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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News in Levels - newsinlevels.com
Grades
K to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): differentiation (83), guided reading (33), multilingual (74), news (229), reading comprehension (148)
In the Classroom
Add this website to your classroom computers, websites, and newsletters for parents of ENL/ESL students or beginning readers. This tool is especially helpful at the beginning of the year, as you are learning students' reading levels. Use this tool to differentiate in all primary classes. Although this site was created for English Language Learners, it could still be used by all students including gifted and learning support. Differentiate for your advanced/gifted students in elementary, while meeting Common Core standards of Informational Text. Use these news articles as informational text meeting your Common Core goals. Assign students of different levels the same story at the appropriate level or build skills by sharing the same story as a class. Challenge groups to compare the stories in pairs. Have students create a visual presentation of the story. First have students create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. For Level 1 readers have them create their final comic using ToonyTool, reviewed here, for Level 3 readers use Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Slick Write - Russ Tek, LLC
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Use this program with your students who are ready to refine and improve their writing. This is a wonderful program to use for revision after editing of grammar and mechanics is complete. Discover what is making your writing too wordy (excessive prepositional phrases or adverbs?) Partner an advanced writer with one not so advanced and have them use Slick Write to improve their styles. Easily differentiate for writing pitfalls by having them "configure" the settings to focus on their greatest needs instead of overwhelming them with everything at once. Put the URL on your website for students and parents to use from home. Remind seniors to use it for their college essays. Use this tool to polish your own professional writing, parent newsletters, blog posts, and papers for grad classes!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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MobyMax: Complete K-8 Curriculum - MobyMax.com
Grades
K to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): addition (129), assessment (144), classroom management (120), differentiation (83), division (98), fluency (26), game based learning (199), multiplication (122), subtraction (110), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)
In the Classroom
Create a classroom account. Use MobyMax during centers, for nightly homework, or computer lab time. Share with parents as an excellent resource for practicing math, reading, writing, grammar, science, and vocabulary skills at home. Use the pre-testing features at the beginning of the school year to get students started at the correct levels. Use this tool to differentiate for all students. Your gifted students can pretest out of material already learned and receive activities and instruction at their individual level. Be sure to bookmark this site to use with all levels of students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Maths Practice and Worksheets - EduGain
Grades
4 to 10tag(s): addition (129), charts and graphs (171), decimals (85), division (98), equations (119), experiments (55), fractions (161), geometric shapes (135), integers (21), logic (161), mean (19), median (16), mode (13), multiplication (122), number sense (70), numbers (120), operations (72), order of operations (29), probability (99), problem solving (232), ratios (47), square roots (15), subtraction (110), symmetry (27), venn diagrams (15), whole numbers (9)
In the Classroom
Use this site to differentiate for students of all levels. Use activities on this site as a learning station or center. This site is ideal for 1-1 (or BYOD) classrooms. Set up a single teacher account and have all the students use the class login to enable access to all features of the site. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class for further practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Color in my Piano - Joy Morin
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): music theory (45), musical instruments (51), musical notation (34)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and worksheets for music classroom use. Search the Reading Lists for articles to share with students. Share (and discuss) Wednesday's Words of Wisdom. Use this site to differentiate for music students of all levels.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Famous Inboxes - Mark Brownlow
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): creative writing (124), digital storytelling (153), gamification (82), social networking (61)
In the Classroom
Share Famous Inboxes with your students on your interactive whiteboard or projector using a character or author studied in class. Assign students to each of the inbox titles and have them write the actual email sent. Don't see anyone to use in class? Create your own or have students use the site as a model to create their own. Most likely, working in groups will get the creative juices flowing. This would be a great model to use for introducing a history or science unit or for looking at the relationships between characters in literature. Have students write the emails as an end of unit review. Subscribe to the RSS feed of this site to receive updated contents. Use the option to create an inbox as a differentiated challenge for your gifted students. For example: Summarize World War II by showing Winston Churchill's inbox, then write two of the key emails. As a "hook" for new books in the media center, have students create inboxes for one of the characters and post them with the book jackets. Instead of a "report" on a scientist, have students create their inbox documenting their research and accomplishments.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Gettysburg by the Numbers - TeachersFirst
Grades
5 to 10tag(s): civil war (139), gettysburg (15)
In the Classroom
Gettysburg exemplifies many aspects of the Civil War experience and of U.S. life during the 1860s. Use this resource as a whole class introduction to the Civil War or specifically to the Battle of Gettysburg. Extensive teacher materials include downloadable and customizable handouts for students to "get the basics" about the battle or extend their understanding through small group or individual projects on battle-related topics that interest them. Coordinate with your math teacher to reinforce concepts of proportion, percent, ratio, and graphing with real data about Gettysburg. Differentiate for your students by helping them select from more concrete or more open-ended "questions" included with each detail about the battle. You can make this a one-day "quick tour" or a week long journey. Find project ideas included in these questions. There is even a customizable project rubric in the teacher materials. Be sure to share this link on your class web page for curious students (and families) to explore on their own outside of class!Comments
Excellent resource for researchArthur, TX, Grades: 0 - 12
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ESL Games World - eslgamesworld.com
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): grammar (137), grammar review (31), verbs (26), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
This website contains many ads, demonstrate avoiding the advertisements with your students before assigning or using any of the activities. Find ways to assist your ESL/ELL students in an engaging way! You can also use many of the games to reinforce basic skills with native speakers. Customize some of the activities for the content areas you are studying. Use as a whole class activity on your projector (or interactive whiteboard) to practice vocabulary, grammar, and content. Add as a resource for ESL/ELL learning or even struggling readers. Ideas and materials are gathered in one spot to help you reduce the time you need to meet your ESL/ELL students' differentiated needs. Add this link to your class website or share it with parents as a resource.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Math Champs - Pearson
Grades
K to 5tag(s): addition (129), decimals (85), division (98), logic (161), multiples (15), multiplication (122), numbers (120), preK (269), subtraction (110)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use the age ranges (5-7, 7-9, or 9-11) to differentiate for your students. Provide this link on your class website for students to access at home. This is a great site to provide on a list of summer "practice" sites.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Figure This - KnowNet Construction, Inc.
Grades
5 to 10tag(s): critical thinking (124), geometric shapes (135), logic (161), percent (59), probability (99), problem solving (232), statistics (121)
In the Classroom
In the classroom, use Figure This to help differentiate instruction for all levels, especially the high-achievers and gifted students. Allow students to work independently, or work in pairs to solve challenges. Introduce the challenge on your interactive whiteboard projector. Then allow students to dive into the challenge! Use for gifted enrichment, or even a Math Challenge Day for a reward. Offer extra credit for the number of challenges solved. Use as a model to allow students to create their own challenges. Add to your website as a fun resource for students and families.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bedtime Math: Making Math a Fun Part of Kids' Everyday Lives - Laura Overdeck
Grades
K to 4tag(s): preK (269), problem solving (232)
In the Classroom
Do you have parents who want ideas to help with math (or make it fun) at home? Share this site as an easy way to do math and discuss problem solving at home. Instead of assigning endless worksheets, consider a family bedtime math challenge that parents and kids can do together. Use the problems in a math center - differentiate by choosing different questions from the stories for different student needs. After solving problems, change the numbers in questions to provide additional practice. Display the question of the day as a beginning of class activity or to use as a daily math journal entry.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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noredink - Jeff Scheur
Grades
3 to 12So, what's fun about learning this type of grammar? noredink asks students to pick their interests from Sports, TV shows, Musicians, and Miscellaneous. They will also be asked if they want them to use your friends from Facebook. When students are practicing or are taking quizzes, the program will use their interests and friends, and generate the questions around their interests and friends. The hope is that the content will be more interesting by including sentences with favorite celebrities, hobbies, TV shows, or even personal friends. Be sure to watch the introductory video. The program works on iPads as well as your regular computer.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): assessment (144), capitalization (9), classroom management (120), differentiation (83), grammar (137), homonyms (8), homophones (6), punctuation (24), quiz (66), quizzes (90), sentences (21), Teacher Utilities (191), verbs (26)
In the Classroom
Teachers sign up and create a class. You will receive a class code for your students to use (optional). With the class code you will be able to track student's progress, differentiate, assign quizzes and assignments, and see class trends. The program has color-coded "heat maps" to track progress easily. Your assignments and quizzes will be uniquely generated according to each student's interests. Also, students don't have to wait for you to give them an assignment. With their account, they can practice at any time. A student does NOT have to provide an email address to create an account. It will work without it! Since students are providing some personal information about interests, etc., we strongly advise parent permission.Challenge (and excel) your gifted students with the concepts practiced at this site. Since student assignments are at their own level, students can find great acceleration in practicing these necessary skills. ENL/ELL students will especially benefit from the practice using correct English, in their writing, over a continuous time period. Student assignments are at their own level. You can also create your own quizzes. Use this site as part of your rotation during learning stations. Put your class' URL on your website so students can practice at home, too.
Comments
Any website that doesn't let you try it before creating an account is instantly uninteresting to me.Kristi, , Grades: 0 - 12
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Busy Teacher - busyteacher.org
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creative writing (124), descriptive writing (42), grammar review (31), listening (93), multilingual (74), pronunciation (34), reading comprehension (148), speaking (26), Teacher Utilities (191), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)
In the Classroom
This site offers multiple levels and themes, so it is easy to differentiate for ability levels and interests within your class. Peruse the many printable pages available and determine which are useful for your students. Provide this URL on your class website for students to access (for practice) at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Readability Test Tool - David Simpson
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): independent reading (82), readability (5), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Use this tool to offer differentiated resources for the different reading levels in your class. At the beginning of the year, as you learn your students' capabilities, use this tool to find reading at the appropriate level to eliminate frustration. This is perfect for finding the "just right" level for your highly advanced/gifted students and those needing extra remediation. If you do discover that a website you want to use is over your students' independent reading level, you can still use it, just use Read Ahead, reviewed here as a guided reading activity for younger students. Read Ahead is perfect for introducing any reading passage to struggling readers, special education students, and ENL/ESL learners. View readability levels of websites before sharing with students to find appropriate reading levels for differentiation. On an interactive whiteboard or with a projector, test passages of public domain texts from sites like Project Gutenberg, reviewed here, by famous authors to see how their writing ranks when discussing their writing style.Why not have students put in the URL for their blog or wiki (or simply paste in a writing sample) to see the level at which they are writing? This is one way to encourage writing as a craft and challenge students to include more varied vocabulary and sentence structure in their writing.
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Shadow Light Productions - ShadowLight Productions
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): halloween (32), short stories (18)
In the Classroom
Share some of this "puppeteer fun" on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Integrate into your Language Arts classroom to discover theme, plot, characterization, or myths and legends in a new way. Science classes can investigate the use of shadow and sound. Shadow puppetry is an easy way to incorporate several multiple intelligences. Easily differentiated plans for ESL/ELL and Gifted students to capture interest and motivate success. Use as an enrichment cluster, or after-school activity. Be sure to capture all your class creations on video and share on your class web site or blog.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Math 3 Under the Sea! - LearnAlberta.ca
Grades
1 to 3tag(s): differentiation (83), numbers (120), operations (72), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector with the sound turned up. Play the introduction to orient your students. Have students try out this site on individual computers, or as a learning center (maybe on the IWB). For students that are having trouble with math vocabulary, use the provided glossary for explanations of common math terms. Parent/teacher information is available for each of the lessons. Most of the activities have different levels so activities can be differentiated for students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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iRubric - Reazon Systems, Inc.
Grades
K to 12tag(s): assessment (144), rubrics (36)
In the Classroom
To save rubrics and modify existing ones, educators must create an account. Find great project ideas, rubric examples and criteria. Build on the expertise of others to create excellent rubrics. Consider creating categories and using the advice of students to help identify criteria that is important to the project. You might even want to create differentiated rubrics to match multiple intelligences, learning styles, or varied ability levels. With such easy adaptations, you can start alter different versions very easily.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mr Nussbaum's Math Games - Greg Nussbaum
Grades
K to 6This site includes advertising.
tag(s): charts and graphs (171), coordinates (15), decimals (85), estimation (33), fractions (161), measurement (123), money (114), number sense (70), operations (72), rounding (8), time (91)
In the Classroom
Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. This site offers multiple levels, so it is easy to differentiate for ability levels within your class. Share this link on your class web page and/or in a parent newsletter for practice at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free English Lessons Online - esolcourses.com
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): grammar (137), listening (93), reading comprehension (148), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
You may want to complete some of the selections with a projector and your interactive whiteboard for the whole class as there are listening activities, reading activities and quizzes about holidays, etc. You could differentiate by having small groups of students or individuals listening and reading at their different levels while you work with another group, or small groups of students can listen at a station that is one of several literacy stations in your classroom. Since each of the selections has activities in several language arts strands, one selection could make up your student's instruction for the day, or week. Students could rotate through a station for listening, one for vocabulary development, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WorksheetWorks - WorksheetWorks.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): printables (36), puzzles (149), worksheets (69)
In the Classroom
Use this site to differentiate for students of all levels by allowing students to create their own worksheet for practice or review. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center - students can then create their own individualized practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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