Differentiating+Resources

Melody's Differentiating Resources
**Readiness ** Site: [] is a site that defines DI and gives various ways to implement the approach in the classroom. One of the suggested ways to implement DI in the classroom was to use the “tic-tac-toe” board format. With this plan, the teacher gives various activities that allow the students to choose how he or she wants to demonstrate understanding. When used in this application, student interest(s) will be noted by the teacher. A place to view this idea is at  http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/Choice+Boards This site offers many ways to use this approach. It is one that I will add to my list of favorites. In my classroom, I would take this idea and make it novel tic-tac-toe. This is a tic-tac-toe board suggested by (Tomlinson, 2003) to offer students choices at various levels of readiness. There are two versions of this board which make it a tiered strategy. In this board students are given choices over exploring the concepts of theme, character, and setting. Tomlinson, C. (2003). Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, (ASCD).

This site you listed gave some really great resources. One that I can use in my class is webquest. It would assist students in the use of surfing the internet as well as acting as a guide to discover new information. The structure would really assist those students who have difficulty finding answers on their own while it would also allow students who need more of a challenge to research topics even more deeply. -- Kim

**Interest ** Site: [] is a great tool for creating a survey to gain insight into student interest. I think this would be a useful tool to use at the beginning of school to gain insight into student interest. With Survey Monkey, I could create a survey that would address preferences in sports, music, reading, and more. This approach could be expanded upon when beginning any new project. For example, when my students did their first digital storytelling project, I told the students which topic they would use for their first experience. Afterwards, I thought of how I could have given choices and then used the information to more closely match their choice to use a sample project. As defined by (CAST 2011) it is important to address the strategic network of the brain. Realizing that there are multiple ways to communicate and display understanding, teachers will address the individuality of the learner to allow for a more complete picture of the learner’s true ability and capabilities. Cast teaching every student. (2011). Retrieved from [] **Learning Profile ** Site: [] This site gives a very useful PowerPoint presentation that could be shared with faculty and students. It addresses the multiple intelligences in the classroom. At the end of the PowerPoint it encourages the use of one academic standard and using collaboration efforts to create activities to address the different learners. As a teacher, my students would benefit by a lesson like this that would create an understanding for them of the different intelligences and help them to identify their strengths. By using collaborative group work to create activities for a specific standard, students will have a better understanding of their areas of strength, and I will gain ideas for meeting the needs of my learners. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 6.5pt 0pt 20.2pt; text-indent: -13.7pt;">An awareness is needed to the fact that teacher interest can supercede student interest. (Tomlinson, Birghton, Hertber, Callahan, Moon, Brimijoin, & Reynolds 2003) ascertain that this is an unfortunate reality in the classroom. It is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure that an effort is made to identify and offer flexibility in the way the student works, creates, and demonstrates understanding in the classroom. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 6.5pt 0pt 20.2pt; text-indent: -13.7pt;">Tomlinson, C., Brighton, C., Hertberg, H., Callahan, C. M., Moon, T. R., Brimijoin, K., & ... Reynolds, T. (2003). Differentiating Instruction in Response to Student Readiness, Interest, and Learning Profile in Academically Diverse Classrooms: A Review of Literature. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 27(2-3), 119-145. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 6.5pt 0pt 20.2pt; text-indent: -13.7pt;">-- Kimberly's Differentiating Resources!
 * 1) Readiness
 * Survey []
 * Surveys are brief, pre-assessment quizzes that students can answer to show their prior-knowledge before beginning a new lesson.
 * Student surveys can be conducted for any lesson to see how much prior-knowledge each student has of the topic. With the use of zoomerang.com, I can create surveys so that I, and my students, will know where to place our focus for a new lesson.
 * Knowing how ready a student is to learn a new topic is vital to each lesson. Teachers always want to challenge their students, and as Dr. Tomlinson states, “teach up” (Laureate, 2009). However, we do not want to make learning so difficult that students give up. A part of differentiating learning is to match assignments to the “varying degrees of ability” for each student (Smith & Throne, 2007b).
 * 1) Interest
 * I-Search []
 * I-Search is based upon Ken Macrorie's book //The I-Search Paper//. The idea is for students to research a topic of their own choosing as well as the format they wish to present their findings (Callison & Lamb, n.d.).
 * As a technology teacher, I could utilize the I-Search strategy in numerous ways. One standard in my curriculum is to teach students how appropriately to use the internet for research purposes. In teaching this lesson, I can allow students to conduct research on any topic of interest and then present it in a format of their choosing. Students could create a wiki, podcast, PowerPoint, or traditional essay. Students will have numerous opportunities to practice with the use of technology in a way that interest them as well as meet curriculum standards.
 * When differentiating instruction, the goal is to offer flexibility in the classroom that can reach each type of student. What better way to reach a student than to appeal to that student’s interest. When a student feels connected and invested in an activity, they are more apt to succeed. The I-Search format plays towards students’ interest and encourages them to express themselves through research and presentation of their likes. As stated by Smith and Throne (2007a) “ When tasks promote curiosity, learning becomes more appealing to all students, even those who struggle most or are the most reluctant to learn.”
 * 1) Learning Profile
 * Flat Stanley Project []
 * Flat Stanley is a worldwide exchange program. Students draw a man, “Flat Stanley,” and then mail him to another school across the country or world. Students take pictures, write stories of Flat Stanley’s adventures, and then mail it back to the original student.
 * As a technology teacher, I can use the Flat Stanley project to teach several different lessons. Students can take pictures of Flat Stanley around the school. Then, I can show students how to properly use a digital camera and upload photos to a computer. Students can also use Microsoft Word to type stories about Flat Stanley’s adventures. Other students could create a PowerPoint or Digital Storybook about Flat Stanley and add pictures and music to their project.
 * All students are different; their ability to learn is affected by their culture, gender, and intelligence preferences. When teaching, it is important to find activities that will coincide with all the types of multiple intelligences (Smith & Throne, 2007c). The Flat Stanley project is a great way to reach many of the diverse intelligences that may exist in my classroom. Artistic students may enjoy the aspect of photography, musical students would like to search for songs to correspond with the PowerPoint, and linguistic children would enjoy writing stories about Flat Stanley’s adventures. With just one project, numerous students’ intelligence preferences can be accommodated and active learning can take place.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">1) **__INTEREST__**

 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The [|article] provides the teacher with information about student's lack of interest in the of writing. It provides the true account from a teacher striving to constantly push the students in the classroom. ====


 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The students can use the [|comic creator] to peak interest in my writing class. Students will be given a variety of speculative writing prompts to choose from. After writing to their prompt, they will then illustrate their story using the comic creator. ====


 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">"Technology integration into language arts can be extremely beneficial for students with diverse needs. Technology allows students to work on essential reading and writing skills and to express themselves in ways beyond writing" (Bray, Brown, & Green, 2004). In differentiated instruction the main goal is flexibility and options. The teacher needs to be flexible in allowing students to have choices and be free to be creative. Students have to learn writing skills throughout their elementary school years. Some will enjoy writing, while others will struggle through the process. By providing them with options and the highlight of illustrating their writing, I hope to gain more interest in this tedious task. ====

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">2) __**READINESS**__

 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The [|pretests] provided offer an insight into student's prior knowledge about a certain topic being covered in my English class. ====


 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The concept of the site is to break down grammar into specific sections and then test students on their knowledge. Such topics include: sentences, parts of speech, and punctuation. ====


 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">In my English class, students can complete the quiz prior to beginning a chapter. Once the test is submitted, I can use that data to create future lessons. If students have mastered a specific topic, I will not need to address it again and can move on to more advanced topics. ====


 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">It is essential to know the students in your classroom. Students want to be engaged and challenged within the classroom. Children can be easily frustrated if they become "bored" in the classroom setting and may in turn create problems in the classroom. By assessing students at different stages of the learning process one can alleviate these issues. ====

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">3) __**LEARNING PROFILE**__
> ==== ====
 * ==== <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The [|site] focuses on the many differences of students personalities and learning styles.as stated on the website, the mission ﻿is as follows " Improve academic performance by teaching critical and creative thinking skills with SIX THINKING HATS®. This effective communication tool teaches us to SEE AND FOCUS our thinking using six strategies to improve reading, writing, speaking and listening. It teaches us to (1) think using six strategies, (2) problem solve, (3) make decisions, (4) design quality questions and (5) self assess. This energizing concept used by international corporations and schools revolutionizes communication. The workshop will prepare you to join the global Six Hats® team using the colorful HATS® … white, red, yellow, black, blue, green!" ====


 * ==== <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Within my classroom, I constantly see differences and similarities of my students. When given one assignment with clear directions and instructions and not variety, I watch as some succeed and others struggle. I have started to focus on creating options and choices for my students to complete tasks. The example provided to use with //The Hare and the Tortoise// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">is a wonderful approach to incorporate variety into an everyday language arts task. ====


 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The concept behind a learning profile is that " people learn in different ways and that teaching and ** learning ** would be more successful if students could explore and express content in ways that work best for them" (Tomlinson, 2009). Students understand that they learn and perform better in specific ways. Why not give them the opportunity to shine using the ways in which they know they can? ====

I could use the basis of the "Six Hats" as a way to view searching the internet for research. Students could use this as a guide for the way they should evaluate websites for accuracy and problem solve when analyzing a topic. Thanks for sharing this great source!! --Kim