This document summarizes key points from chapters in a book about differentiation. It discusses differentiation strategies such as flexible grouping, learning centers, exit questions to group students, and allowing students to test out of chapters to do independent projects. It also covers creating a welcoming classroom environment that fosters respect and acceptance, and managing a differentiated classroom through clear expectations and procedures. The author reflects on taking inspiration from examples and starting with small differentiation strategies before implementing more complex approaches.

1. By: Lauren Thobe

2. “What we share in
common makes
us human. How
we differ makes us
individuals.”
Intro:

3. Chapter 1

4. Differentiation
Is…
• It proactively plans to address
a range of learner needs.
• It changes quality of work
instead of quantity when
needed.
• Assessments are very
important to gage where
students are and where they
are going.
• It is student centered so
learning is effective, relevant
and interesting.
• It blends whole-class, small
group and individual
instruction.
Differentiation
Isn’t
• It is not individualized
learning where every
student does a different
assignment.
• It is not chaotic when the
teacher uses strategies to
show leadership.
• It is not as simple as giving
harder or easier questions
to each student.

5. My thoughts while reading this
chapter were “do I do any of this in
my classroom, good or bad?” A goal
of mine for teaching is to master a
differentiated classroom and the first
step is learning about what that is
and isn’t. One of the things
Tomlinson said differentiation was, is
a classroom that is proactively
planned. It takes a lot planning to
successfully differentiate because
lessons need to be varied. Planning
is part of curriculum but how does
differentiation really tie into
curriculum? That is something I will
be exploring as I further read this
book. How can differentiation be
planned into curriculum? How does it
affect the 4 different types of
curriculum?
Does any of this
happen in my
classroom?

6. Chapter 2

7. Advanced Learners
• Teacher must continually
“raise ceilings of
expectations” but at the
same time raise the
support.
• Teachers must clearly
explain what constitutes
excellence.
• Teachers must balance
joy and rigor.
Struggling Learners
• Teacher should set goals of
understanding.
• Teacher must clearly explain
what they should know,
understand and be able to
do.
• Teacher should plan
teaching and learning
through many modalities.
• Teacher should find ways to
show she believes in
students.

8. This chapter was very interesting to me
because during the previous school year I
struggled with the balance of advanced and
struggling learners and that is what drew me to
differentiation. I found it very interesting
reading about what advanced learners need
and what struggling learners need. The
previous slide is just a summary of what
Tomlinson explained but the details and
examples she gave were eye-opening. The
one big thing she said for struggling learners
was “focus on powerful teaching”. This means
that if students can’t grasp every detail then
there should be big picture targets that
students need to know in order to successfully
move onto the next unit. This is something I
feel that can really be pulled into curriculum
planning or the explicit curriculum. A teacher
can plan their topics and list the big points for
each. Then when unit planning a teacher can
plan more specific points to help advanced
learners.
What drew me to
differentiation

9. Chapter 3

10. Skills to develop over time
• Organizing and focusing
curriculum on essentials
• Peeling back first impressions
and erasing stereotypes
• Giving students a voice
• Think of and using time flexibly
• Thinking of many ways to
accomplish a common goal
• Building a sense of community in
the classroom
Rules of Thumb
• Be clear on key concepts
• Think of assessment as a road
map for thinking and planning
• Lessons for all students should
involve critical and creative
thinking
• Lessons for all students should
be engaging
• Balance student-selected and
teacher-selected assignments
Metaphoric Examples
• A teacher is like the director of the orchestra – she helps people make
music but doesn’t actually make it herself.
• A teacher is like a coach – she is very active in the game and practice
but doesn’t actually play the game.

11. I saw a lot of what was discussed during the class
Elementary School Curriculum in this chapter. I felt
that this chapter was one of the most beneficial
because it directly relates to what I, the teacher, do
in the classroom. One of the skills was focusing
curriculum on key concepts and that goes back to
the explicit curriculum planning. Another skill that
stood out to me was the challenge of erasing
stereotypes and first impressions. This goes back
to creating a culturally diverse classroom. Students
need to feel that they fit in and are wanted in the
class. Sometimes this mean that a teacher needs
to plan some implicit curriculum revolving around
prejudices and acceptance in order for the
differentiated classroom to run smoothly. I think all
the skills tie into the PLNs (Professional Learning
Networks) because to really gain the skills needed,
participating in a PLN could be very helpful. Talking
with other teachers who differentiate and have
already achieved some of these skills would be
more valuable than reading about them in the book
because I could learn some ideas that did and didn’t
work for others.
What I, the teacher,
do in the classroom

12. Chapter 4

13. • Everyone feels welcome and contributes to making each other
feel welcome.
• Showing mutual respect is crucial and not an option.
• Students must feel safe so that they do not fear trying new
things outside of their comfort zone.
• Teacher pushes students past comfort but provides support
along the way and shows excitement when students achieve
goals.
• What is fair is each student getting what he or she needs.
What’s the environment like in a
differentiated classroom?

14. When reading this chapter about the environment I
kept thinking about the readings from class about
culturally responsive classrooms. The first thing to
master with a differentiated classroom is a welcoming
environment. That is also a big part of a culturally
responsive classroom. In our ever changing world
where more and more cultures have the opportunity to
interact, students need to learn about acceptance and
respecting differences. I think that it is very important
when beginning a differentiated classroom, and in any
classroom, that one of the first lessons be about
implicit curriculum and accepting each other for who
they are. Then throughout the class the teacher
should demonstrate acceptance and students will do
so as well. Another big thing I saw in a differentiated
classroom that I saw in a responsive classroom was
the display of student art work. This is key to a
welcoming class because students start to feel proud
of their work and can compliment each other to build a
supportive community of learners.
A Differentiated
Classroom and A
Culturally
Responsive
Classroom

15. Chapter 5

16. Ms. Eames
• 1st grade
• She has a
reading
program that
allows her
students to
read in small
groups,
individually or
with partners.
Mrs. Riley Ms. Jefferies
Mr.
Blackstone
• 3rd grade
• She uses
learning centers
and students
are sent to
centers based
on their
readiness to
complete the
given activities.
• 8th grade
• Students get to
pick a topic to
research and
submit their
selection. Then
she pairs
students up
based on topic
selection and
flexible grouping.
• 6th grade
• He assigns
students to 1
of 2 labs
based on
their
participation
in whole-class
instruction
and exit
questions.Mr. Rake
• High School Math
• He allows students to take the chapter test at beginning of chapter. If they test out of
the chapter they get to do an independent study project with math and real life. He
then can teach smaller groups the chapter skills.

17. This chapter was very inspirational because I
was starting to feel a little overwhelmed with all
the different ways to differentiate, but what I got
from this chapter is pick one thing and start there.
I really like the idea of exit questions covering
what was discussed in class that day and using
those as a point of reference in determining
readiness. I can plan out my curriculum but
realistically moving on to the next topic of most
students aren’t ready is a poor strategy. I think
differentiation is a good way to stick close to the
curriculum map originally planned because all
students can reach a higher potential through
differentiation strategies such a flexible grouping
and learning centers. I would really like to try the
test out strategy that Mr. Rake uses and give the
advanced learners more independent projects.
Differentiation Ideas
to use

18. Chapter 6

19. • 1) Have a strong rationale for differentiating that you can explain to students and
parents.
• 2) Move into a differentiation at a pace that your are comfortable with – maybe
just start by practicing group management.
• 5) Create and deliver instructions carefully and clearly – don’t give each groups
instructions to the whole class.
• 8) Make sure students have a plan to get help when you are working with
another group.
• 9) Keep noise levels minimized and have a signal to indicate that it is getting too
loud.
• 12) Make clear guidelines about “stray” movement.
• 16) Give students as much responsibility for their learning as possible to teach
them to become independent.
• 17) Engage students in talking about classroom procedures so that they
understand the rationale.

20. A differentiated classroom can have a lot of different
things going at once and although this sounds crazy
and hectic, it sounds doable after reading the
strategies for managing the classroom. Tomlinson
gave 17 but I picked the 8 I felt stood out most to
me on the previous slide. I think a big part of a
successfully differentiated classroom is that
students are taught the procedures and then they
know what to do every day. The teacher should
take part of a class and give a lesson on the implicit
curriculum that will be in the classroom. Some
students may not realize that while working with
groups they have to keep a low voice level or that
when the teacher flickers the lights it means the
class is too loud. This day for teaching the
procedure is so important because the teacher will
not have time to explain the process every single
day – it’ll simply just take away from students being
able to use the time for learning.
It sounds doable
after reading the
strategies

21. Chapter 7

22. Introducing to Parents
• Make sure they know
• That the goal is for all students
to grow key skills and
knowledge.
• That the teacher will assess
and monitor skills, knowledge,
level of success and interest.
• That an assignment given to a
student reflects the teachers
best knowledge of students
ability.
• That the teacher welcomes
communication with parents to
better gage students levels.
Introducing to Students
• Do a welcoming activity to get to know
each other and have people share
strengths and weaknesses.
• Have class discussions so all understand
that everyone learns differently and to
involve students in planning.
3 Types of Parents
• Parents of Gifted Learners
• Teachers should listen to them and
learn about their child from them.
Also teachers must understand that
parents want challenges for their
child but don’t want to see them
struggle.
• Parents who Push too Hard
• Teachers should remember that
sometimes the parent may see better
the change in abilities so maybe let a
child try a harder task, but also teach
the student to have a voice and talk
to parents if students isn’t ready for a
task.
• Parents who Stay Away from
School
• These parents due typically still care
about their child’s education and
teachers should try to build the
bridge with parents to share about
their child’s schools successes.

23. While differentiation is a common trend in
education currently it is something that a lot of
people do not know about. When a parent or
student realizes that one student is doing
harder work than another it could raise
questions and concerns. It is very important
that everyone understands what differentiation
is and the rationale for it. While teaching the
parent about it, isn’t really something that fits
into the curriculum, teachers still need to plan
to do so. Teachers can however plan a few
classes into the curriculum to teach about
differences in the classroom and help students
understand why differentiation is important.
This is another way teachers can use implicit
curriculum to create a responsive classroom. I
think over time the community will start to learn
more about differentiation and it’ll be less
taxing for teachers to continually explain what
differentiation is and why it is used, but
currently explaining it to people is one of the
most important first steps.
A Lot of People Do
Not Know About

24. Chapters 8, 9, 10

25. Readiness
• Look at making
adjustments to further
students in some
areas and lessen
difficulty in others on
each assignment is
part of checking
readiness. Some
areas are:
• Concrete to Abstract
• Simple to Complex
• Small Leap to Great
Leap
• Dependent to
Independent
• Slow to Fast
• Teachers can draw on
existing student
interests or expand
student interest with a
class topic.
• Guidelines:
• Link interest-based
exploration with key
curriculum components
• Provide structure that will
lead to success
• Create an open invitation
for student interests to be
shared
• Keep an open eye and
mind for a serious passion
that you can foster
• Learning profiles are
made up of learning style
preferences, intelligence
preferences, culture-
influenced preferences
and gender-based
preferences.
• Guidelines:
• Not all students will share
teacher’s preference.
• Teachers should help
students reflect on their
preferences
• Use teacher-structured
and student-choice
lessons
• Be a student of your
students.
Interest Learning Profile

26. The book breaks down the three things to look at when
planning into separate chapters but really they are
related and it is good to use differentiation of all three
once differentiation is mastered. These chapters were
further emphasis for previous chapters but they really
got me thinking if I can use some of the strategies in
the classroom. As I think about my curriculum, I start
to think where can I fit differentiation in, based on some
of these? A common strategy for all three is varying
group, individual and whole class tasks. For my
curriculum next year I plan to really try to use all three.
One part of this section that stood out to me was that a
good curriculum pushes students a bit further than the
comfort zone. The original meaning of the word
curriculum was a racecourse. Not many races are
easy! It takes practice to improve and practice to really
hone in the skills needed to be successful. School is
the same way so students will need to work and hone
in their skills. The best way for teachers to help with
this is through differentiation so we are meeting
students where they need the help.
Differentiation in
three parts

27. Chapters 11, 12, 13

28. Content
• Content is the “input” of
teaching and learning.
• Differentiating based
on…
• Readiness – match
material or information to
students capacity
• Interest – ideas and
materials that build on
current student interests
or extend interests should
be included in curriculum.
• Learning profile – make
sure students have ways
of “coming at” materials
and ideas in his style
• Process is the
opportunity for learners
to make sense of the
content.
• Differentiating based
on…
• Readiness – match
complexity of task to
student level of
understanding and skill.
• Interest – give choices
about facets of topics in
which students can
specialize.
• Learning profile –
encourage students to
make sense of an idea in
their preferred learning
style.
• The product should be a long-term
endeavor that represents a student’s
extensive understanding and
application.
• 6 steps to a good product assignment
• 1. Identify what student should
know
• 2. Identify packaging options
• 3. Determine expectations
• 4. Decide on scaffolding to
promote success
• 5. Develop assignment with clear
directions
• 6. Differentiate or modify versions
of assignment to best suit each
student. Discussions with
students is crucial in order to best
suit the needs of each student.
Process Products

29. Like the quote states all three pieces, content, process
and product, are connected in the classroom and a
curriculum combines all three. I found it interesting
how you can differentiate each piece separately
because it makes the start up of differentiating the
classroom easier. All of this differentiation is a big part
of planning a curriculum for the year. When you plan
the curriculum it is important to plan in the key
concepts that all students need to know, then plan
ways to differentiate the content and process. It is also
important to think about differentiating the product that
will demonstrate what was learned. Every child is an
individual and it is important that the curriculum covers
the concepts that each child should master but as
teachers we need to plan more detailed lessons in
order to differentiate in the classroom. If we expect all
students to be able to subtract by the end of a unit and
4 students still can’t add well that will cause problems
and struggles for those students. The teachers need
to rearrange the curriculum map sometimes for
students to make sure everyone masters the key
concepts.
A curriculum
combines all three

30. Chapter 14

31. New Ways to Grade
• Some schools are making
the change to having grades
that also show progress
towards goals. Some
examples:
• Leave behind traditional
grades and grade based on
students goals.
• Keep the traditional letter
grade but add a number that
says if they are working at,
above or below grade level.
• Give two letter grades – one
for progress and effort, and
another for comparison to
grade level.
How to Keep Records
• The way teachers grade doesn’t
have to drastically change to
accommodate differentiation.
Here are a few strategies:
• Use the same gradebook but
rename the assignments to
include the date and topic instead
of a specific assignment.
• Keep student work folders to see
progress.
• Share the responsibility for record-
keeping with students. Have
them keep a weekly calendar.
• Consider not grading all the work
students do formally.
• Involve students in student-led
parent conferences so that they
are a part of the goal setting.

32. Grading is not a huge part of curriculum but I
found this chapter to be a very important part of
the book. One of my big questions about
differentiation was how do you grade two
different tasks equally. The point is you don’t.
You have to grade each student on his or her
abilities and tasks not compare with the class as
is typically done. Another thing that came to
mind with grading is that grades can make or
break a welcoming classroom. If a student feels
they are always getting D’s because he just isn’t
smart enough, the classroom doesn’t feel
welcoming and responsive to him. The idea of
using a grade to show progress and effort could
really help boost students like the one just
described. Another thing that stood out to me
was that not everything needs graded and was
this does is allow students to take a risk and
reach past comfort zones because the fear of
failure is less.
Grades and a
welcoming classroom

33. “Push me! See how far I go!
Work me ‘til I drop. Then pick me up.
Open a door, and then make me run to
it before it closes.
Teach me so that I might learn,
Then let me enter the tunnel of
experience alone.
And when, near the end,
I turn to see you beginning another’s
journey,
I shall smile.”
Kathleen, 14years old
Differentiation in the
eyes of a student