Differentiated Instruction Class 5

Class #5

Big Questions

• How do I DI with reading in my mixed ability classroom?

• How do I DI using student interest?

Homework reflection

• Meet with your Content Buddy and discuss your note-taking or readiness assessment worksheet that you created based on last class.

• Evaluate the statements that I hand out to you and come up with what you think are the top five statements based on the article.

In your reflection section…

• What are three things I should remember about last week’s class and information processing when I create unit plans?

Big Question #1

• How do I DI with reading in a mixed ability classroom?

Guided questions for reading

• Why focus on reading?

• How does teaching vocab help with reading?

• What is reading all about anyway?

• How can I make a difference in my students’ reading lives and therefore a difference in their performance in class?

Some facts

• What are the results of in-school reading?– Increased math scores– Improvement in discipline, attendance, and

self-esteem– Improvement in problem solving skills– Increased reading ability

• Double the rate of reading growth for average student

• Triple the rate for disadvantaged students

How much in-school reading is needed?

• Most students average 7 minutes daily in school reading throughout their school careers.

• High School students average 2 minutes a day.

• The Institute for Academic Excellence research indicates that to get results like those above, students must engage in 60 minutes of reading practice daily.

What does in-school reading look like?

• TWI

–To: read to the students as they read along

–With: students interact with each other in assisted reading.

–Independently: silent reading

Reading To: Read alouds

•Ambrose Beirce’s

The Boarded Window

Reading With

•Paraphrase passport

•Paired reading

•What is content literacy all about?

•How can I deal with content literacy in my own classroom?

Content Literacy

• After 3rd grade books stop being story books and start being expository or informational.

• The shift is fundamental and research proves that it DOES make a difference to teach content literacy.

Text-books

• How to read a textbook (literally)

• How to utilize non-text functions of a textbook.

• Content vocabulary is a given at this point.

• Scaffold the aid given in reading.

• Graphic organizers/reading questions

Reflection

• Big Question: How do I DI with reading in my mixed ability classroom?

• In the reflection section of your notebook think about how to better teach reading strategies given your specific content area.

• Meet with your content buddy and discuss how to deal with this.

Big Question #2

•How do I DI using student interest?

Pre-test

• Student learning style (Gardner)

• Student interest

Learning Profile

• A million learning style tests exist, use multiple tests for more accurate results.

• Design the overarching standard that you want them to meet and then design the project that allows them to reach the standard in different ways.

• RAFT(s) can do this as well.

Student Interest

• Create an interest survey before the beginning of each unit/lesson that allows you to assess what the students are interested in.

• Choice reading

• Choice assignments (contracts)

Tomlinson Ch. 9

• For reading this week you read over Ch. 9 on student readiness. Meet with your Profile Buddy and spend the next ten minutes discussing the chapter and the important points.

• Come up with the five most important things that the chapter says.

Reflection

• In your reflection section ask yourself two questions that you still have about Student Interest.

Homework

• Read Ch. 10 in Tomlinson

• Choose a reading strategy that you could use with your students and explain how/why?

• Bring material to work on your mid-term exam.