Triple Differentiation

in Google Classroom -
Beginning, Middle, and
End
Lourdes M. Rojas
Thankfully technology can provide
some assistance with this daunting
task. One particular tool that can
help us and our students is Google
Classroom. With Google Classroom
we can differentiate our students'
learning at each step of a project:
Beginning -Who the students are
Middle - How the students learn
End - What the students make
1) Beginning - Who the students are
In the past, Google Classroom required you to send
out assignments to all of the students in your class.
There was not an option to give work to a specific
student or a group of students.

Thankfully a recent update to Classroom now allows

you to choose which students an assignment goes
to. This can be a powerful option for differentiation
which could be used in several ways.
 Different leveled assignments could be sent to
students based on their proficiency levels in that
subject, topic, or skill.
A student who is struggling could receive some
extra work or resources to assist them and help
provide remediation.
A student who has mastered the content quickly
could receive an extension activity to dig deeper
or branch off into related content.
 Students who are rotating through a cycle of
activities or stations could receive just the
assignment they need to work on at their spot in
the rotation.
With Google Classroom you can control who the
students are for an assignment by doing the following:

 Go to Google Classroom as normal and open the class you want to

work on.
 Hover over the "Plus" button in the bottom right corner to open the
pop-up menu.
 Click "Create assignment" (or "Create announcement" or "Create
question" if you are not doing an assignment.)
 Create your assignment as normal including
the title, instructions, topic, due date, and resources.
 Next, click the "All students" menu at the top of the assignment. This
will give you a list of all the students in that class.
 Check and un-check the students as needed, to select just the students you
wish to assign this work to.
 Now you can assign the activity as usual, but only the selected student(s) will
receive it.
2) Middle - How the students learn

As seen in the first option, one way to differentiate

is to choose which students get an assignment.
However, another way to differentiate is to offer
variety and choice in the assignment resources.

Even though a group of students may all be on the

same general proficiency level, and therefore they
are receiving the same assignment, they may still be
very different students. For example, the students
may each have a different learning modality.
 Some may learn best by reading information.
 Other may understand better if they hear the
instruction.
 Some may benefit the most by watching a video
with animations and sound.
 Stillothers may need to be more interactive with
a simulation or learning game.
Thankfully Google Classroom can
also address this need. When you
create an assignment, you are not
limited to attaching only one
resource. You don't have to just
attach one Google Doc, or just add
one web link. When creating an
assignment you can add as many
different resources as you like.
Simply click on the insert options at the
bottom of the assignment screen to insert:
 Uploads - any file saved on your computer
 Drive files - any file from your Drive including Docs,
Slides, Sheets, Drawings, images, videos, PDFs, and
other files
 YouTube videos - any video from YouTube
 Web links - any website or a file or image hosted
online
For example, let's say we are doing an
assignment on photosynthesis. Instead of
only providing one instructional resource
for the students, we could attach a wide
variety of resources so the students
could pick and choose which ones
explain the concepts in a way they best
understand. This could include:
A traditional informational website - 
Photosynthesis for Kids
 An educational video explaining photosynthesis - 
Photosynthesis: Crash Course Biology #8
 A song aboutphotosynthesis - 
The Photosynthesis Song
 An interactive educational game that teaches
about photosynthesis - 
Photosynthesis Interactive Game
 An infographic diagram with clear steps, images,
and information - Photosynthesis Infographic
 A photosynthesis HyperDoc with a range of activities for
the student to explore - Photosynthesis HyperDoc
 A slideshow with helpful images and explanations - 
Photoautotrophic Nutrition Prezi
 A collection of comic strips related to photosynthesis - 
Photosynthesis Comic Strips
3) End - What the students make
The final option for differentiation with Google Classroom is
allowing students to choose what they make to show what
they have learned. When giving an assignment, you don't
have to require that every student turns in the exact same
thing. There is nothing wrong with having students write a
report, but we don't have to require that everyone does a
report.

There are many other ways that a student can demonstrate

their understanding. Just like students have different ways
they learn best, students also have different talents and
interests. When we let students choose the product they will
create for an assignment, we see many benefits
 The students will be more interested and invested in the
work they are doing.
 We will get a clearer idea of how much the student
knows, as they will be working in a medium or method
they are comfortable with.
 We will get a much wider variety of final products which
can be turned around as instructional materials for the
other students in the class.
The key to allowing students to choose what they make
in an assignment, is having students attach their final
product through Google Classroom. Here's how

 The student would go to Google Classroom as

normal, choose the class, and open the
assignment.
 At the bottom of the assignment is a section titled
"Your work". Here the student can submit
whatever they have created.
If the student clicks the "Add" button they can
attach the following things:

 Drive files - any file from their Drive including Docs, Slides, Sheets,
Drawings, images, videos, PDFs, and other files
 Web links - any website, file, image, video or other content that is
hosted online
 Uploads - any file saved on their computer
If the student clicks the "Create" button they
can make and submit the following things:

 Google Documents - for reports, stories,

HyperDocs, and more
 Google Slides - for presentations, eBooks, comic
strips, stories, and more
 Google Sheets - for collecting and recording data,
producing charts, making calculations and
predictions 
 Google Drawings - for diagrams, graphic
organizers, interactive images, and more
Using the sample example as before,
let's say the assignment is for the
student to demonstrate their
understanding of photosynthesis. What
are some ways the student could do
this? Below are just some possible
examples of products the student could
make (with some links to resources for
the activities):
 A traditional report in Google Docs
 A short story that explains photosynthesis within the
narrative
 An informational slideshow in Google Slides or Prezi
 An animated slideshow made with PowToon
 A stop-motion animation made with Google Slides
 A graphic organizer in Google Drawings showing the
process of photosynthesis
 An interactive diagram in Google Drawings or Thinglink
with clickable hotspots that link out to additional
resources and information
 A video about photosynthesis made with Screencastify,
WeVideo, Stupeflix, and such
 A dubbed video made with Screencastify where the
student adds commentary to explain the process of
photosynthesis
 An interactive video made with EdPuzzle, PlayPosit, or
RooClick
 A comic strip made in Google Slides, Storyboard That, or
such
 An eBook made in Google Slides
 A working model of photosynthesis created inside of
Minecraft
 A 3D printed model of the parts of a leaf involved in
photosynthesis
 An
interactive Jeopardy game made with 
Google Slides or Flippity
 Aninteractive quiz made in Google Slides, Google
Forms, Quizlet, or more
 A song about
photosynthesis recorded with 
TwistedWave, Vocaroo, or such
 An informationalwebsite with explanations and
resources made in Google Sites, Weebly, or more
 A ChooseYour Own Adventure story made with 
Google Docs or Google Slides
Certainly as the teacher you would set
expectations for the content and quality of
the final products. However, by giving
students a variety of choices, they will be
able to express their learning in a way that
makes sense to them, uses their talents and
interests, and most likely go further than you
would have expected.