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Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated Instruction gets my Students Excited

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Differentiated Instruction

Every teacher desires and struggles with getting their students excited about their subject. We want our students to be as passionate about it as we are. The percentage of pure passion for a subject is limited to a few in each class. So how can we get the rest of the students to enjoy and look forward to coming to our class? I suggest trying to use multiple intelligence learning styles, differentiated instruction as well as increasing student choice.

Multiple intelligence learning styles are a great way to start to increase interest in a subject and use differentiated instruction. The multiple intelligence theory was developed by Dr. Howard Gardner. There are seven original multiple intelligences and thus the same number of learning styles but there are considered to be more now. Some even think there are hundreds of them.

I like to stick to the original basic seven as to not be overwhelmed during the differentiated instruction planning process. In my experience they will work for most students in the class. In the rare occasion they don’t, teachers can include one of the new multiple intelligence learning styles to reach the student.

The seven original multiple intelligence learning styles are intrapersonal, interpersonal, linguistic, spatial, musical, logical-mathematical, and kinesthetic. You can use multiple intelligence learning styles in all aspects of the lesson to include different ways of presenting each piece of content in a mini-lesson or offering choices for activities during a work session dealing with different multiple intelligence learning styles, which brings us to the next suggestion to get students excited in a class, differentiated instruction.

Differentiated Instruction has been a hot topic for a while now, however many teachers still don’t quite know how to do it, don’t have time to do it, or they just think it’s a phase. It can be a great tool to use to interest and excite your students and, in my opinion, shouldn’t be overlooked as an option for every day lessons.

Differentiated instruction can be done through the use of the multiple intelligence learning styles as well as leveling, scaffolding or tiering.

Teachers can use multiple intelligence learning styles to differentiate instruction in not only the mini-lesson but also the work session activities and pretty much any other part of the lesson. Offer students up to four choices of activities for a work session, all using the same content, but using different multiple intelligence learning styles. The students will choose the one that they think will be the most interesting to do. I’ve noticed that if you allow them to choose the activities the day before, their interests peak. They feel like they have ownership in their education and look forward to coming to the class the next day. I have also noticed a decrease in complaining about work sessions because they can’t blame you as the teacher. After all, they chose it.

I’m sure you are wondering how I actually have time to create four options of activities for students to choose from. I created a system of activity templates that saves me a ton of time. I offer about 55 of them at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico. They even include rubrics. I can tweak them easily to fit almost anything I need my students to work on.

Another way to differentiate instruction to increase excitement is through the use of leveling. Leveling is also known as tiering and scaffolding. This can be done by using the same content once again but at different levels. This is not less and or more work depending on “how smart” your students are. It has to do with taking students from one level to the next through the use of small steps. Differentiating instruction through the use of leveling is easily done with expository writing. Teachers can take a student from a topic sentence and the listing of three facts to a topic sentence with one fact sentence and then listing two facts and so on. Students need to see that there is hope at the end of the tunnel and if they have a learning disability or are ELL, many times writing can be an overwhelming task for them. Using small differentiated instruction leveled steps helps them feel success and improves their attitude in the subject.

Whether a teacher uses leveling or multiple intelligence learning styles to differentiate instruction, they stand a chance of really interesting their students in their subject area or content. To read more about differentiated instruction, click here.

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

htttp://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico/Products

How can you differentiate instruction for a Judaism lesson plan?

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Judaism Differentiated Instruction Lesson Plan

A week after I gave my first staff development training I was chased down in the grocery store by a teacher that had been in the training. She was so excited to see me and she said that her students loved the differentiated instruction lesson plan about Judaism. She asked me to email her more lessons. So since she liked it so much I decided to let you all in on my techniques for differentiating instruction for a Judaism lesson plan.

I like to use two different types of differentiated instruction when I develop a new lesson plan. I use the Multiple Intelligence Theory as a basis to bring in different interests that my students might have. Even if you don’t believe in Multiple Intelligence, you can’t deny that teaching to the interests of students will usually interests them in the content that they need to learn.

The second form of differentiated instruction that I use is called leveling. Some of you might know this as tiering. It allows each level of learners to be challenged at their own level.

When teachers create a differentiated instruction lesson plan, they need to remember that each level or interest must use the same content.

To find out more about my Judaism differentiated instruction lesson plan, click on the links below.

How can you differentiate instruction to teach vocabulary in a Judaism lesson plan?

How can you differentiate instruction to teach a mini-lesson in a Judaism lesson plan?

How can you differentiate instruction for an activity work session in a Judaism lesson plan?

How can you differentiate instruction for a writing assignment in a Judaism lesson plan?

How can you differentiate instruction with a graphic organizer in a Judaism lesson plan?

 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico offers the Judaism lesson plan above. Check it out! Or, if you only want to purchase this single differentiated instruction lesson plan for Judaism, Click here.

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico (Connect with me on Linkedin.com)

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico

How can you differentiate instruction with a cause and effect graphic organizer?

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Cause and Effect Graphic Organizers Differentiate Instruction

Cause and effect graphic organizers are used to organize content into two categories. Usually the categories have one event leading to another event. However sometimes one of these categories uses an idea as a cause or an effect.

In some cases there are multiple causes and one effect or one cause and multiple effects. Another version of a cause and effect graphic organizer is when there is a cause or causes, an event and then the effect or effects.

Graphic organizers can help teachers differentiate instruction in two different ways:

  1. Multiple intelligence learning styles: Cause and effect graphic organizers use both the logical multiple intelligence learning styles, through the organization and order of events and or ideas, and the spatial multiple intelligence learning styles due to the visual it creates. Teachers can increase the spatial multiple intelligence learning style that is used by allowing students to draw the content instead of writing it or drawing it to reinforce the content along with the written text. Teachers can differentiate instruction more by using the multiple intelligence learning styles by using cause and effect graphic organizers as well as other multiple intelligence learning style activities such as musical, kinesthetic, linguistic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. This will increase the interest of students in a classroom.
  2. Leveling/Scaffolding/Tiering: Graphic organizers are used often for lower ability level students. Content can be simplified and clarified through lists and groups. For this reason graphic organizers are also often stated as accommodations for SPED and ELL students. Another way to level a cause and effect graphic organizer is the amount of content already typed or written in before the student receives it. Students with a higher ability level will have the least amount of content in their cause and effect graphic organizer so as to encourage as much critical thinking as possible.

Teachers need to remember that in order to differentiate instruction the same content must be used. A great resource for graphic organizers is http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico. They include text boxes in all parts of the graphic organizers so that inputting content is fast and easy.

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico (Connect with me on Linkedin.com)

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico

How can graphic organizers help teachers differentiate instruction?

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Graphic Organizers Help Differentiate Instruction

Differentiated Instruction is when teachers use the same content but deliver it in different ways for different students. Teachers can do this by using different multiple intelligences or learning styles, leveling/scaffolding/tiering, or enrichment and remediation sessions.

Graphic Organizers can help teachers differentiate instruction because they use the following multiple intelligence learning styles:

  • Spatial Multiple Intelligence Learning Style
  • Logical Multiple Intelligence Learning Style
  • Intrapersonal or Interpersonal Multiple Intelligence Learning Style
  • Linguistic Multiple Intelligence Learning Style

Graphic organizers can also be used for the leveling/scaffolding/tiering approach for differentiated instruction because they can help students simplify and organize information during mini-lessons.

The third way to differentiate instruction with graphic organizers is to use it for remediation while other students who have mastered the content do enrichment activities. This is also because graphic organizers simplify and organize information, as previously stated.

Graphic organizers are a great way for teachers to differentiate instruction in their lesson plans. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico offers over 65 graphic organizers. They all include text boxes to input content fast and easy.

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico (Connect with me on Linkedin.com)

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico

What multiple intelligence learning styles are used with graphic organizers?

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Graphic organizers have been used for a long time in education. They are a great way for students to visualize their content. The spatial multiple intelligence learning style is used due to the visual aspect of graphic organizers. To increase the amount the spatial multiple intelligence learning style is used, pictures can be drawn to represent the content in addition to the written words or as a replacement, depending on what is better for the student.

Another good aspect of graphic organizers is that it allows the student to use logic. Organizing information into groups uses the logical multiple intelligence learning style.

Students can be given a choice as to whether they want to work by themselves or with a partner. If students are given this choice then they could use either the intrapersonal multiple intelligence learning style or the interpersonal multiple intelligence learning style. Student choice also gives students more ownership over their education. The teacher will still have the power to put them into a partnership that will be productive.

Graphic organizers also use the linguistic multiple intelligence learning style due to the content that is used and needs to be written into the graphic organizer itself. How much the linguistic multiple intelligence learning style is used depends on the amount of content that needs to be written into the graphic organizer as well as how it is written; in lists or sentences.

Graphic organizers are a great tool to use to teach content and to review it. They can be used in the classroom as well as for homework. No matter when you use them, you can rest assured that they can hit many of the multiple intelligence learning styles.

 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico offers over 65 graphic organizers. They all include text boxes for fast and easy content input.

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico (Connect with my on Linkedin.com)

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico

Epitaphs can be used to Differentiate Instruction!

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Differentiate Instruction with an Epitaph Activity

Epitaphs are not just cute to use around Halloween but can be a great way to allow students to use small pieces of content and critically think.

An epitaph is written on a gravestone. You might be surprised that epitaph activities can work in most subject areas. For instance, in Social Studies an epitaph can be used for a historical person. In Science, it could be for the extinction of a species. In math, a symbol like the division sign can be used. In Language Arts, a character from a book in a story might need an epitaph.

Epitaph activities use multiple intelligence learning styles. The following are used:

  • Spatial Multiple Intelligence Learning Style: decorating the grave stone to match the content
  • Linguistic Multiple Intelligence Learning Style: writing the epitaph
  • Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Multiple Intelligence Learning Styles: allow students to choose how they work on this; individually or with a partner

An epitaph activity can be used to differentiate instruction. Here are two ways you can differentiate instruction for an epitaph activity:

  • Multiple Intelligence Learning Styles: Teachers can give their students choices of activities that use different multiple intelligence learning styles and the same content.  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico offers over 50 activity templates with rubrics to help teachers differentiate instruction quickly.
  • Leveling/Tiering/Scaffolding: Students with a lower ability level will often need more guidance. Teachers can list, in simple text, the content that needs to be used in the epitaph. They still need to use their critical thinking skills to come up with the epitaph. Teachers can also state exactly what decorations should be put on the gravestone. That way they only have to deal with how to draw it. You could also provide clip art, already cut out, that they could just paste on. It still works as a visual component. Students at a very high ability level could use humor or an emotion in the epitaph to increase the amount of critical thinking.

Teachers need to make sure that when they plan for differentiated instruction that each student is using the same content. They also must all be challenged at their own level with with their own multiple intelligence learning style.

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico

Differentiated Instruction Ideas for Drawing

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Differentiate Instruction with Drawing

Drawing is an oldie but a goody activity. Drawing a picture uses visualization. It interests those students with the visual learning style or those with the spatial multiple intelligence learning style.

Teachers can use drawing in all sections of a lesson . The following is an example of the type of lesson plan drawing can be incorporated into.

  • Anticipatory Set: Draw a picture of something you learned in class yesterday.
  • Vocabulary: Draw a picture that represents the vocabulary word according to its definition.
  • Mini-Lesson: Draw a picture next to each section of notes before moving onto the next section. You could even call students up to the board to create a storyboard to go over when you conclude the lesson.
  • Activity: Draw a tattoo someone might have created after living through (whatever event you wish) or a cartoon strip or a political cartoon.
  • Concluding Set: Go over the storyboard left of the board from the mini-lesson.

Teachers can add to the spatial multiple intelligence learning style to make the assignment more appealing for students who have different multiple intelligence learning styles. Here is an example of this:

  • Linguistic Multiple Intelligence Learning Style: Explain what the drawing is and how it relates to the content.
  • Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Multiple Intelligence Learning Styles: Allow students the option of working individually or with a partner.

Differentiating Instruction for drawing is possible. The following are two different ways to differentiate instruction for drawing.

  • Multiple Intelligence Learning Styles: Teachers can give their students options of activities that use different multiple intelligence learning styles and the same content.  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico offers over 50 activity templates with rubrics to help teachers differentiate instruction quickly.
  • Leveling/Tiering/Scaffolding: Lower ability levels can draw what they are learning. This is a lower level critical thinking exercise because they are simply translating text to pictures. Middle ability levels can draw a comic strip. This uses a higher level of critical thinking because it uses humor as well as chronology. This also brings in the logical multiple intelligence learning style to the activity session. Higher ability level students could create a political cartoon. This uses an extremely high critical thinking level because not only do they have to use the content and humor they also need to take a side by deciding how they feel about the content.

Teachers need to make sure that they follow these two tips of advice when they are planning for differentiated instruction:

  • all students must use the same content
  • all students need to be challenged

Bringing in art such as drawing allows teachers to differentiate instruction in multiple ways.

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico (Connect with me on Linkedin.com)

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico