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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Pi, Your Personal AI - Infelction AI
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), chat (42), tutorials (51)
In the Classroom
Pi's terms of service state that it is not for children under 18, so this chat tool should only be used by adults. Because Pi provides conversation ideas, it is an excellent introductory resource for learning how to use AI chat generator tools. For example, use the conversation starters to discover tips to share with your students for learning a new language, find jokes for your classroom, or look for tips on focusing. Start new conversations (known as threads) to ask for ideas that support your curriculum and teaching style. An example might be, "Give me ideas for projects for my 4th-grade students to do during a unit on plants using Universal Design Learning frameworks." After viewing the response, ask additional questions to find resources, further ideas, or ways to differentiate learning for different groups of students.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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invideo AI - invideo AI
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), tutorials (51), video (256)
In the Classroom
Create videos for many classroom purposes by writing prompts clearly stating your needs. For example, include the topic, age or grade of students, type of voice (male or female) if desired, and specific vocabulary or information to include. Use invideo AI to differentiate content for your students' varying needs by creating videos on similar topics but with different levels of vocabulary and information. Embed your videos into multimedia tools such as Sway, reviewed here and NearPod, reviewed here to include additional elements of any lesson. Share a link to your video with students to view as a schema activator before a lesson or as a flipped learning activity before introducing new content.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kentucky Text Sets - Daviess County Public Schools
Grades
K to 12tag(s): animals (278), anne frank (10), arctic (40), authors (103), black history (121), civil rights (193), climate (80), climate change (87), colonial america (95), communities (36), cross cultural understanding (156), cultures (132), earth (185), earth day (60), energy (131), explorers (64), figurative language (15), fossils (39), great depression (28), greeks (31), heart (27), heroes (22), holocaust (41), immigration (64), inventors and inventions (71), ireland (10), national parks (27), native americans (91), novels (31), nutrition (134), oceans (146), poetry (188), professional development (388), senses (20), social and emotional learning (80), solar energy (34), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
This site is worthy of inclusion in virtually all teachers' toolboxes. Use the text sets to support literature instruction using the resources provided. Find materials to differentiate learning for all students by browsing through the different grade-level offerings to find materials that meet the needs of students who need additional support and resources that challenge gifted learners. Learn more about multimedia text sets by watching the archive of OK2Ask: Using Multimedia Text Sets for Student Knowledge Construction,reviewed here. As you and your peers build text sets, share your materials on a website using Google Sites, reviewed here using Kentucky Text Sites as a model of what to include.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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EduEase - EduEase
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), assessment (147), Formative Assessment (70), quiz (67), quizzes (90)
In the Classroom
Use EduEase to create quizzes as a formative assessment to guide instruction quickly. For example, set-up a short quiz based on your end-of-unit assessment to determine your student's current understanding of the material, focus on content that needs to be learned, and differentiate instruction as needed. Share EduEase with students to review study materials and prepare for tests. EduEase currently only accepts PDF documents; use Tiny Wow, reviewed here to easily convert images, PowerPoints, Word documents, and more to PDF documents.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pear Practice - Pear Deck
Grades
K to 12tag(s): assessment (147), differentiation (83), quiz (67), quizzes (90), Teacher Utilities (146)
In the Classroom
Include Pear Practice as part of your ongoing practice and formative assessment activities. Browse the site's public library to find many activities for all grade levels and subjects, then edit questions to fit your needs. Use this feature to differentiate practice materials and games to accommodate the different needs of your students. Create sets that meet your specific needs as you become comfortable using Pear Practice. For example, generate practice sets for multilingual learners to learn vocabulary before beginning a new unit or make a set for students needing additional math facts practice. Include a link to assigned Pear Practice activities on your class website or parent newsletter for at-home practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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230+ Accessibility Improvements Added to Book Creator - Book Creator/Dan Kemp
Grades
K to 12tag(s): Accessibility (9), differentiation (83), ebooks (38), professional development (388), Special Needs (53)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this article to support your use of Book Creator in your classroom and develop your understanding of how to use this resource to differentiate learning for all students. Learn how to use Book Creator in your classroom by visiting Supporting Language Learners with Book Creator, reviewed here and completing the Book Creator Certified Author course, Book Creator, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ReadTheory Reading Passage Generator - ReadTheory
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), differentiation (83), reading comprehension (142), worksheets (70)
In the Classroom
Use this reading passage generator to create introductory and review passages for any subject; no registration is required. Differentiate for student ability levels by selecting different grade levels while providing all students the same information. Take some time to practice generating texts and questions to understand different ways to create questions that meet your needs. For example, when choosing lower elementary grades, sometimes the passages are too short in length. When entering the topic for your prompt, include guidelines for the passage length to create. If you want a passage about stars and planets, have the instructions to make the passage longer than 100 words. Extend learning using other AI tools such as MagicSchool, reviewed here by copying your prompt into one of the many tools available. Use MagicSchool's translator tool to translate for multilanguage learners, generate a list of vocabulary words, or create a science lab activity to accompany your chosen text and topic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New American History - University of Richmond
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): american revolution (80), black history (121), branches of government (62), civil rights (193), civil war (133), colonial america (95), colonization (20), constitution (86), elections (80), emancipation proclamation (11), environment (238), great depression (28), immigrants (33), immigration (64), inequalities (23), native americans (91), primary sources (113), racism (76), segregation (17), underground railroad (12), womens suffrage (43), world war 1 (72), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
This site is an excellent resource for American History teachers; be sure to add it to your collection of teaching resources. Each lesson provided by New American History includes several ideas for using digital tools within the teaching tips; take advantage of these ideas to engage students in learning and differentiate instruction for learning styles and abilities. Google Jamboard, reviewed here is often suggested for use as a teaching tool; however, Jamboard will be shut down at the end of 2024. Use Figjam, reviewed here as an alternative. Figjam allows members to migrate Jamboards into projects in just a few steps. As students complete activities such as KWL charts, use the graphic organizer templates found at Canva Edu, reviewed here to share students' ideas. Extend learning by asking students to use Canva tools to show what they know by creating infographics, presentations, flyers, and other multimedia projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Literacy at Home: Digital Children's Reading Initiative - NC Dept of Public Instruction
Grades
K to 5tag(s): fluency (24), literacy (106), phonics (49), preK (254), reading comprehension (142), science of reading (31), vocabulary (235)
In the Classroom
This site is a must-add to any elementary teacher's toolbox. Use this resource to find resources and information on reading skills at all elementary levels, then use the information to differentiate and enhance reading instruction. For below-level readers, find information and resources to remediate reading skills, and for advanced readers, use this site to find activities that promote further reading growth. Share information from this site with parents to use as a guide to understanding reading skills by grade level and find resources supporting their students. Include this information in your class newsletter or on your class website. Curate and share resources with parents using Symbaloo, reviewed here to make all information accessible in one location.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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SchoolAI - SchoolAI, Inc.
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), assessment (147), chat (42), churchill (7), darwin (13), Formative Assessment (70), leonardo davinci (3), lincoln (59), martin luther king (43), newton (20), shakespeare (93), Special Needs (53), Teacher Utilities (146), washington (24)
In the Classroom
Use SchoolAI to create and share engaging activities with all students and for all subjects. For example, differentiate text easily to fit the abilities of all students, generate a list of engaging activities for any topic, or quickly create a worksheet or multiple choice quiz as a formative assessment. As students engage in chats with historical figures or choose your own adventure activities, ask them to use the information learned as a starting point for additional research. Use Symbaloo, reviewed here or another curation tool to collect and share additional resources with students, such as videos, online articles, and book suggestions. As a final extended learning activity, ask students to share their learning using Sway, reviewed here, Genially, reviewed here, or Adobe Creative Cloud Express, reviewed here to create multimedia presentations. This tool would also be great to share with gifted students. As always, use best practices when sharing AI tools with students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Eduaide - Eduaide.Ai. LLC
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), assessment (147), Formative Assessment (70), rubrics (33), Teacher Utilities (146)
In the Classroom
Use Eduaide as a resource to quickly generate ideas for planning and preparing activities for any subject or standard and to differentiate activities to fit the needs of any student. After generating activities, use the provided tags to find project-based learning and scaffolding activities. Other options allow you to create questions for games like Jeopardy and Bingo instantly.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Retro Report Education - Retro Report
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): 20th century (59), advanced placement (26), bill of rights (28), black history (121), civil rights (193), cross cultural understanding (156), cultures (132), difficult conversations (58), drugs and alcohol (27), environment (238), freedom of speech (13), media literacy (102), native americans (91), news (229), politics (113), primary sources (113), psychology (67), sept11 (18), supreme court (27), terrorism (41), world war 1 (72), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
High school social studies teachers will want to bookmark and save this site as an excellent resource for lessons and videos to accompany current lessons. Use the lessons to differentiate activities based on student interests. For example, when teaching about the Bill of Rights, offer groups of students different topics to explore from the provided lessons, including the Pentagon Papers, evolution in science class, conspiracy theories, and Waco as a 2nd amendment battleground. Use Padlet, reviewed here, or Wakelet, reviewed here as a curation tool for you and students to gather resources related to their topic. Ask students to share their findings using a presentation tool like the ones found at Canva Edu, reviewed here, which includes options for adding links to resources shared.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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AI (Artificial Intelligence) Resources for Student Assessment - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), assessment (147), Formative Assessment (70), quizzes (90)
In the Classroom
AI is ever-changing, and the tools evolve and change every day. Use the tools in this collection to stay informed and learn about new tools that you can use to assess students. AI assessment tools save you time and can allow you to personalize the assessment to differentiate for all needs. Share this collection with colleagues looking for ways to assess using AI.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Brisk - Brisk
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), differentiation (83), Teacher Utilities (146)
In the Classroom
Use Brisk to quickly adapt and differentiate text or content by reading level and language needs or to translate text into the native language of multilingual learners and generate comprehension questions. Differentiate text for special needs students or gifted students based on their ability. Use the quiz creation tool to quickly generate quizzes that include multiple choice or short response questions based on the website's information. After generating quiz questions, copy and paste them into an online quiz creation tool such as Formative, reviewed here. Use Formative to engage students through teacher-paced or student-paced activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Perplexity - Perplexity
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), chat (42), search strategies (23)
In the Classroom
Use Perplexity to increase your productivity, create assessments, and as a resource for finding classroom resources and lessons. For example, ask Perplexity to share lesson ideas for upcoming topics. Include your grade level, subject and topic, standards, and the type of lessons you would like to find. The more specific you are with your prompt, the better the results will be. Quickly create exit tickets, quizzes, portfolio ideas, and more simply by chatting with Perplexity. Upload a lesson plan, worksheet, or infographic as part of a prompt to create or differentiate assessments and activities. Use Perplexity to write letters of recommendation, generate information for classroom newsletters, and write grant applications. Learn more about using AI by watching the archive of OK2Ask: Using AI for Teacher Productivity reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twee (Beta) - Twee
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), assessment (147), differentiation (83), Formative Assessment (70), grammar (133), grammar review (31), listening (68), reading strategies (96), speaking (22), vocabulary (235), vocabulary development (90)
In the Classroom
Twee isn't just for English teachers! Use Twee to create content for any subject area to engage students and enhance comprehension. Use Twee to differentiate instruction by creating reading passages with different levels of difficulty based on the same content. Twee's vocabulary tools are an excellent option when introducing new vocabulary for science content, social studies, or math terminology. Extend learning using NearPod, reviewed here to create interactive lessons using the content created with Twee, such as drag-and-drop activities and using comprehension questions as formative assessments.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Diffit - Adam Black and Vlad Gutkovich
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), assessment (147), differentiation (83), multilingual (63)
In the Classroom
Use Diffit to quickly adapt and differentiate text or content by reading level and language needs. Use Diffit to translate text into the native language of multilingual learners and generate comprehension questions. Differentiate text for special needs students or gifted students based on their ability. Engage students in the learning process by copying the questions generated by Diffit into an interactive quiz format resource such as Blooket, reviewed here. Extend learning by asking students to respond to the open-ended questions by sharing a video response using Flip, reviewed here. Encourage students to show creativity in Flip by using the included features in the camera, such as images, filters, and stickers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Skew the Script - Skew the Script
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): advanced placement (26), functions (52), probability (96), quadratics (26), statistics (114)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many lessons and teaching materials provided by Skew the Script to find lessons and supplemental materials for use in math classrooms. Include the lessons as an engaging way to show students how these mathematical concepts relate to everyday life. Differentiate activities based on students' interests and abilities. For example, provide advanced students with supplemental activities that feature advanced concepts or use lessons to review previously learned materials. Many lessons include activities that use Desmos, reviewed here and include an accompanying teacher guide. Ask students to share their work created in Desmos by creating screenshots and including them as part of a reflection activity using Google Docs or Google Slides, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Claude - Anthropic
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), chat (42), search strategies (23)
In the Classroom
Use this resource to improve productivity by asking it to create quizzes, rubrics, lesson plans, and more. Because Claude includes the option to add files, increase productivity further by attaching a worksheet and asking it to modify the content to differentiate learning or to suggest ideas for presenting the content in a different format. Be sure to ask for information as precisely as possible by including grade-level information, the subject you teach, content standards and teaching objectives, and options for differentiating instruction. Math teachers can ask Claude to explain the content differently or ask for ideas on applying math topics to everyday life. In social studies or science, ask Claude to generate a vocabulary list or create a story based on your lessons incorporating essential vocabulary terms. ELA teachers might use Claude to get suggestions for interventions to support struggling readers or to find additional resources to support current lessons. Always verify any information provided by ChatGPT before using it. Claude is an evolving tool, and many features change (or upgrade) regularly.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Superheroes of Science - Purdue University College of Science
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): agriculture (49), engineering (117), friction (9), gravity (42), oceans (146), podcasts (72), rivers (13), solar system (108), sound (74), STEM (259), sun (69), water (101)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site to find engaging science videos and podcasts for virtually any topic. Use the search features found in the Superheroes of Science YouTube channel and podcast page to search for episodes related to your current topic. Share a link to episodes with students to introduce a new topic, as a computer station activity, or as part of a flipped learning lesson. Include videos in lessons created with NearPod, reviewed here and add questions to the videos to enhance student understanding; include short questions in your slide presentation as a formative assessment and a quick option for creating differentiated learning activities. After watching videos and conducting your experiments and lab activities, ask students to create learning videos and podcasts to share with peers demonstrating the science content learned. Buzzsprout, reviewed here is an easy-to-use tool for creating and sharing podcasts, while moovly, reviewed here offers many free resources for creating and sharing engaging videos.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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