Differentiation in Early Childhood? It Can Be Done!
Hello everyone, my name is Marsha McGuire, from A Differentiated
Kindergarten. Today, I will explain to
you what my blog is all about.
My blog is a mixture of ideas and activities to use in
your classroom with a little fun thrown in to liven things up, I also have a
special interest in Differentiated Instruction.
The one thing that I constantly hear from
student-teachers and teachers who haven't quite caught on to differentiating
their instruction, is 'it's soooooo
overwhelming" or "I can't quite get my head wrapped around
it" For those teachers I like to
suggest starting out with only tackling one thing and build up.
Remember, you can differentiate by responding to a
student’s interests, learning profile or readiness. So, to start with you might want to tackle
tiering one activity, just to get your feet wet.
I do think it will
be helpful, especially to us visual learners, in giving you an idea of what it
might look like to tier and how to go about thinking about tiering an activity.
First
identify your key concept . . . this is your common core; standard or whatever
skill or concept is ESSENTIAL for them to master.
Next
Pre-assess
. . . this is where you can do a simple thumb up, thumbs down quick test to get
an idea of what they already understand. This shouldn't be a paper/pencil test
necessarily
Then
create your whole group experience or lesson.
I like to make this fun and interactive so that I get them HOOKED and
interested.
And finally, you're ready to create your activity. This
is where you adjust the pace, steps or complexity based on your students and
place them in the corresponding tiers.
Enjoy,
Ms. Nora Sierra
EC Assistant Principal
Discovery School
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