MODULE 4

LESSON 1
Study skills, academic skill, or study strategies are approaches applied to learning.
They are generally critical to success in school, [1] considered essential for acquiring
good grades, and useful for learning throughout one's life.
Study skills are an array of skills which tackle the process of organizing and taking in
new information, retaining information, or dealing with assessments. They
include mnemonics, which aid the retention of lists of information; effective reading;
concentration techniques;[2] and efficient note taking.[3]
More broadly, any skill which boosts a person's ability to study, retain and recall
information which assists in and passing exams can be termed a study skill, and this
could include time management and motivational techniques.
Study skills are discrete techniques that can be learned, usually in a short time, and
applied to all or most fields of study. They must, therefore, be distinguished from
strategies that are specific to a particular field of study (e.g. music or technology), and
from abilities inherent in the student, such as aspects of intelligence or learning styles.
Study skills are discrete techniques that can be learned, usually in a short time, and
applied to all or most fields of study. They must, therefore, be distinguished from
strategies that are specific to a particular field of study (e.g. music or technology), and
from abilities inherent in the student, such as aspects of intelligence or learning styles.
https://students.usask.ca/articles/study-skills.php

What Can I Do if I Want to Improve My Study Skills?

Improving your study skills is often about getting organized. If you can follow these
simple guidelines, you should see an improvement in your grades. When you are well
organized, you may find it takes you less time too.

 Select a spot at home with the least amount of disruption, with good lighting and
where you can concentrate on what you’re doing.
 Decide on a homework schedule – when you will do your homework each night
and what you will cover. Schedule in breaks if you have a lot of study to do. Try it
for one week. If it works, stick to it; if it doesn’t, change it and test again.
 Use your time wisely and make study a priority. In other words, study when it’s
time to study so you can play and relax when it’s time to play and relax. It is okay
to change your schedule if something else comes up when you are meant to be
working, but try not to just cancel your study time, do it earlier, so you can have
fun later.
 You will find it much easier to get ready for a test if you review the work you did
in school when you get home.
  It is very important to keep your school work neat, complete and well organized.
Take a close look at the notes you keep. Good notes are very important and very
helpful. Organize them after class when the information is still fresh; review them
the same evening; and refer back to them when it’s time to start studying for
tests.
 You can also read material before it is presented in class. This will help you
prepare for class. You can then ask questions about anything you didn’t
understand.
 Prepare for tests and exams in advance, not just the night before.
 Start by reviewing your notes.
 Set up your study schedule from the time your teacher tells you there will
be a test.
 Ask your teacher for tips on what to cover.
 Make sure you find out what sort of test to expect – essay, questions,
true/false, multiple choice, oral, etc.
 Studying is a skill you can develop – something you have to learn how to do, so
don’t be discouraged if it isn’t always easy.
https://www.gov.nl.ca/education/k12/safeandcaring/students/studyskills/
Tips for Teaching Study Skills

Good study habits and techniques are critical to help students learn more efficiently, feel
more academically confident, persevere through challenges, and ultimately do their
best. Sometimes, it’s easy to assume that learners already have these skills intact. The
truth is that they sometimes don’t; many learners might not actually know how to study
for tests or how to keep their binders organized. While these skills can be a challenge
for many students, they are skills that can be improved over time.

If you notice some of your students are struggling with basic study skills and habits,
make time to address and teach the skills. You can choose to dedicate time during
morning meeting, resource room, or even a separate study skills class. Whatever you
choose, make a schedule and stick with it. Teaching these skills early on is important for
help all learners do their best. I’ve put together a list of ideas and resources, but check
out this yearlong Executive Functioning and Study Skills activities set if you want to get
started on teaching these skills right away.

Here are some simple tips, tricks, and strategies you can use to help students
develop study skills in your classroom:

Build relationships first. Simply put, learning new study strategies can be tough for
kids and young adults. It’s always worth spending extra time early on to develop strong
relationships. Not only will this help you to get to know your students, but it will help
them to persevere and succeed in your class. Use these strategies to focus on building
relationships with your learners.
Know your learners. Before getting started on teaching study skills, assess what your
students know first. One helpful place to start is using this free Study Skills Checklist. It
can be a great tool to help students develop self-awareness about their skills, while also
giving you critical data on what you need to teach.

Teach how to study for tests and quizzes. Spend time teaching a variety of different
study strategies for success: taking notes, quizzing yourself, making flashcards, having
a partner quiz you, re-doing problems, and more. Different strategies are going to work
for different learners, so it’s important that all students are exposed to several activities.

Practice studying just to learn. Sometimes students think that studying is only

important when a test or quiz is coming up. Instead, help kids embrace the idea that
studying is part of the learning process. Studying just to learn can help reduce the
amount of time students will have to study when a test or quiz comes up, and it helps
them to learn the material better in the first place.

Practice study skills with current curriculum. Sometimes, students feel like learning

study skills is a waste of time for them. They would rather be getting homework done or
chatting with friends on their downtime One way to make the study skills meaningful for
kids and young adults is to help them apply them right away with current classwork. If
you are learning how to make flashcards, use current vocabulary terms. When teaching
about time management, practice with a project kids are actually working on.
Using current curriculum along with teaching the skills can make it more meaningful and
memorable.

Teach about the power of habits and routines. Students can benefit greatly from
understanding how important our habits are. Spend time discussing and highlighting
some current habits students already have (brushing their teeth in the morning or
cleaning up their trays after lunch). These tasks are much easier when they just become
part of our everyday routines. This can eventually encourage students to develop habits
for writing homework down, organizing their binders, and studying for tests.

Teach executive functioning skills. Study skills are inherently linked with executive
functioning skills. Students can benefit greatly from improving skills with planning,
organization, self-control, attention, flexibility, perseverance, and more. Most
importantly, teach students that they can often improve these skills over time with
practice and hard work. If you could use more background knowledge on these skills,
catch up on a basic understanding of executive functioning skills in this blog post.
Teach time management. Understanding how to manage time well is a powerful skill.
Teach about understanding time by having students estimate how long a task will take
(such as doing 10 jumping jacks or walking to get a drink and back). Then, have
students actually perform the task and check how close their estimate was. You can
easily relate this back to having students consider how long tasks will take by thinking
about what they have to do and then reflecting on their progress along the way. Read
more about strategies and interventions for time management skills.

Discuss what it means to prioritize. Prioritizing is the ability to determine which order

tasks should be completed in. This is a critical skill, but can be challenging, especially
when students are juggling many different responsibilities. Talk through some examples
and discuss: You have a test tomorrow and a big project due in two weeks. What should
you do? Having students problem-solve these types of scenarios can help them
understand how to prioritize in the future.

Practice making test and quizzes. Have students get into the mind of a teacher by

creating their own test and quizzes for class content. This can help them consider what
material might be on an actual test or quiz, making them better at studying and knowing
what is important.

Teach organization. One of the most important study skills is learning how to be

organized. Spend time explicitly teaching learners how to organize materials,
schedules, and projects. If you are interested specifically in organization, use
this Organization Boot Camp to help get kids’ organization skills in shape. You can also
start with this free organization activity to get going right away.
Revisit organization on a weekly basis. Even after teaching the basic skills
for organization, it is important for students to make organization a weekly practice.
Choose one time a week (such as Friday afternoon or whenever time you have
available) and dedicate that time to re-organizing materials.

Set up a homework binder (or folder). One helpful strategy for many learners is
setting up a homework folder or binder that goes everywhere with them. This folder
contains all current homework that needs to be done or needs to be turned in. Simply
label a folder “Done” and “To Do” on each side. This is an especially helpful tip for
students who lose or misplace assignments. Use this free homework binder to get your
students started.

Teach how to write homework down. I know this example sounds silly, but many
learners don’t know how to write homework down in an organized and consistent way.
Practice what it means to write homework down accurately and explain why it is
important. Doing daily or weekly homework log checks are helpful, too.
Find study buddies. No matter the age, all students should have one or two
classmates to reach out to for support with homework and studying. This is a critical skill
that helps build independence. When a student isn’t sure what page the homework was
or didn’t understand the math lesson, it can be a good option to reach out to a
classmate instead of always depending on the adults.

Teach goal-setting. All students should learn how to create action-oriented plans to

reach their individual goals. This is a study skill, but also a life skill! Help students
brainstorm and come up with one or two SMART goals that they want to accomplish in
a short time-frame. Then, revisit those goals on a regular basis to make sure progress is
being made.

Play games. Learning and improving study skills can be tough for learners. With this,
games are always a helpful strategy to sneak in more learning opportunities. You can
actually play any game while practicing study strategies. Just put questions for an
upcoming test or quiz on flashcards. Each time a student takes a turn, they need to pick
up a card and answer! If you’re looking for something more, I developed an Executive
Functioning Challenge Game that students can play again and again to practice their
skills.
Chunk projects and long-term assignments. Long-term assignments can be
particularly overwhelming for kids and young adults. Teach students how to break them
apart into smaller and more manageable chunks. Giving mini-deadlines along the way
also helps students stay on track.

Teach stress management. Simply put, school is stressful for kids and young adults.
It’s critical to help students learn coping strategies to help them deal with their feelings
in more healthy ways. Spend some time discussing how to exercise, journal, read,
practice mindfulness, and more. Grab this free list with 100 coping strategies to give you
even more ideas.

Help students develop a study space. Every student should have a designated study
space at home and at school to help them accomplish homework and assignments.
While these study spaces might look different for every learner, having this area can
help keep students organized and consistent.
Have a daily check-in and check-out. Spend just 5-10 minutes at the beginning of
each day to help students get organized, check to see if they have what they need, and
make a plan for the day. Do the same in the afternoon to make sure students have a
plan for homework and studying after school. The goal is for students to check-in with
themselves on their own, but this needs to be taught and practiced to make that happen

Practice taking brain breaks. All students need a mental break from time to time.
Encourage students to check-in with themselves and notice when they need one of
themselves. Practice different types of brain breaks, from exercising to practicing
mindfulness. Use these free mindfulness coloring pages to have a brain break that is
ready to go.

Engage in class discussions. Part of learning how to study well is problem-solving

when challenges come up. Encourage students to talk through issues and brainstorm
solutions together. For example, ask students what they might do when they have a lot
of homework but also have basketball practice at 6:00 pm. Ask students what they
might do if they have a big homework assignment due tomorrow but they can’t
remember the page. Start by just asking the question and letting your students guide
their way through. These executive functioning task cards are perfect to guide
discussions on a variety of topics or you can come up with your own questions on the
fly!

Practice the art of memorization. Sometimes studying involves memorizing certain

dates or vocabulary words. These are skills that can be taught, practiced, and
strengthened over time. Have fun teaching this skill by memorizing lists, lyrics, numbers,
and more.

https://www.thepathway2success.com/tips-for-teaching-study-skills/

LESSON 2-A

Differentiated Instruction: What You Need to Know

By Geri Coleman Tucker

At a Glance
 Differentiated instruction is not the same as individualized instruction.
 Differentiated instruction allows students to show what they know in different
ways.
 It can work well in general education classes that include students with learning
and thinking differences.
In any general education classroom, there are students with various learning styles.
Some learn best by reading and writing. Others prefer to watch a video, listen to a
recording, or dig into hands-on activities. Differentiated instruction is a way of teaching
that matches a variety of learning styles.
What Is Differentiated Instruction?
Teachers who use differentiated instruction tailor their teaching approach to match their
students’ learning styles. All the students have the same learning goal. But the teaching
approach varies depending on how students prefer to learn.

Instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach, a teacher uses a variety of methods to

teach. This can include teaching students in small groups or in one-on-one sessions.
Carol Ann Tomlinson, an educator who has done some of the most innovative work in
this area, says there are four areas where teachers can differentiate instruction.

 Content: Figuring out what a student needs to learn and which resources will
help him do so
 Process: Activities that help students make sense of what they learn
 Projects: A way for students to “show what they know”
 Learning environment: How the classroom “feels” and how the class works
together
This approach works well with the response to intervention (RTI) process used in some
schools. The goal of RTI is to spot learning problems early. Struggling students are
given extra support before they fall behind their peers.

Why Is Differentiated Instruction Used?

Differentiated instruction “shakes up” the traditional classroom, says Tomlinson.
Students have “multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and
expressing what they learn,” she explains.

Forty years ago, Tomlinson says, the focus was on individualized instruction. But
teachers discovered that creating an individual learning plan for each student in a class
wasn’t realistic. Differentiated instruction, on the other hand, uses several learning
approaches. But it doesn’t require an individual approach for each student. All students
have access to the curriculum in a variety of ways. This makes the whole learning
experience more effective.

How Differentiated Instruction Works

Differentiated instruction can play out differently from one classroom to the next—and
from one school to the next. However, the key features of this approach are:

 Small work groups: The students in each group rotate in and out. This gives
them a chance to participate in many different groups. A group can include a pair
of students or a larger group. But in all cases, it’s an opportunity for students to
learn from each other.
 Reciprocal learning: Sometimes the student becomes the teacher, sharing what
he’s learned and asking questions of his peers.
 Continual assessment: Teachers regularly monitor students’ strengths and
weaknesses (in both formal and informal ways) to make sure they’re progressing
well in their knowledge and mastery of schoolwork.
 What to Watch Out For
Critics say differentiated instruction doesn’t work in every classroom. If there are too
many students in a class, or if the teacher isn’t experienced with this approach, the
classroom can become distracting and chaotic.

Differentiated Instruction Tips

By: Carol Ann Tomlinson

Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers

differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing
assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.

At its most basic level, differentiation consists of the efforts of teachers to respond to
variance among learners in the classroom. Whenever a teacher reaches out to an
individual or small group to vary his or her teaching in order to create the best learning
experience possible, that teacher is differentiating instruction.

Teachers can differentiate at least four classroom elements based on student

readiness, interest, or learning profile:
 Content – what the student needs to learn or how the student will get access to
the information;
 Process – activities in which the student engages in order to make sense of or
master the content;
 Products – culminating projects that ask the student to rehearse, apply, and
extend what he or she has learned in a unit; and
 Learning environment – the way the classroom works and feels.
Content
Examples of differentiating content at the elementary level include the following:
1. Using reading materials at varying readability levels;
2. Putting text materials on tape;
3. Using spelling or vocabulary lists at readiness levels of students;
4. Presenting ideas through both auditory and visual means;
5. Using reading buddies; and
6. Meeting with small groups to re-teach an idea or skill for struggling learners, or to
extend the thinking or skills of advanced learners.
Process
Examples of differentiating process or activities at the elementary level include the
following:
1. Using tiered activities through which all learners work with the same important
understandings and skills, but proceed with different levels of support, challenge, or
complexity;
2. Providing interest centers that encourage students to explore subsets of the
class topic of particular interest to them;
3. Developing personal agendas (task lists written by the teacher and containing
both in-common work for the whole class and work that addresses individual needs of
learners) to be completed either during specified agenda time or as students
complete other work early;
4. Offering manipulatives or other hands-on supports for students who need them;
and
5. Varying the length of time a student may take to complete a task in order to
provide additional support for a struggling learner or to encourage an advanced
learner to pursue a topic in greater depth.
Products
Examples of differentiating products at the elementary level include the following:
1. Giving students options of how to express required learning (e.g., create a
puppet show, write a letter, or develop a mural with labels);
2. Using rubrics that match and extend students' varied skills levels;
3. Allowing students to work alone or in small groups on their products; and
4. Encouraging students to create their own product assignments as long as the
assignments contain required elements.
Learning environment
Examples of differentiating learning environment at the elementary level include:
1. Making sure there are places in the room to work quietly and without distraction,
as well as places that invite student collaboration;
2. Providing materials that reflect a variety of cultures and home settings;
3. Setting out clear guidelines for independent work that matches individual needs;
4. Developing routines that allow students to get help when teachers are busy with
other students and cannot help them immediately; and
5. Helping students understand that some learners need to move around to learn,
while others do better sitting quietly (Tomlinson, 1995, 1999; Winebrenner, 1992,
1996).
https://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-differentiated-instruction

LESSON 2-B

20 Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples

October 12, 2016

Marcus Guido
As students with diverse learning styles fill the classroom, many teachers don’t always
have the time to plan lessons that use differentiated instruction (DI) to suit their distinct
aptitudes.

This can involve adjusting:

 Content — The media and methods teachers use to impart and instruct skills,

ideas and information
 Processes — The exercises and practices students perform to better
understand content
 Products — The materials, such as tests and projects, students complete to
demonstrate understanding

To help create lessons that engage and resonate with a diverse classroom, below are 20
differentiated instruction strategies and examples. Available in a condensed and
printable list for your desk, you can use 16 in most classes and the last four for math
lessons.

Try the ones that best apply to you, depending on factors such as student age.

1. Create Learning Stations

Provide different types of content by setting up learning stations — divided sections of your
classroom through which groups of students rotate. You can facilitate this with a flexible
seating plan.

Each station should use a unique method of teaching a skill or concept related to your
lesson.

For example, students can rotate between stations that involve:

 Watching a video
 Creating artwork
 Reading an article
 Completing puzzles
 Listening to you teach

To help students process the content after they've been through the stations, you can hold
a class discussion or assign questions to answer.

2. Use Task Cards

Like learning stations, task cards allow you to give students a range of
content. Answering task cards can also be a small-group activity, adding variety to
classes that normally focus on solo or large-group learning.

First, make or identify tasks and questions that you’d typically find on worksheets or in
textbooks.

Second, print and laminate cards that each contain a single task or question. Or,
use Teachers Pay Teachers to buy pre-made cards.

Finally, set up stations around your classroom and pair students together to rotate through
them.

You can individualize instruction by monitoring the pairs, addressing knowledge gaps
when needed.

3. Interview Students

Asking questions about learning and studying styles can help you pinpoint the kinds of
content that will meet your class’s needs.
While running learning stations or a large-group activity, pull each student aside for a few
minutes. Ask about:

 Their favourite types of lessons

 Their favourite in-class activities
 Which projects they’re most proud of
 Which kinds of exercises help them remember key lesson points

Track your results to identify themes and students with uncommon preferences, helping
you determine which methods of instruction suit their abilities.

4. Target Different Senses Within Lessons

A lesson should resonate with more students if it targets visual, tactile, auditory and
kinesthetic senses, instead of only one.
When applicable, appeal to a range of learning styles by:

 Playing videos
 Using infographics
 Providing audiobooks
 Getting students to act out a scene
 Incorporating charts and illustrations within texts
 Giving both spoken and written directions to tasks
 Using relevant physical objects, such as money when teaching math skills
 Allotting time for students to create artistic reflections and interpretations of lessons

Not only will these tactics help more students grasp the core concepts of lessons,
but make class more engaging.

Prodigy, for example, is a hyper-engaging way to gamify math class in a way that
worksheets simply cannot. 👇

Try Prodigy today — it's free, forever!

5. Share Your Own Strengths and Weaknesses

To familiarize students with the idea of differentiated learning, you may find it beneficial
to explain that not everyone builds skills and processes information the same way.

Talking about your own strengths and weaknesses is one way of doing this.

Explain -- on a personal level — how you study and review lessons. Share tactics that do
and don’t work for you, encouraging students to try them.

Not only should this help them understand that people naturally learn differently,
but give them insight into improving how they process information.
6. Use the Think-Pair-Share Strategy

The think-pair-share strategy exposes students to three lesson-processing

experiences within one activity. It’s also easy to monitor and support students as they
complete each step.

As the strategy’s name implies, start by asking students to individually think about a given
topic or answer a specific question.

Next, pair students together to discuss their results and findings.

Finally, have each pair share their ideas with the rest of the class, and open the floor for
further discussion.

Because the differentiated instruction strategy allows students to process your lesson
content individually, in a small group and in a large group, it caters to your classroom’s
range of learning and personality types.
7. Make Time for Journaling

A journal can be a tool for students to reflect on the lessons you’ve taught and activities
you’ve run, helping them process new information.

When possible at the end of class, give students a chance to make a journal entry
by:

 Summarizing key points they’ve learned

 Attempting to answer or make sense of lingering questions
 Explaining how they can use the lessons in real-life scenarios
 Illustrating new concepts, which can be especially helpful for data-focused math
lessons

As they continue to make entries, they should figure out which ones effectively allow them
to process fresh content.
8. Implement Reflection and Goal-Setting Exercises

An extension of journaling, have students reflect on important lessons and set goals for
further learning at pre-determined points of the year.

During these points, ask students to write about their favourite topics, as well as the most
interesting concepts and information they’ve learned.

They should also identify skills to improve and topics to explore.

Based on the results, you can target lessons to help meet these goals. For example, if the
bulk of students discuss a certain aspect of the science curriculum, you can design more
activities around it.

9. Run Literature Circles

Organizing students into literature circles not only encourages students to shape and
inform each other’s understanding of readings, but helps auditory and participatory
learners retain more information.

This also gives you an opportunity to listen to each circle’s discussion, asking questions
and filling in gaps in understanding.

As a bonus, some students may develop leadership skills by running the discussion.

This activity makes written content — which, at times, may only be accessible to individual
learners with strong reading retention -- easier to process for more students.
10. Offer Different Types of Free Study Time

Free study time will generally benefit students who prefer to learn individually, but can
be slightly altered to also help their classmates process your lessons.

This can be done by dividing your class into clearly-sectioned solo and team activities.

Consider the following free study exercises to also meet the preferences of visual,
auditory and kinesthetic learners:

 Provide audiobooks, which play material relevant to your lessons

 Create a station for challenging group games that teach skills involved in the
curriculum
 Maintain a designated quiet space for students to take notes and complete work
 Allow students to work in groups while taking notes and completing work, away
from the quiet space
By running these sorts of activities, free study time will begin to benefit diverse
learners — not just students who easily process information through quiet, individual
work.

11. Group Students with Similar Learning Styles

Heterogenous grouping is a common practice, but grouping students based on similar

learning style can encourage collaboration through common work and thinking
practices.

This is not to be confused with grouping students based on similar level of ability or
understanding.

In some cases, doing so conflicts with the “Teach Up” principle, which is discussed below.

Rather, this tactic allows like-minded students to support each other’s learning while

giving you to time to spend with each group. You can then offer the optimal kind of
instruction to suit each group’s common needs and preferences.
12. Give Different Sets of Reading Comprehension Activities

Instead of focusing on written products, consider evaluating reading comprehension

through questions and activities that test different aptitudes.

Although written answers may still appeal to many students, others may thrive and best
challenge themselves during artistic or kinesthetic tasks.

For example, allow students to choose between some of the following

activities before, during and after an important reading:

 Participating in more literature circles

 Delivering a presentation
 Writing a traditional report
 Creating visual art to illustrate key events
 Creating and performing a monologue as a main character or figure
Offering structured options can help students demonstrate their understanding of content
as effectively as possible, giving you more insight into their abilities.

13. Assign Open-Ended Projects

Similar to evaluating reading comprehension, give students a list of projects to find one
that lets them effectively demonstrate their knowledge.

Include a clear rubric for each type of project, which clearly defines expectations. Doing
so will keep it challenging and help students meet specific criteria.

By both enticing and challenging students, this approach encourages them to:

 Work and learn at their own paces

 Engage actively with content they must understand
 Demonstrate their knowledge as effectively as possible

As well as benefiting students, this differentiated instruction strategy will clearly showcase
distinct work and learning styles.

14. Encourage Students to Propose Ideas for Their Projects

As well as offering set options, encourage students to take their projects from concept
to completion by pitching you ideas.

A student must show how the product will meet academic standards, and be open to your
revisions. If the pitch doesn’t meet your standards, tell the student to refine the idea until it
does. If it doesn’t by a predetermined date, assign one of your set options.

You may be pleasantly surprised by some pitches.  

After all, students themselves are the focus of differentiated instruction — they likely
have somewhat of a grasp on their learning styles and abilities.

15. Analyze Your Differentiated Instruction Strategy on a Regular Basis

Even if you’re confident in your overall approach, Carol Ann Tomlinson — one of the most
reputable topic thought-leaders — recommends analyzing your differentiated instruction
strategies:

Frequently reflect on the match between your classroom and the philosophy of teaching
and learning you want to practice. Look for matches and mismatches, and use both to
guide you.

Analyze your strategy by reflecting on:

 Content — Are you using diverse materials and teaching methods in class?

 Processes — Are you providing solo, small-group and large-group activities
that best allow different learners to absorb your content?
 Products — Are you letting and helping students demonstrate their
understanding of content in a variety of ways on tests, projects and
assignments?

In doing so, you’ll refine your approach to appropriately accommodate the multiple

intelligences of students.

16. “Teach Up”

Teaching at a level that’s too easily accessible to each student can harm your
differentiated instruction efforts, according to Tomlinson.

Instead, she recommends “teaching up.” This eliminates the pitfall of being stuck on low-
level ideas, seldom reaching advanced concepts:

We do much better if we start with what we consider to be high-end curriculum and

expectations -- and then differentiate to provide scaffolding, to lift the kids up. The usual

tendency is to start with what we perceive to be grade-level material and then dumb it

down for some and raise it up for others. But we don’t usually raise it up very much from

that starting point, and dumbing down just sets lower expectations for some kids.

Keeping this concept in mind should focus your differentiated teaching strategy,
helping you bring each student up to “high-end curriculum and expectations.”
Differentiated Math Instruction Strategies and Examples

17. Use Math EdTech that Adjusts Itself to Each Student

Some EdTech tools — such as certain educational math video games — can deliver
differentiated content, while providing unique ways to process it.

For example, Prodigy adjusts questions to tackle student trouble spots and offers
math problems that use words, charts and pictures, as well as numbers.

To the benefit of teachers, the game is free and curriculum-aligned for grades 1 to 8. You
can adjust the focus of questions to supplement lessons and homework, running reports to
examine each student’s progress.

Join over 90 million students and teachers benefitting from Prodigy's differentiating
power today. 👇

Try Prodigy today — it's free, forever!

18. Relate Math to Personal Interests and Everyday Examples

Clearly linking math to personal interests and real-world examples can help some learners
understand key concepts.

Working with 41 grade 7 students throughout an academic year, a 2015 study published
by the Canadian Center of Science and Education used contextual learning strategies to
teach integers and increase test scores by more than 44%.

Striving for similar benefits may be ambitious, but you can start by surveying students. Ask
about their interests and how they use math outside of school.

Using your findings, you should find that contextualization helps some students grasp new
or unfamiliar math concepts.

There are many math-related games and activities to find inspiration to implement this
tactic.

19. Play a Math-Focused Version of Tic-Tac-Toe

Help students practice different math skills by playing a game that’s a take on tic-tac-toe.
Prepare by dividing a sheet into squares — three vertical by three horizontal. Don’t leave
them blank. Instead, fill the boxes with questions that test different abilities.

For example:

 “Complete question X in page Y of your textbook”

 “Draw a picture to show how to add fraction X and fraction Y”
 “Describe a real-life situation in which you would use cross-multiplication, providing
an example and solution”

You can hand out sheets to students for solo practice, or divide them into pairs
and encourage friendly competition. The first one to link three Xs or Os — by correctly
completing questions —  wins. 

So, depending on your preferences, this game will challenge diverse learners through
either individual or small-group practice.

20. Create Learning Stations, without Mandatory Rotations

Provide differentiated math learning opportunities for your students by setting up unique
learning stations across your classrooms, but forgoing mandatory rotations.

The idea comes from a grade 9 teacher in Ontario, who recommends creating three

stations to solve similar mathematical problems using either:

 Data — Provide spreadsheets, requiring students to manipulate data through

trial and error
 People — Group students into pairs or triads to tackle a range of problems
together, supporting each other’s learning
 Things — Offer a hands-on option by giving each student objects to use
when solving questions

Only allow students to switch stations if they feel the need. If they do, consult them
about their decision. In each case, you and the student will likely learn more about his or
her learning style.

Supplemented by your circulation between stations to address gaps in prior knowledge,

this activity exposes students to exercises that appeal to diverse abilities.

Wrapping Up

With help from the downloadable list, use these differentiated instruction strategies
and examples to suit the diverse needs and learning styles of your students.

As well as adding variety to your content, these methods will help students process your
lessons and demonstrate their understanding of them.

The strategies should prove to be increasingly useful as you identify the distinct learning
styles in — and learn to manage — your classroom.
Differentiated instruction strategies overlap in important ways with a number of other
pedagogical approaches. Consider reviewing these supplementary strategies to find more
ideas, combine different elements of each strategy, and enrich your pedagogical toolkit!

 Active learning strategies put your students at the center of the learning process,
enriching the classroom experience and boosting engagement.
 As opposed to traditional learning activities, experiential learning activities build
knowledge and skills through direct experience.
 Project-based learning uses an open-ended approach in which students
work alone or collectively to produce an engaging, intricate curriculum-related
questions or challenges.
 Inquiry-based learning is subdivided into four categories, all of which promote the
importance of your students' development of questions, ideas and analyses.
 Adaptive learning focuses on changing — or "adapting" — learning content for
students on an individual basis, particularly with the help of technology.

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/differentiated-instruction-strategies-
examples-download
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

How to Teach Your ESL Students Integrated Language Skills

September 06, 2019Sometime in the 20th Century, teachers, administrators,
materials developers, and publishers got the idea that English instruction could
be divided into separate language skills, abilities, or competencies. Listening +
Speaking were classified as “Oral Language Skills.” Reading + Writing became
“Written Language Skills.” Grammar (sentence structure with phrasing patterns)
encompassed all of these. Vocabulary was derived from targeted subject matter
and purpose. The purposes of this separation were to define, aim attention at,
and utilize language-skills methodologies.
The issue of segregated vs. integrated skills instruction + its resolution is
summarized in articles like "The Importance of Integrating Skills in the Teaching
of English as a Foreign Language."

Of course, the concept of language-skills focus never meant that instructors

could teach or learners could acquire any one of the four abilities without
including others in lessons, activities, or even individual study or homework.
Known as “Segregated Skills Instruction,” these approaches often relied—and
still depend—on the use of “strategies” or “action plans.”

Examples of such techniques are listening for stressed words, emphasizing

sentence-focus syllables, guessing meaning from context, skimming for main
ideas, proving a point through supporting detail, and many more. And these can
be naturally incorporated into “Integrated Skills Instruction.” As usual in
academic controversy, there’s probably no issue to overcome at all.

As a general principle of language-skills instruction, reading mirrors listening

while writing has similarities to speaking. Including clear articulation, the oral
skills are usually taught together because speech has little meaning until it is
heard. The written skills may be more cleanly separated, but they integrate
naturally when reading is used as a stimulus or model for writing. In fact, nearly
every ability in each skills area has parallels in one or more of the others. Here’s
an initial attempt at a chart that indicates possible correspondences:
In any case, language skills naturally integrate because you can hardly improve
in any one of them without using some of the others. Also, skills develop in
tandem. For instance, the ability to learn Vocabulary in Context develops similarly
whether you are listening or reading—or while working cooperatively on
(speaking or writing) tasks. And after understanding what you hear or see,
competence in reacting rationally and clearly stating meaningful info, ideas, and
views depends on both your oral and written abilities. 
The goal is to direct language instruction toward integration with the aim of
having insights converge rather than diverge. In order to "manage the chaos" in
lesson planning or study, one or more of these should probably be chosen as a
unifying theme or principle: grammar (forms, phrasing, sentence structure,
rules); language functions (using elements of language, asking & answering,
requesting, offering, describing, informing, etc.); competencies (understanding &
expressing, knowing what’s needed, thinking logically, communicating, etc.);
and/or subject matter (Things, Information, Time & Places, Health, Food, Work &
Money, Technology, People, etc.).

How Grammar—and/or Subject Matter and/or   Competencies—Can Be Used as a

Guiding Principle. Just about all “grammatical subject matter”—and even its sub-
topics—lends itself naturally to some kinds of content, language functions, real-
life competencies, and even  “Rhetorical Modes” better than others. For instance,
the phrasing of imperative verbs—with and without noun objects, adverbs, and
prepositional phrases is the most likely grammar to cover when giving or writing
“How-to (Process) Instructions.”

For practice in use of kinds of nouns (countable [singular & plural] vs.
uncountable; identified vs. unidentified; expressions of quantity), the best topics
are probably related to food, life necessities/preferences, human characteristics,
subjects of study/activities, and the like.  

Here’s a chart - in two parts - that attempts to correlate likely grammar topics with
subjects for speaking/writing and other aspects of English instruction or
acquisition. It’s incomplete and flexible, of course. To use it as a tool for
curriculum, materials, and lesson development, you might add to, delete, and/or
change any of its sections or overall organization.
Of course, any Grammar Topic or related info can be taught/learned at any level
of language proficiency, in more or less detail, with more or less attention to
patterns and rules. The same flexibility applies to Subject Matter (Theme), and
Language Functions/Purposes—as well as to how two or more of these could be
combined.

So how might it work? Here are samples to download to get an idea of the types
of materials and lessons that can be used at the same time or in sequence with
one another:  
Chapter One of the  SkillsBook + Workbook of WorkLifeEnglish: Life Skills, offer a
prototype of how the integration of content, sentence or phrase structure, 
functions, competencies, and vocabulary with language skills might work at basic
levels. The subject matter is “Things,” which suggests the grammar of “Singular
& Plural Nouns,” “Adjectives before Nouns,” and ’Prepositions.” A grasp of these
patterns develops learners’ ability to “Name,  Count, & Describe Things,” as well
as to “Make & Answer Requests for Things.”   

Text users begin by hearing a SkillsBook (SB) “shopping exchange” while seeing
the spoken words in print. The introduction of noun phrases in requests can be
immediately reinforced with a WorkBook (WB) strip story of a customer’s thought
balloons containing numbers before nouns. Next in both the SB and WB come
simple grammar exercises, illustrated by more “stories,” which lead learners to
comprehend and distinguish among singular & plural nouns, numbers &
adjectives in noun phrases, and prepositional phrases of place. The SB chapter
reinforces the same and comparable structures + vocabulary with targeted
Listening Activities that include guided conversation. It ends with Reading &
Writing activities based on clock times (numbers) and common signs (nouns).
The Spelling & Vocabulary section of the corresponding WB, then, can do no less
than coordinate simple vowel sounds (spelled by a, e, i, o, u) with familiar words
in noun phrases.