How to differentiating instruction at the Middle School level deepens the level of understanding for students and helps to make the curriculum more interesting and relatable. This power point addresses ways to differentiate instruction and the reasons why it should be implemented.

1. By: Amanda Askwith
EDUC 6540

3.  W - Where are we headed? “What standards, concepts, and
questions drive this course of study?(Jackson, 2000, p.72)
 H - Hook the students. The hook creates learning opportunities
that engage students in learning quickly and purposefully.
 E - Explore the subject and equip the students. This process leads
to deeper understanding of main ideas but activities must meet
the skill set of the learners for the overall goals to be reached.
 R - Rethink our work and ideas. Students need the opportunity to
reflect and revisit their work and be able to revise it as needed.
 E - Evaluate results. Students and teachers should use formative
and summative assessments to self assess and self adjust as
needed in an effort to evaluate the level of understanding.

5. “ By allowing students to become smart in diverse ways, teachers
can motivate students to succeed academically without forcing
them to sacrifice their personal or social identity.”
Wheelock, 1998

6. “Standards… provide a common language that
allows students and teachers to talk
together about their work and relationships.”
Wheelock, 1998
 Exploring topics in depth:
 depends the amount of content being learned
 Sets expectations for classroom practices and habits
 develops the work habits of students
 Creation of projects:
 allows student to display what they learned
 develop habits that foster high quality work
 find “real world” relevance for their work

8. Developmentally responsive approaches to teaching and learning
that respond to the diversity among today’s young adolescents.
Learning Inventories
Projects
Questioning
Knowledge Performance
Student Reflection
“ Teachers who recognize and honor wide diversity among
young adolescents are able to maximize student learning within
the curriculum. (Erb, 2005)”

9. LEARNING INVENTORIES TEACHING APPROACHES
 Cultural and academic formal
inventories and questionnaires
used to get to know the students
and their strengths /weaknesses.
 These inventories can be used to
build relationships, plan
curriculum, and choose teaching
strategies.
 This information can be placed
into graphs and charts as a visual
way to learn about the class.
 Present information using multiple
learning styles as a way to reach
each of the students and make it
more meaningful.
 Use anticipatory sets and
scaffolding to help students
remember what was taught prior.
 Use multiple teaching such as
Parallel, Collaborative, or Station,
choose according to students
needs and strengths.

10. QUESTION POSING PROJECTS

11. KNOWLEDGE PERFORMANCE / STUDENT
REFLECTION
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

13. If students don’t believe they can
accomplish a task by putting in the effort,
they probably won’t be able to complete
the task. Teachers can combat this by
helping students to believe if they put in
the effort they can achieve!
Teachers can motivate students by using
examples like Olympic athletes and
political figures.