that “It’s my job is to provide a ‘just

provide a ‘just right’ challenge for each of you.”• Graph/Web your class’ strengths• Have multiple conversations about what each of us

does well. Create a classroom environment of tolerance and acceptance of differences

• Give a pre-assessment. Gather data. Base assigned task on the data

Lay the foundation for “tiering”

©2013 Judy Dodge

©2013 Judy Dodge

“Set the stage” for your

tiered lesson

It’s my job to give you a “just right” challenge

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“Charting My Strengths”

Listening—Speaking—Reading—Writing—Pronunciation--Homework

I’m great!

I’m good

I’m okay

©2013 Judy Dodge

©2013 Judy Dodge

“Fair is not equal;Fair is getting what you

need.”

©2013 Judy Dodge

How Do I Determine Which Students Will Work at a Particular Level?

• Prior Formal Assessments

(Tests, quizzes, essays, QuickWrites, etc.)

• Homework • Exit Cards (Admit Cards, and

other daily formative assessments)

• Reading Level (Determined by prior assessments)

• Writing Level (Determined by writing samples)

What About Grading???

• Differentiated instruction does not require different tests for different readiness levels

• Formative assessment is second chance learning

• Provides the learner time to become more successful

• At the end of the unit, all students take the same assessment, perhaps with differentiated elements (choice, visuals, etc.)

©2013 Judy Dodge

©2013 Judy Dodge

How Do We “Tier” by Readiness??

Providing appropriate challengeto three levels of learners

• Basic Level (Provide support)

• **On-grade Level • Advanced Level (Provide a challenge)

Tying Reading to a “Tiered” Writing Response

• After a Read Aloud to the whole class --or--

• After students read their own leveled text or independent text --or--

• After the class engages in a close reading of the same rigorous text

• The teacher assigns a “tiered” writing or “tiered” speaking task

• Tier the (Writing or Speaking) TASK, NOT, necessarily, THE TEXT

“Tier the TASK, Not the TEXT”

©2013 Judy Dodge

©2013 Judy Dodge

©2013 Judy Dodge

©2013 Judy Dodge

©2013 Judy Dodge

©2013 Judy Dodge

Step 1: Designing a TieredAssignment

Choose the Concept or Task/Decide on the Essential Understandings

Concept/Task: ________________________Essential Understandings:

• • •

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Step 2

• Describe the task for the on-grade level group of students. Be specific. (This is the task that you would like to do with the entire class-but recognize a wide range of readiness)

• This task is at the tied to the grade level standards of the Common Core for this grade of learners (on-grade level expectations).

©2013 Judy Dodge

Step 3

• Provide support for this struggling group of writers to do the same task as the on-grade level group

• Provide teacher-assistance, models, sentence starters, an outline, page numbers, highlighted text, or other aid to complete the same task

©2013 Judy Dodge

Step 4

• Provide a challenge for this group of learners• Create a task that is more abstract, complex, and

rigorous (This task might be a bit different from the first two tasks-but it is still is tied to the same concept and key understandings.)

• Require more sophisticated writing and complex critical analysis

©2013 Judy Dodge

Now, You Try It!!

Concept: Characterization– Essential Understandings:

• Attributes, What they say, What they do, What others say about them• Evidence from the text

**Task B—On-Grade Level Task

Describe the main character in at least two ways and provide evidence from the text.

©2013 Judy Dodge

Addressing Learner Readiness

Turn-n-Talk with a partner:

• How can we support the struggling writers?

• How can we challenge the advanced writers?

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Design a Support Level Task

• For learners who might have difficulty finding

the evidence and writing a logical and coherent piece of writing:

**Task A—Support Level Task

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Design a Challenge Level Task

• One that is more abstract, complex, and/or rigorous than the on-grade level task

• Require more sophisticated writing and more complex critical analysis

**Task C—Challenge Level Task

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You’re Ready!

• To appropriately challenge the writers in your classroom

• To target appropriate interventions for the struggling writers in your classrooms

• To address differentiation at RTI Level 1-differentiation in the general education classroom (keeping track of at-risk learners, while challenging advanced learners at the same time.)

©2013 Judy Dodge

But, keep in mind…

The “Implementation Dip”

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Then and Now

• Before today I thought that tiered instruction…

• But, now I know…

• I want to learn more about…

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Judy Dodge’s Web Site

• www.judydodge.com

• Click on Judy’s eBoard—scroll to the bottom

• Click on LIASCD-October 2013

• Click on PPt. Presentation: PPt. LIASCD 2013

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Question & Answer Session

Questions and Answers

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