Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Differentiation Ideas
I just had an opportunity to be observed by a different principal than my own and I got some great feedback and i would like to pose the question to all: I do feel that I work hard to differentiate in the classroom as much as possible but I find it difficult in first grade when we are doing up to 8 subjects a day which would make it 8 times 5 so 40 lessons a week to differentiate. I know that is not the expectation but I am wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to make differentiation more manageable. For most lessons I offer an extension for the lesson but I know my high kids are ready for something more engaging. I am not sure if I should start by just focusing on one subject area such as writing or if anyone has any other ideas. Reading I will be starting book clubs with my higher students, which will help, but I would love any other suggestions. Thank you.
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I have seen differentiation for higher students through the access of subject focused work stations. So, when the students have completed the assignment/lesson, they have the option to go to the designated work station and engage in a challenging/higher level activity.
ReplyDelete-Like you mentioned, it is probably more feasable to tackle this one subject at a time, seeing how it works for the flow of your lessons.
I also struggle with differentiation, and find that it can be very challenging to meet every student at his/her own level during every lesson. I will often choose to shoot for smaller goals any time I am trying to implement a new strategy - for instance, trying to have one differentiation opportunity in math and one in reading during a given week, or targeting a single subject to begin with.
ReplyDeleteWe never expect our students to be proficient at a given skill their first time out of the gate with it, and I think it's important that we have the same patience with ourselves. Set small, attainable goals and work up from there. Your students will benefit from each incremental change.
I agree with Liz's response, of attempting to differentiate smaller number of subjects in a given time period. Achieving goals is extremely rewarding whether were 7 years old or 70. Use your differentiation in one subject as a test pilot and probably most important share your thoughts and results with your grade level department and see if they can aide you in your great work.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you. It is really hard to do this for all the subjects thatwer are expected to teach each day. I find that writing leads it self more to diffentiation due to their ability to write. I would just try to work on this during conferences when you meet with your students. With reading it will continue to get easier with them reading their "just right books" and small grouping. I would say just pick one area and try each week to maybe to look at couple lessons to work on. Just a thought!
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