Running

head: LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review of the Article

Differentiating Literacy Instruction
TED 690
Dario Workman
National University

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Abstract

This paper will briefly discuss a review of the article Differentiating Literacy

Instruction, written by Kathleen Gormley and Peter McDermott. Additionally, this

paper will contain a general synopsis of the elements contained within the article, as
well as an analysis of the content discussing how the findings within the article
could be applied to instructional methodologies used in the classroom.

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Summary

The article begins by commenting on the increasing ethnic, language, cultural,

and socioeconomic diversity present within modern general education classrooms.
Furthermore, the article briefly comments on the educational gap present between white
students and those from historically underrepresented groups, most specifically African
Americans and Hispanics (Gormley & McDermott, 2014, pg.49). The diversity present
within modern general education classrooms both enriches the classroom community and
prepares students for successful interaction with a variety of persons, both within and
without the school system. However, this diversity which is present within the classroom
also challenges teachers in meeting their students learning needs by increasing the
level of difficulty, as well as the amount of preparation necessary to effectively meet the
needs of the diverse population of students. The article sums up this thought by stating
educators cannot teach everyone the same content in exactly the same way due to
student differencesone size fits all is an outdated model of instruction (Gormley &
McDermott, 2014, pg. 50).
With the advent of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), teachers are now
tasked with ensuring that all students are meeting specified literacy expectations. The
author comments on this reality by asking the question, How does a teacher meet the
grade level expectations for CCSS while also meeting the requisite needs of students?
The author quickly answers this question by stating differentiated instruction provides
an opportunity to maximize individual student growth and accomplish the CCSS (pg.
50). The article prefaces this notion by stating Differentiation is more than giving extra
time to complete an assignment or providing learner choiceTeachers need to think in

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terms of differentiation based on student needs content (what they need to learn), process
(how they are going to learn), product (their ultimate demonstration of knowledge), and
environment (where students learn).
The article concludes by presenting several software programs, digital
applications and web tools that are designed to aid teachers with differentiating content.
Analysis
The article contains a vast selection of digital tools that are very effective for
differentiating content. Additionally, the suggested applications are quite useful for
assisting with many other areas in the classroom, including collaborative work,
independent study, and vocabulary instruction. Several of the programs are web-based so
implementation of these programs would require student access to the Internet. It should
be noted that there are occasions when students are either unable to access online content,
restricted access, or even denied access through parental request. Whenever this is the
case, it is important to have resources available that the student can utilize apart from the
online content. The article concludes by stating how the suggested applications are
recommended to prepare students for 21st Century communication (Gormley &
McDermott, 2014, pg.67). I believe that these tools are also extremely valuable for
helping students develop collaboration skills, critical thinking skills, reading literacy
skills, and even digital literacy skills.
The ability to differentiate content is most readily available when using digital
resources due to the added dimensions of embedded audio and video resource material.
Students who require assistance with content can easily find help with many of the digital
resources discussed in the article.

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Reference

Gormley, K., & McDermott, P. (2014). Differentiating literacy instruction. The language
and literacy spectrum, 24, 49-75. Retrieved from
https://eric.ed.gov/?q=differentiated+instruction&pr=on&ft=on&id=EJ1034918