Examples of ways to differentiate instruction
TeachersFirst's Thinking Teachers who write our resource reviews often have suggestions that have worked in their classrooms. Open the reviews to the "more" view to see ideas for using specific resources as tools to differentiate for a variety of learners. Alternatively, use the keyword search tool at the left of this page to search for a curriculum topic and the term "differentiate." For example, search fractions differentiate (with "all the words" selected for the search).
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Lesson Plan: Nouns and Adjectives Are Not Just Words - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 3Many of these ideas and templates can be adapted for use with almost any subject or concepts, to differentiate for different learning styles. The lesson includes national standards.
tag(s): parts of speech (40), speech (66)
In the Classroom
Experienced and new teachers alike will find this example helpful in designing multi-sensory, technology-infused lessons.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Lesson Plan: Dinosaur Math - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 1Many of these ideas and templates can be adapted for use with almost any subject or concepts, to differentiate for different learning styles. The lesson includes national standards.
tag(s): addition (137)
In the Classroom
Experienced and new teachers alike will find this example helpful in designing multi-sensory, technology-infused lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lessons for All - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6Lesson content includes letter-sound relationships, parts of speech, paragraph writing, sequencing, earth science, animals, egg-laying animals, volcanoes, addition, and more. The staff of TeachersFirst has incorporated technology options, tips, and templates appropriate for younger students into the lesson plans to add yet another way for your students to experience and interact with new concepts.
Many of these ideas and templates can be adapted for use with almost any subjects and concepts, to differentiate for different learning styles. All lessons include national standards. Experienced and new teachers alike will find these examples helpful in designing multi-sensory, technology-infused lessons.
In the Classroom
If your classroom includes special needs learners or simply students who need a multi-sensory approach in order to master new concepts, try these lessons or use them as prototypes as you plan for other curriculum content. If you mentor new teachers or student teachers, share these examples for infusing technology into lessons and for differentiating lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Math Games: Kids Numbers - Education.com
Grades
K to 5This site includes a worksheet generator so teachers can prepare their own review work. There is a calculator one click away for those who need it. There are some minor advertisements at this website.
tag(s): addition (137), division (109), fractions (179), money (113), multiplication (133), operations (71), subtraction (118), time (94), vision (41)
In the Classroom
Display this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector to create an anticipatory set for a new concept in your elementary math class. Once students are familiar with the activities, allow them to explore this website if they finish early or for extra practice. Put this site in your classroom newsletter or on your class website so students can explore and learn at home.ENL/ESL students will enjoy this site since it will help them learn the vocabulary for math operations in English, and it will also allow them to succeed at something in school. This site can also be used to differentiate for your learning support and/or gifted students based on their current level of math instruction.
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Math Baseball - Funbrain
Grades
1 to 6tag(s): addition (137), baseball (29), division (109), multiplication (133), subtraction (118)
In the Classroom
Have you students work on individual computers and "take a swing" at this math activity. It offers a highly motivating review activity on various difficulty levels, enabling the teacher to differentiate the instruction based on the math levels of the individual students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ESL Gold Picture Dictionary - ESL Gold
Grades
1 to 6tag(s): vocabulary (251), vocabulary development (102)
In the Classroom
Use this site to share vocabulary by category, using pictures, audio, and written words with your ENL/ELL students, primary students, special ed students, or speech/language students. Include this link in a newsletter that goes home with ENL/ELL students. Mark it as a Favorite on your classroom computer. Demonstrate how to use this website on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students work alone (or with a partner) at their current speaking level. This website could also be used in a regular education class with emerging readers. The five difficulty levels allow teachers the flexibility to differentiate the instruction. Note: small type fonts and some advertising may make this site difficult for some younger students to use. Preview and decide what your class can handle.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Art of Teaching the Arts - Annenberg Media
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): creativity (85)
In the Classroom
This is a professional site rich in ideas for any teacher looking for new ideas or a jump-start to teach the arts. Make this course your personal goal for summer break or a collaborative professional development group.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Protopage - Protopage
Grades
K to 12tag(s): resources (80)
In the Classroom
How would you use this in your teaching? Create a set of RSS feeds for current events or a specific curriculum topic such as weather and make them available for an in-class activity, complete with directions. World language, world cultures, or geography teachers can profile a location on the globe, complete with local weather and news. Make separate tabs for separate activities. Students can access them by password or publicly from outside of class, as well. For primary grades, make simple instructions right on the desktop for a computer center activity. Use color coding of the instructions to differentiate for different children (Sam, I want you to do the yellow one). If your school permits students to set up accounts on web services, have groups make Protopages on an assigned topic, collecting and organizing resources, images, and information: "A Protopage Guide to Cells" or "Shakespeare's Times." Gifted and highly-able students will go crazy!Skills needed: Join (free). Check out the Intro, Overview, and Quickstart to see how it works. Play to your heart's content, including making tabs. Learn about RSS feeds and other Widgets-- including sticky notes. Share the URL with those you wish to have use it. Note: this works on Internet Explorer 6 and higher and on Firefox. If your users are on older web browsers, the developers recommend upgrading. This may be a problem for some. Check with your end-user computers before you spend too much time making the perfect Protopage!
If you allow students to create their own Protopage, you will need to have very specific rules about content, since there are non-educational elements available.
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Photojournalism Tiered Lesson Plan - Leigha Tracey
Grades
10 to 12tag(s): journalism (74)
In the Classroom
To take full advantage of this lesson, expand it into choosing photos off the web from news stories or from Flickr. (See the TeachersFirst Edge explanation of Flickr). You might even preview some sites and have pairs of students access them and categorize them by analysis. This would enable you to tailor the lesson to any literature you were working with from: Shakespeare to Hemingway to Grisham.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Thinking Blocks - Math Playground
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): addition (137), division (109), multiplication (133), ratios (52), subtraction (118), vision (41)
In the Classroom
Try an interactive whiteboard and treat your students to this challenging math activity. If you are able to use a lab or laptops, differentiate your instruction and allow the students to work on skills at their own levels. Each of the three "topic" sets has six lessons.After you use it in class, include this site on your teacher web page for students to practice prior to your test or the "big one."
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Adapt-a-Strategy for ENL/ESL - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): teaching strategies (68)
In the Classroom
Share this one with your colleagues who also have ENL/ESL students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World Geography Quizzes - Sheppard Software
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): capitals (14), continents (32), countries (74), maps (225)
In the Classroom
Be sure to put a link for these online games and quizzes on your teacher web page for the summer and throughout the school year. Students can use them to practice for your geography quizzes or as extra challenges. The different levels of dificulty will allow you to differentiate your instruction easily.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Windows to the Universe - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): animation (62), images (266), planets (124), solar system (123)
In the Classroom
This is a safe, easy-to-understand resource for independent student research. Design a simple Web hunt to create a differentiated activity for multi-ability classes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World Myths and Legends in Art - Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): art history (104), museums (52)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit on myths & legends. This would be a great introductory activity, as a lot of the content is defining and providing examples that differentiate the two. This would be a great resource for a Language Arts teacher.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Visionlearning - Visionlearning, Inc
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): acids and bases (7), carbon (15), cells (83), darwin (14), earth (197), energy (139), gravity (51), light (56), matter (50), molecules (41), optics (12), paleontology (28), periodic table (49), photosynthesis (20), planets (124), reading comprehension (146), rock cycle (26), rocks (44), scientific method (49), scientists (72), space (245), water (105), waves (13)
In the Classroom
Include this site to supplement your current grade 6-12 science curriculum. Use the resources to differentiate instruction for gifted students in lower grades or as remediation for struggling students in older grades. Use the student materials for differentiating instruction or as homework. Have students share their learning or understanding of a topic with video explanations using a tool like Gravity. Gravity is a tool for video responses to a question along with comments from peers. Extend technology use in your classroom and take student learning a step further by asking them to create and share their own multimedia presentation along with suggestions for learning about their topic of interest. Use a tool like Sway. Sway is a presentation tool that offers multimedia options including text, video, and images.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Justice on Trial - American Public Media
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): courts (23)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit on International Trials or the legal consequences of Genocide in a US government or history course. The site is a little text-heavy, and would work best with higher level high school classes. To assess student learning and differentiate between the trial events, have students create a timeline describing the events of all three events. We recommend using an online tool such as Timelline Infographic Templates, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Take a Walk in my Shoes - TeachersFirst
Grades
7 to 9tag(s): charactered (78), empathy (65), israel (15), palestine (5)
In the Classroom
The lesson plan includes student handouts and technology options for students to share their projects in several ways. Teachers can easily differentiate the challenge level of projects by specifying which tools to use. Include this lesson as part of your activities to teach empathy for others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hayes vs. Tilden - Harpweek.com
Grades
6 to 12Although this resource was created based on the 2000 election, the background information and historical comparisons are valuable for teaching about elections in general and for comparing elections as part of U.S. history.
tag(s): college (43), electoral college (22)
In the Classroom
Use the political cartoons as starters or introductory activities during a lesson on the controversial election. Find a cartoon that you think would be the best understood boy your students as well as the one that will most likely get them communicating and thinking about the topic on hand. Posting the image on the projector, have students reflect on the image either verbally or in some sort of journal writing. To differentiate it for a higher-level class, have the students respond to a specific component of the image, such as perspective, point of view, bias, intent, various layers, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Patterns in Mathematics - CPB/Annenberg
Grades
1 to 6In the Classroom
Use the suggestions for adapting the instuction to varying grade levels to help differentiate logic and patterns for your students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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