2. What Is It?
The modification of the content, process, or product
of a lesson so that all students within a classroom
can learn effectively, regardless of ability.
A differentiated lesson reflects the teachers current
best understanding of what a child needs to grow.
3. Why Differentiate?
Every child is born as an individual with different
strengths, skills, weaknesses, and interests.
Education cannot be standardized because not
every child is the same!
Lessons must be tailored to fit the needs, skills, and
interests of each student
Education is not “One size fits all”
4. Benefits of DI
Individualized instruction that reflects students needs
Assignments based on students skills, knowledge, and
understanding
Scaffolded to help students improve skills
Ongoing assessment to track/assess student skill
and progression.
Engaging curriculum based on students interests
Helps students become independent learners
5. Parent Involvement
Communication with parents is key to student
success
Build partnerships with parents, listen and learn from
them
Understand the “Parenting Paradox”
Parents want to push their children to get better, but they
don’t want to see them struggling
Its important that they know a student has to be pushed,
but learning can be impaired when they feel overtaxed.
6. Parent Involvement
Its important that they know
differentiation looks different than they
may expect
What’s fair?
Make sure parents know that their child's
work is no harder than the next
Relative to their child's skills/understanding,
their work is no harder than the work of
another child with their own
skills/understanding.
