This document outlines strategies for differentiating instruction to meet the varying needs of students. It discusses differentiating based on student readiness, learning profiles, interests and cognitive ability. Specific strategies are provided for differentiating content, process and product for vocabulary, listening, reading, speaking and writing activities. Suggestions include providing varying levels of scaffolding for weaker students through tools like simplified texts, glossaries, leveled questions and prompts. The document also discusses differentiating the complexity of tasks and grouping arrangements.

1. DIFFERENTIATION

2. One Size DOESN’T Fit All

3. Workshop OutlineTheoretical inputPracticalwork – group workPresentation of findingsPracticalideas

4. One Size DOESN’T Fit All‘The biggestmistake of past centuries in teaching has been to treat all children as if theywerevariants of the sameindividual, and thus to feeljustified in teachingthem the samesubjects in the sameway.’ Howard Gardner

5. Differentiation: WHAT?CONTENT

6. PROCESS

7. PRODUCTCarol Ann TomlinsonDifferentiation ACCORDING TO:Learning profile (learning style; MI)

8. Interests

9. ReadinessDifferentiation: READINESSPrior knowledge

10. Linguisticability

11. Cognitive abilityDifferentiation: COGNITIVE ABILITYBloom’sTaxonomy of Educational Objectives

13. 4 groups: HOW to differentiate (15-20’)Vocabulary & ListeningReadingSpeakingWriting

14. Differentiation: READINESSPrior knowledge

15. Linguisticability

16. Cognitive abilityDifferentiation: HOW? VOCABULARY How would you use / adapt the following materials / tasks to differentiateaccording to readiness? Handout 1: ‘The engineer and the manager’

17. Handout 2: ‘Our house’ VOCABULARYGive weaker ST easier and / or fewer words to find (Handout 1)

18. Give them first letter of missing words (Handout 1)

19. Give them German and / or French translations of missing words (Handouts 1 & 2)

20. Give them missing words jumbled up (Handouts 1 & 2)

21. Let them work in pairs (Handouts 1 & 2)

22. Give them missing words for each category plus an ‘odd man out’ to find (Handout 2) LISTENING How would you use / adapt the following material in order to differentiateaccording to readiness?Song: ‘Brothers in arms’ (Dire Straits)

23. OtherlisteningtasksLISTENINGProvide weaker students with the transcript of the text (f.ex. lyrics of the song) and / or a glossary for it and / or the worksheet about it before they listen to it

24. Provide different TASKS: listen to the song and tick (✓) the correct word (*); listen to the song and match the second half of the sentences to the first ones (**); listen, underline the incorrect words and correct them (***)LISTENINGProvide different levels of QUESTIONS : Who?; Where?; When? (lower-order thinking skill) What?; Why? (higher-order thinking skill)

25. MC questions: use wordsfrom script or paraphrase

26. ST tick off elements in a grid or take notesREADING How would you use / adapt the following material in order to differentiateaccording to readiness?Text: ‘Throwawaychildren ?’

27. Novel / Short story READINGDifferentiating CONTENT:Level the contents: use differentlevels of simplifiedreaders & original text (f.ex. R Dahl’s short stories: ‘Way up to heaven’) or different level versions of the same text (cf. onestopenglish.com)

28. Provideweaker ST withglossary

29. Provideweaker ST withdictionaries

30. Providedifferenttextswithdifferentfoci (& levels of cognitive or linguisticdifficulty) on the sametopic(-> whole class presentations)READINGDifferentiating PROCESS / PRODUCT:Texts

31. Different TASKS: reassemble jumbled text (stronger ST can have one extra paragraph that does not fit); find titles or match titles with paragraphs; find a headline for newspaper article or select the best one out of a list; answer different types of questions (tick ideas; True / False; MC …); put events into chronologicalorder

32. Different immediateresponses:What do youremember? Whatdidyoufindmostinteresting? (cf. Bloom’staxonomy: differentorderthinkingskills)READINGDifferentiating PROCESS / PRODUCT:Novels

33. Differenttasks in readingcircle / book club: discussion leader; clarifier; summarizer …

34. Novelreading: one (strong) ST is a character in ‘hot seat’, other ST ask questions – according to ability - to find out more, to challenge the characteretc

35. Novelreading: reading journal withdifferentcreativetasksappealing to differentlearner types & MI: make a summary; write an interview with a character; a day in the life of (a character) …. SPEAKING How would you use / adapt the following tasks in order to differentiateaccording to readiness? Presenting a novel / short story / text or topic

36. Role-play: f.ex. ordering food in a snack bar

37. Describing a picture

38. Debating / Discussing a topicsuch as ‘Shouldmilitary service becompulsory?’SPEAKINGPresenting a novel / short story / text or topic

39. Different level readers (from different levels of simplified to original text; topic texts of varying levels of difficulty, with or without glossary …)

40. Different aspects of novel (cf. Bloom’staxonomy): givesummary; compile character description & development; analyse themes; pick & discuss a (favourite) passage … ; compare novel to film versionSPEAKINGRole-play: f.ex. ordering food in a snack bar✓Provide weaker ST with prompt cards: picture prompts; cue words & phrases Describing a picture (in speaking or writing)

41. Prompt cards: cue words (nouns; verbs …) & phrases & questions (f.ex. What are the people wearing?)SPEAKINGDebating / Discussing a topicDiscuss a question in small groups, f.ex.‘Shouldmilitary service becompulsory?’(Topiccanbeadaptedaccording to interest; cognitive ability; priorknowledge / researchdone)Assignroles: 1 ST = note taker (mustn’tspeak )1 ST checks & corrects notes all other ST provide arguments for / against1 ST = speaker; presents arguments to the classWhole class presentation

42. WRITING How would you adapt the following tasks in order to differentiateaccording to readiness?Essaywriting

43. Holiday postcardwriting / describingdaily routines

44. Writingtasks as a follow-up to reading

45. Differentiateaccording to professionalneeds / furthereducation(ES /EST)WRITINGEssaywriting

46. Provide arguments and / or linguistic input (discourse markers; relevant topicvocabulary; topic sentences) for weaker ST

47. Researching arguments: stronger ST do theirownresearch; provideweaker ST withusefulmaterial

48. Stronger ST are asked to provide more arguments; weaker ST mayonlypresent one side of the argument in a first stage WRITINGESSAY writingafterspeaking (debating):

49. If diff. groups presentdifferentessaytopics, strongSTscanbeasked to take notes while groups present and write an essay on anothertopicthan the one theydiscussed in their groups; weakerSTswill use notes provided by groupWRITINGHoliday postcard writing / describing daily routines

50. Provide visual or linguistic prompts (words; phrases; parts of sentences) for weakerST

51. Differentiationaccording to professionalneeds/ furthereducation

52. Differenttasks: CV, letters, reports … WRITING: follow-up tasksAfterreading:

53. Providechoice of follow-up tasks: write a summary, blog entry, a letter to the editor, an interview with a politician / an activist / a parent …FurtherIdeas for Differentiating‘Bus stop’: get ST whofinishes a taskearly in class to stand in a spot in the classroom (bus stop); next ST finishingearly joins first ST to discussanswersetc; pairs can exchange with pairs

54. Station learning: provide different content, process or product; STsdo all or only some of the tasksFurtherIdeas for Differentiating‘Arbeitsplan’: provide ST with exercises and activities they can engage in autonomously during, for instance, all the English lessons of an entire week. These exercises and activities are subdivided into ‘Pflichtaufgaben’ and ‘Wahlaufgaben’. ST themselves decide on the form of interaction, pace and order.BibliographyMethod Guide, Methodenfür den kooperativenundindividualisierendenEnglischunterricht in den Klassen 5-12,Schöningh, ISBN 978-3-14-041263-6

55. Method Guide, Schüleraktivierende Methoden für den Englischunterricht in den Klassen 5-10, Schöningh, ISBN 978-3-14-041262-9

56. Praxis Schule 5-10 Extra: Differenzieren und individualisieren, I Ahlring, Westermann, ISBN 3-14-161001-0

57. Differentiated Instructional Strategies, Gregory & Chapman, Corwin Press, ISBN 1-4129-3640-3

58. The Differentiated Classroom, C A Tomlinson, ASCD, ISBN 978-0-87120-342-7See ETD website for ppsslidesetc:http://sites.google.com/site/englishteachersday/