Pre-Assessment for Differentiation

For the 5 students who answered most, including the most difficult, of the pre-assessment questions correctly.

For the 12 students who have some knowledge about the topic as shown in their score, but need to develop higher order thinking skills.

For the the 5 students who appear to have limited knowledge about the topic, of which 3 are struggling with language and are at different reading levels and 2 students who have little to no comprehension of the the topic and need to be tested further for special needs.

Thumbs Down Differentiation Strategy

Students Struggling with Language Barrier

Students at Different Reading Levels

Students who have little to no comprehension of topic, and need to be tested for special needs

Thumbs Sideways Differentiation Strategy

Thumbs Up Differentiation Strategy

Differentiation Strategy: Thumbs Up/Down/Sideways

Define: At the beginning of a class period have students gather around for a series of pre-assessment questions that are true/false. The teacher can choose 3-5 things that students may know or not know about that day's topic. The teacher can then tally the responses.

  1. Read the Muslim Green Lantern independently
  1. Think about these topics more deeply by using their prior knowledge of content.
  1. Begin the assignment by opening up the Master Challenge on Google Classroom entitled, “The Muslim Green Lantern”
  1. Read the challenge, the why, and begin on the IXL reading skill entitled, “Comparing Passages for Tone”
  1. Watch a BrainPop! Video on September 11th
  1. Watch BrainPop! Video on Terrorism
  1. Watch BrainPop! Video on Mood and Tone
  1. Watch BrainPop! Video on Common and Proper Nouns

5.Read the Muslim Green Lantern independently

6.Think about the story's themes more deeply by using their knowledge gained from their content research.

Read sentences at a slow-to-normal speed, and use an expressive tone.

Allow time after each sentence or paragraph for the students to grasp the material.

Point to the words in the text as I read them, which is particularly helpful for students who are learning the flow of a comic book in English.

Point to the corresponding pictures as I read the text so that it is easier to follow along.

Plan to read the story in the next class the next day and pause at strategic points to invite ELL students to add in the words they know.

Give students access to the content via listening instead of reading. This is helpful because students' listening comprehension exceeds reading comprehension through middle school- on average. Hearing the complex concepts and themes of the story in a more complex text is helpful for these students before being expected to understand them independently.

If possible, I would provide an audio book that students could listen to, while they view the text.

If no audiobook exists, I would take a video of myself reading the comic to post to Google Classroom so that students that struggle with reading level may have access to the audio version.

First, check in with the Learning Services Team at my school as they often have more information on a students in-progress diagnosis or are knowledgeable on concerns about special needs. If students are thought to benefit from accommodations, but do not have a diagnosis, I would apply the accommodations

Then, based on the suggestions for each student that are given by the Learning Services Team I would be able to support each student in a more 1:1 environment.

For students that may need more testing for a possible dyslexic diagnosis, I would provide the audio book or the video of myself reading the comic so that the student could more easily understand and follow along with the story. I would also help with fluency/decoding and give extra-time with the content.

For students that are at a concern for having OCD I would be sure to support managing external stimuli (noise, change, unfamiliar situations), give clear expectations & directions, explicit instructions, and include body breaks and a structured schedule.

For students that may be watched for ADHD symptoms I would give summaries of reading material, provide audiobooks, supply extra-time with the content, check in regularly, and provide body breaks.