Toolkit 3
Toolkit Stage 3
Describe your planning process, and how it might include more elements of differentiation.
My planning process always begins with setting a (goal) for all of my students. I know “No two children are alike. An enriched environment for one is not necessarily enriched for another.” (Marian Diamond) Therefore I have many things to re-consider when making lesson plans for the up-coming school year. I need to look into each Unit with differentiation in mind. To begin I will include Heacox’s KUDO’s into my lesson planning. I will also be adding Heacox’s Anchor Activities and having students brainstorm what they would like to do, instead of me choosing what they do for their “All Done Activities”. I will also be reconsidering my tiering. I have always made my lower-leveled students workload less, and higher students had a heavier workload. Heacox is very clear on making sure “the work should be different – not more or less.” (Heacox pg. 86)
When planning a Unit Project I will consider giving each student a choice of activities from a (planning list) to provide different methods for students to explore. Using Graffiti Facts or a graphic organizer such as a (KWL Chart) can help assist the different levels of each child’s learning ability . Giving each child this option will help me differentiate the unit and have successful students.
I would also like to incorporate more feedback and use our Specialty Teachers more. “One professional development approach, applied by the Tennessee reading specialists, provides for co- planning by reading specialists and classroom teachers, demonstrations of implementation of planned instruction, and gradual release of teaching responsibility to the classroom teacher with feedback and additional cycles of co-teaching” (Literacy Collaborative, 2009). I really like the idea of co-planning and sharing Pre-Assessment Strategy Ideas with a reading specialist or our Title-1 teachers. We work together on getting the students in the groups but not have enough time to actually sit and talk about the students’ progresses, strengths and weaknesses. I will then have to make myself more available during non-teaching hours to work with our Title and other First grade teachers.
“Observations and coaching by reading specialists are also recommended as follow-up options for supporting teachers and ensuring that the intervention principles are being implemented” (Haager & Mahdavi, 2007). Follow-ups often get over looked as our busy school year takes off and with such a short time frame with school days off for Collaboration and Professional days, we just seem to not have enough time to collaborate with our own staff. I think it would be ideal for our school to actually have a day off and only report to our building and meet with your co-teachers and the Specialist. Having the Title teachers come in and observe the students and the teacher is great way to have friendly reminders about using differentiating instruction and also to see how the lower leveled reading students are doing in a whole-group setting.
“ Differentiated instruction is responsive teaching. When planning for effective differentiated instruction, teachers use a backward lesson design approach, with careful analysis of student needs.” (Differentiated Instruction: Taylor Ranch School’s Journey Towards Excellence Handbook pg 6 ) This is not how I typically taught. I would actually do the opposite. I would assess only in Reading and Math areas only and carelessly put the other subjects (Social Studies, Science and Health) on the back burner, only to find the students were struggling in these areas. Then I reacted to student failure. I needed to re-asses my goals and pull small groups to “fix” the gap. I would not set my lesson plans up according to their prior knowledge or student differences, but do as the curriculum map and standards tell me to do. I focus so much on our core subjects, Math and Reading, and tend to forget to assess them in the other areas of what they need to know. We use pre and post-assessments in Math and Reading to have intervention groups so often I felt I was differentiating all the time. I was, just in those two subject areas, but not pre-assessing in the other areas.
This course has given me many new learning tools and ideas to bring into my fifth year of teaching. I am looking forward to the fall and using all of my new knowledge to share with others and to help those struggling students.
Goal –
This is a Rubric created to help create Goals for every learner.
http://adifferentplace.org/products.htm
Planning List –
This is a list to provide your students with different ideas they can use when they have finished all of their work
http://adifferentplace.org/products.htm
KWL Chart –
Made by Heather Gorski on Microsoft Word.
Pre-Assesment Strategies and Graffiti Facts
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3747932
This web site is where I found three pre-assessment strategies; Yes/No cards, Thumbs Up, and Graffiti facts.These are three strategies you can use in place of a graphic organizer on the board or with your students.
Heather’s ( toolkit3resources )
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