Session presented in partnership with the ERLC in Fort McMurray for a PD Day.

1. Differentiated Instructional
Strategies
January 28th, 2011

3. The Purpose of this Session…
• To provide real life examples of
differentiated instructional strategies that
can be used in a grade 4,5, or 6
classroom
• To see examples of differentiated learning
that can be applied in all classrooms
• To provide a common place to think
together and ask questions

4. As a result of this session you
should:
Know
Key principles (non-negotiables) of differentiation
Key vocabulary: readiness, interest, learning profile, content,
process, product, pre-assessment, ongoing/formative
assessment, flexible grouping, teaching up, respectful tasks
Understand
Effective differentiation stems from a teachers growth mindset
Student learning differences shape student learning
experiences
Instructional fit is necessary for real learning
Quality Differentiation stretches learners
Be able to Do
Relate principles of differentiation to your own experiences
Take away at least one idea to use within your own classroom

5. Baseball Partners
Home Plate:
First Base: Third Base:
Second Base:

6. There is a vast amount of
research that states Students:
• Learn at different rates
• Need different degrees
of difficulty
• Have different interests
• Learn in different ways
• And need different
support systems

7. Content Process Product
What students learn How students learn How students show what
they have learned
Readiness Interests Learning Profile
Student’s ability level Student’s desire to Ways in which
study a particular student learns best
topic

8. What Does DI Look Like in a
Classroom?
Note how clean
it is…. Must be
September

9. Step #1
Interest inventories, learner profiles, cum files, standardized tests, parent inventories….

10. • Establishes the framework for a responsive classroom
– Each student’s need for a “next step”
– Responsibility for own growth
– “We’ve got your back” mentality
– Competition against self )vs. others)
– Fair as each student getting what he/she needs to succeed
• Begins with Teacher mindset
• Extends to student belief in one another
• Supports the belief that we win or lose together
• Ensures security/safety necessary for academic growth
• Provides the teacher with “teammates” too
Tomlinson, 2009

12. 4. Strongest Multiple Intelligence Area = Shirt
Learner Colour
ProfiLe PeoPLe Intra personal (go with your guts) = White
Inter personal (working with people) = Red
Musical = Blue
Kinesthetic = Black
Logical mathematical = Yellow
Verbal/ Linguistic = Purple
1. Favourite subject in school = Visual/ Spatial = Orange
Naturalist = Green H
Learning Preference = Shoe Colour e
a
Visual = White d
Auditory = Black
Kinesthetic = Red a
n
d
5. If you prefer to work alone on a project, put
b
stripes on your shirt, if you prefer to work in groups,
o
put polka dots d
y
6. If you like to be challenged and learn new and
c
difficult things design a hat for your self.
o
l
o
u
r
.

13. Learner Cards
Student Name
Rdg Level Sch Affil
-321 = 123 + + -
Q/N: quiet or noisy
V/A/K: visual, auditory, kinesthetic
LP Int
G/S: group, single
Q/N Soccer
A/P/C: analytic, practical, creative
V/A/K Mysteries
P/W: ???? S/P
G/S Video Games
A/P/C ELL
P/W

14. Math Inventory
1. How do you feel about math?
2. Do you think you are good in math? Why?
3. What are your best areas in math?
4. What are your weakest areas in math?
5. Do you think it is important to be good in math? Why?
6. What do you think are characteristics of students who are good in
math? Why?
7. What do you do when you come to a math problem you can’t
solve?
8. How do you use math outside of class?
9. What do you usually do after school when you get home?
10. What do you most like to do when you have free time? Why?
11. What else should I know about you to teach you effectively this
year?

15. At My Best….
Thinking about your strengths and best features, please
answer the following:
1. A positive thing people say about me is:
2. When I’m feeling great at school, it’s probably because:
3. A dream I have for myself is:
4. A thing I like spending time on is:
5. Something that captures my imagination is:
6. The best thing about my family is:
7. My strength as a learner is:
8. What I can contribute to the classroom is:
9. A thing I wish people know about me is:
10. I’m proud of:

16. Me Graphs
Step 1 : Come up with a word that to you means “the best at”
Step 2: Come up with a word that to you means “not very good at”
Step 3: Come up with three more words that would fit in the middle,
getting progressively better
Step 4: Draw an x, and y axis on your graph paper, plot your words
along the y axis from worst to best.
Step 5: Plot these subjects along you x axis, leaving room for three
more Math Writing Music
Social Studies Science Physed
Reading Art
Step 6: Create a line graph plotting your skills in each of these
subject areas
Step 7: Add three more things to your x axis, and plot your skill level
in those as well

17. Patterning and Relations Pre-Assessment
Do you agree or disagree with
each statement? Explain your
thinking.
1.There are different kinds of
patterns.
2.A pattern that starts with the
numbers 10,20,….. can be
continued ONLY ONE way.
3.If you continue the number
pattern 35, 45,55,65,…… you will
reach the number 120.
4.Every addition equation can be
written as a subtraction equation.
Adapted from Nelson math text

18. Morning Message
• Written to the kids, or by the kids
• About the kids
• Connections can be made to all content
areas
• Authentic Literacy
• FUN!

19. A morning message that links your
students to the curriculum engages your
students!
“be ready for morning message
EVERY MORNING.. She really
shows how much she cares
about you… because she adds
you to the things you care
about”

20. Step #2
Learning menus, contracts, tic tac toe, R.A.F.T.S.

22. Geography Learning Menu
Appetizer: You must complete these tasks
•Complete a quiz on the 6 regions of Alberta/Canada, and the 6 facets of
geography.
•Decide on a region you would like to study further and write 3 reasons
why you would like to study this region.
Wait for Ms. Tebay to assign regions.

23. Main Course (Chose ONE task to complete)
 Write a report about the geographic features of your region. Use the graphic
organizer provided by Ms. Tebay to plan your report. Use your textbook, library
resources and the Internet to get the information for your report.
 Interview someone from this region. Use the graphic organizer provided by Ms.
Tebay to plan your interview questions. Bring in a written transcript of your interview.
Create a PowerPoint presentation about your region. Use the graphic organizer provided
by Ms. Tebay to plan your presentation. Use your textbook, library resources and the
Internet to get the information for your presentation.

24. Side Dish (Chose ONE task to complete)
 Create a brochure enticing people to visit your region.
Include pictures, facts, a map, and things to do in your region.
 Create a TV. commercial enticing people to visit your
region. Include pictures, facts, a map, and things to do in your
region.
Create a mini scrapbook (4-5 pages) of a trip (real or fictional)
to this region. Include pictures, facts, a map, and things to do in
your region.

25. Dessert (a little something extra)
 Write or perform a song about your region
 Paint a picture of your region
Write an email home from an imaginary trip to this region.

27. R.A.F.T.(S).
R – Role
A – Audience
F – Format
T – Topic
(S) – Strong Verb

29. Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump R.A.F.T.
Role Audience Format Topic
A grade 4 or 5 A grade 3 A friendly letter What is the
student student historical
significance of
Head Smashed in
Buffalo Jump?
An Aboriginal The Prime A song Should they have
Man Minister live buffalo at
Head Smashed in
Buffalo Jump
today?
A buffalo Our class A graphic Why is Head
organizer Smashed in
Buffalo Jump a
world heritage
site?
Garette Tebay, 2007

30. Ecology Raft
Role Audience Format Topic
A plastic bag The class A friendly Letter Why should we protect wetlands?
Mother Earth The mayor A news paper What changes can you make to help the
article environment?
A house The universe A story Why are wetlands so important?
A wetland animal A brother or A speech What happens to things when we throw them out?
sister
A tree A grade one class A business letter Why should we recycle?
Garette Tebay, 2008

31. Possible Ideas for a RAFT
Choose ideas that advance the learning goals.
Characters Public service Key terms Scientists or
from a story job politicians
Historical Musical Diseases Geographic
figures instruments formations
Vocabulary Cartoon Types of Composers or
words characters fabric artists
Instruments Shapes or Authors or Business or
or tools colors inventers industry person
Minerals or Cities, Brand Technical terms
chemical countries or name or
elements continents object

32. Possible RAFT Formats to Differentiate by
Learning Modality
Written Visual Oral Kinesthetic
Diary entry Comic Song Model
Bulleted list Crossword Monologue Cheer
Obituary puzzle Radiocast Mime
Invitation Map Museum Demonstration
Recipe Graphic guide Sales pitch
Movie critic organizer Interview with demos
FAQs Print ad Puppet show Sew, cook,
Editorial Photograph Political build
Gossip Fashion speech Wax museum
column design
Story teller

33. DI R.A.F.T
Role Audience Format Topic
DI Kindergarten Letter to Differentiating
Expert class Dear Abby for readiness
Retired Parent Graphic Differentiating
Teacher council organizer for interest
Grade 8 First year Rhyming Differentiating
student teachers couplets for learner
profile

34. Anchor Activities
• Ongoing assignments that students can
work on independently throughout a unit, a
grading period, or longer
• They can be set up as a center, or as part
of your classroom routine

35. One premise in a differentiated
classroom:
“In this class
we are never
finished ----
Learning is a
process that
never ends.”

36. Anchor Activities
Work Best When:
• Expectations are clear and the tasks are taught
and practiced prior to use
• Students are held accountable for on task
behavior and/or task completion
• They are motivating; students want to work on
them
• Students have the pre-requisite
• skills necessary to complete them
• They allow for student choice

37. Step #3
Using the curriculum, Post what student should know, understand, and be able to Do

38. The business of schools is to produce work
that engages students, that is so
compelling that students persist when they
experience difficulties, and that is so
challenging that students have a sense of
accomplishment, of
satisfaction – indeed, of
delight when they
successfully accomplish the
tasks assigned
Inventing Better Schools, Schlechty

39. Know
Facts, names, dates, places, information
• Provincial capitals
• Important historical figures
• Basic Math Facts
• Sight words

40. Understand
Essential truths that give meaning to the topic
Stated in a full Sentence
Begin with “At the end of this unit students will
understand that…” (not HOW…. Or WHY…. Or
WHAT)
• Multiplication is another way to do addition
• People migrate to meet basic needs
• All cultures contain the same elements
• Voice reflects the author
• People invent mechanisms to make work easier

41. Be able to DO
Skills (basic skills, skills of the discipline, skills of
independence, social skills, skills of production)
Verbs or phrases (not the whole activity)
• Analyze
• Solve a problem to find perimeter
• Write a well supported argument
• Evaluate work according to a specific criteria
• Contribute to the success of a group or team
• Use graphics to represent data appropriately

42. Could you use These ideas to differentiate instruction for all students?
When we read we are learning…
What I should Know:
• What is fiction?
• What is nonfiction?
• How do I know if a book is a good fit for me?
• The role of a reader.
• The strategies of a successful reader.
What Should I be able to Understand:
• In good fiction the reader asks “what if I were the character? What would I do?”
• In good fiction, the reader asks “what makes people do what they do?”
• Through good fiction readers try on lives to see which one fits.
• Good fiction changes readers.
What Should I Do:
• Respond to what I am reading.
• Connect to what I am reading.
• Ask questions about what I am reading.
• Use the strategies of a successful reader.
Adapted from C.A.Tomlinson, 2009

43. • The Students Will KNOW
• The names and uses of 8 simple machines (lever, wheel & axel, wedge, screw,
inclined plane, roller, gear, pulley)
• The directionality of gear and pulley systems
• The three classes of a lever
• Vocabulary: push, pull, crank, mechanism, motion, friction, drive system, fulcrum,
force, load
• The Students will UNDERSTAND that
• People invent mechanisms to make work simpler
• The complex devices we use today originate from the worlds first inventions
• Simple machines are still used to make our lives easier
• Why should you plan an invention before trying to build it?
• What makes a good design?
• The Students will be able to DO
• Compare the wheel and the roller, and identify examples where each are used.
• Construct devices that use wheels and axels
• Construct a drive system and explain how the parts are moving and working.
• Construct models of levers and explain how they are used in everyday objects
• Design and construct devices that move
• Use simple forces to move mechanisms
• Compare two different designs identifying strengths and weaknesses within each.

44. Weather Watch KUD’s
The Students will Know
•Vocabulary: precipitation, temperature, moisture, dew, weather phenomena, climate, forecast,
•The difference between weather, and climate
•We choose clothing to suit the climate in our region
•How to record the weather over a period of time
•Identify types of clouds
The Students will Understand that
•Water is naturally recycled
•The relationship between the sun and the earth drives daily and seasonal changes in temperature
•How do humans affect climate?
•Why is it important to be able to forecast the weather?
•Why do we record the weather?
The Students will be able to Do
Predict where to find the coolest and warmest temperatures in an indoor and outdoor environment
•Describe how air moves in indoor and outdoor environments
•Measure different types of weather phenomena
•Describe evidence that air contains moisture, and that dew and other forms of precipitation
come from the air
•Describe and measure different forms of precipitation

45. Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump KUD’s
Students will Know:
Key vocabulary: Blackfoot, Buffalo, cliff, aboriginal, World Heritage Site
The location of the Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump interpretive site
The animals and vegetation native to the area
Students will Understand:
The importance of the buffalo hunt to the Blackfoot people in the past
The ingenuity of the aboriginal people of Canada
Why is it important to respect mother earth?
What does it mean to truly value mother earth?
How has aboriginal culture changed in Canada?
Students will be able to Do:
Recognize the importance of becoming a world heritage site
Traditional aboriginal dances and songs.
Discover their totem and create a piece of art
symbolizing the meaning of their totem.
Recreate the Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump site
in the classroom.
Reenact a buffalo hunt.

46. Our goal should always be to create the richest,
highest quality learning experience we know how
to create….
Then, differentiate to enable most students to
succeed with it.
Differentiation should always be about lifting up – never about watering
down!

47. DI/UBD Connection
Stage 1 Desired Results
Understandings Essential Questions
Students will know Students will be able to do
Stage 2 Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks Other Evidence
Stage 3 Learning Plan

48. “There are three things to remember
when teaching….
…. know your stuff, know
whom you are stuffing, and
then stuff them eloquently.”
~ Lola May