20 Differentiations for the Classroom

20 Ideas for Differentiation

1. Think-Pair-Share – Have the students think about a topic, pairing up with a student (either pre-selected by me or they chose their own), talk about everything they think and come up with a sentence or two that explains both of their ideas, and finally every pair will share what they found in their one or two sentences.
2. Different texts – Have the students both read along to the text and have an audio version playing. This will help students who are visual and auditory learners.
3. Different Products – Students get to choose how they show what they’ve learned, a presentation, a graphic organizer, or a picture. Whichever they believe they can convey what they’ve learned the best.
4. Independent Studies – This is more for older students, they get to each go into a subject that they are interested in. The teacher is much more of a questioner than an instructor for this type of project.
5. Have students “teach” others through YouTube.com – Have students find videos that show what they enjoy doing or watching, not video games or anything inappropriate, but find 3 videos of something that they learned.
6. MindMup – This is an interactive mind map type thing, the students can collaborate and explain what they thing about certain topics. https://www.mindmup.com/#storage
7. Storyjumper – This is an interactive story creator, the students work particularly with organization for story creation. https://www.storyjumper.com/
8. WebWhiteboard – This whiteboard lets students collaborate on their own online whiteboard. https://webwhiteboard.com/
9. EdPuzzle – Video led discussion with built in pauses for discussion, this allows the students to process all the information given to them. https://edpuzzle.com/
10. Different Assessment – Have students give oral information, not just on paper. For ELL let them speak as much as they can in English then give them their opportunity to speak in their native language, using either a translating software or a person that speaks their language.
11. KWL charts – Know, Want to know, and what I Learned charts. The students create these at the beginning of a unit of study and fill it out as they go.
12. Flexible grouping – having the student be in different groups based on subject, academic level, interest in the area, whatever your class needs to get different ideas on a subject to start brainstorming, doing a project, or reviewing information.
13. Choice board – students choose how they want to learn a skill, could do a worksheet, could do a hands-on activity with a log, watch a video, etc.
14. Having centers/learning stations – Create a classroom where there can be multiple activities targeting multiple intelligences.  
15. Journals – Have students keep learning journals, have them document after each lesson if they liked it, if they learned from it, or if they have suggestions for next time.
16. Literature Circles – Each student in the group has a specific job, word wise, illustrator, discussion director, whatever jobs you think will benefit your students.
17. Prodigy – This website lets you set up your class and the students work at their own pace through games and videos. https://www.prodigygame.com/
18. Get to Know your Students – The success in any classroom will depend on how well you know your students, their learning styles, and what they enjoy learning about. As a teacher this is one of the first steps you need to take when differentiating instruction.
19. Visual Schedules – make sure that every day is shown visually somewhere in the room, this will help students stay on task, ease any anxiety they may have, and help your classroom move smoother overall.
20. Koras Kit – This kit has items in it for physical differences in the students. Help holding a pencil, or not having to touch a certain texture can go a long way for these students.