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DifferentiatedInstructionforReading|ReadingRockets

Differentiated Intruction for Reading

By:AccessCenter

Differentiatedinstructionisbasedonthepremisethatinstructionalapproachesshouldvaryandbeadaptedin
relationtoindividualanddiversestudents.Thisbrieflooksathowdifferentiationstrategiesappliedtoreading
canbedesignedtohelpstudentslearnarangeofskillsincluding,phonics,comprehension,fluency,word
prediction,andstoryprediction.

What Is differentiated instruction?

Differentiatedinstruction,alsocalleddifferentiation,isaprocessthroughwhichteachersenhancelearningby
matchingstudentcharacteristicstoinstructionandassessment.Differentiatedinstructionallowsallstudentsto
accessthesameclassroomcurriculumbyprovidingentrypoints,learningtasks,andoutcomesthataretailored
tostudents'needs(Hall,Strangman,&Meyer,2003).Differentiatedinstructionisnotasinglestrategy,butrather
anapproachtoinstructionthatincorporatesavarietyofstrategies.
Teacherscandifferentiatecontent,process,and/orproductforstudents(Tomlinson,1999).Differentiationof
contentreferstoachangeinthematerialbeinglearnedbyastudent.Forexample,iftheclassroomobjectiveis
forallstudentstosubtractusingrenaming,someofthestudentsmaylearntosubtracttwodigitnumbers,while
othersmaylearntosubtractlargernumbersinthecontextofwordproblems.Differentiationofprocessrefersto
thewayinwhichastudentaccessesmaterial.Onestudentmayexplorealearningcenter,whileanotherstudent
collectsinformationfromtheweb.Differentiationofproductreferstothewayinwhichastudentshowswhathe
orshehaslearned.Forexample,todemonstrateunderstandingofageometricconcept,onestudentmaysolvea
problemset,whileanotherbuildsamodel.
Whenteachersdifferentiate,theydosoinresponsetoastudent'sreadiness,interest,and/orlearningprofile.
Readinessreferstotheskilllevelandbackgroundknowledgeofthechild.Interestreferstotopicsthatthe
studentmaywanttoexploreorthatwillmotivatethestudent.Thiscanincludeinterestsrelevanttothecontent
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areaaswellasoutsideinterestsofthestudent.Finally,astudent'slearningprofileincludeslearningstyle(i.e.,a
visual,auditory,tactile,orkinestheticlearner),groupingpreferences(i.e.,individual,smallgroup,orlarge
group),andenvironmentalpreferences(i.e.,lotsofspaceoraquietareatowork).Ateachermaydifferentiate
basedonanyoneofthesefactorsoranycombinationoffactors(Tomlinson,1999).

How is it implemented?
Implementationlooksdifferentforeachstudentandeachassignment.Beforebeginninginstruction,teachers
shoulddothreethings:
1.Usediagnosticassessmentstodeterminestudentreadiness.Theseassessmentscanbeformalorinformal.
Teacherscangivepretests,questionstudentsabouttheirbackgroundknowledge,oruseKWLcharts
(chartsthataskstudentstoidentifywhattheyalreadyKnow,whattheyWanttoknow,andwhattheyhave
Learnedaboutatopic).
2.Determinestudentinterest.Thiscanbedonebyusinginterestinventoriesand/orincludingstudentsinthe
planningprocess.Teacherscanaskstudentstotellthemwhatspecificintereststheyhaveinaparticular
topic,andthenteacherscantrytoincorporatetheseinterestsintotheirlessons.
3.Identifystudentlearningstylesandenvironmentalpreferences.Learningstylescanbemeasuredusing
learningstyleinventories.Teacherscanalsogetinformationaboutstudentlearningstylesbyasking
studentshowtheylearnbestandbyobservingstudentactivities.Identifyingenvironmentalpreferences
includesdeterminingwhetherstudentsworkbestinlargeorsmallgroupsandwhatenvironmentalfactors
mightcontributetoorinhibitstudentlearning.Forexample,astudentmightneedtobefreefrom
distractionorhaveextralightingwhileheorsheworks.
Teachersincorporatedifferentinstructionalstrategiesbasedontheassessedneedsoftheirstudents.Throughout
aunitofstudy,teachersshouldassessstudentsonaregularbasis.Thisassessmentcanbeformal,butisoften
informalandcanincludetakinganecdotalnotesonstudentprogress,examiningstudents'work,andaskingthe
studentquestionsabouthisorherunderstandingofthetopic.Theresultsoftheassessmentcouldthenbeusedto
drivefurtherinstruction.

What does it look like for reading?

Differentiationstrategiesappliedtoreadingcanbedesignedtohelpstudentslearnarangeofskillsincluding,
phonics,comprehension,fluency,wordprediction,andstoryprediction.Thechartbelowoffersavarietyof
strategiesthatcanbeused.

Strategy

Focus of
Differentiation

Definition

Example

Tiered
Assignments

Readiness

Tieredassignmentsaredesigned
toinstructstudentsonessential
skillsthatareprovidedatdifferent
levelsofcomplexity,abstractness,
andopenendedness.The
curricularcontentandobjective(s)
arethesame,buttheprocess
and/orproductarevaried
accordingtothestudent'slevelof
readiness.

Studentswithmoderate
comprehensionskillsare
askedtocreateastoryweb.
Studentswithadvanced
comprehensionskillsare
askedtoretellastoryfrom
thepointofviewofthemain
character.

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Compacting

DifferentiatedInstructionforReading|ReadingRockets

Readiness

Compactingistheprocessof
adjustinginstructiontoaccount
forpriorstudentmasteryof
learningobjectives.
Compactinginvolvesathreestep
process:
1.(assessthestudentto
determinehis/herlevelof
knowledgeonthematerial
tobestudiedanddetermine
whathe/shestillneedsto
master
2.createplansforwhatthe
studentneedstoknow,and
excusethestudentfrom
studyingwhathe/she
alreadyknowsand
3.createplansforfreedup
timetobespentinenriched
oracceleratedstudy.

Interest
Centersor
Interest
Groups

Readiness
Interest

Interestcenters(usuallyusedwith
youngerstudents)andinterest
groups(usuallyusedwitholder
students)aresetupsothat
learningexperiencesaredirected
towardaspecificlearnerinterest.
Allowingstudentstochoosea
topiccanbemotivatingtothem.

Astudentwhocandecode
wordswithshortvowel
soundswouldnotparticipate
inadirectinstructionlesson
forthatskill,butmightbe
providedwithsmallgroupor
individualizedinstructionon
anewphonicsskill.

InterestCenters:Centers
canfocusonspecificreading
skills,suchasphonicsor
vocabulary,andprovide
examplesandactivitiesthat
centeronathemeofinterest,
suchasouterspaceor
students'favoritecartoon
characters.
InterestGroups:Forabook
report,studentscanworkin
interestgroupswithother
studentswhowanttoreadthe
samebook.

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Flexible
Grouping*

DifferentiatedInstructionforReading|ReadingRockets

ReadinessInterest
LearningProfile

Studentsworkaspartofmany
differentgroupsdependingonthe
taskand/orcontent.Sometimes
studentsareplacedingroups
basedonreadiness,othertimes
theyareplacedbasedoninterest
and/orlearningprofile.

Theteachermayassign
groupsbasedonreadinessfor
phonicsinstruction,while
allowingotherstudentsto
choosetheirowngroupsfor
bookreports,basedonthe
booktopic.

Groupscaneitherbeassignedby
theteacherorchosenbythe
students.Studentscanbeassigned
purposefullytoagroupor
assignedrandomly.Thisstrategy
allowsstudentstoworkwitha
widevarietyofpeersandkeeps
themfrombeinglabeledas
advancedorstruggling.
Learning
Contracts

Readiness
LearningProfile

Learningcontractsbeginwithan
agreementbetweentheteacher
andthestudent.Theteacher
specifiesthenecessaryskills
expectedtobelearnedbythe
studentandtherequired
componentsoftheassignment,
whilethestudentidentifies
methodsforcompletingthetasks.
Thisstrategy:
1.allowsstudentstoworkat
anappropriatepace
2.cantargetlearningstyles
and
3.helpsstudentswork
independently,learn
planningskills,and
eliminateunnecessaryskill
practice.

ChoiceBoards

ReadinessInterest
LearningProfile

Choiceboardsareorganizersthat
containavarietyofactivities.
Studentscanchooseoneor
severalactivitiestocompleteas
theylearnaskillordevelopa
product.
Choiceboardscanbeorganized
sothatstudentsarerequiredto
chooseoptionsthatfocuson
severaldifferentskills.

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Astudentindicatesthatheor
shewantstoresearcha
particularauthor.With
supportfromtheteacher,the
studentdetermineshowthe
researchwillbeconducted
andhowtheinformationwill
bepresentedtotheclass.
Forexample,thestudent
mightdecidetowriteapaper
andpresentapostertothe
class.Thelearningcontract
indicatesthedatesbywhich
eachstepoftheprojectwill
becompleted.

AfterstudentsreadRomeo
andJuliet,theyaregivena
choiceboardthatcontainsa
listofpossibleactivitiesfor
eachofthefollowinglearning
styles:visual,auditory,
kinesthetic,andtactile.
Studentsmustcompletetwo
activitiesfromtheboardand
mustchoosetheseactivities
fromtwodifferentlearning
styles.

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*MoreinformationaboutgroupingstrategiescanbefoundinStrategiestoImproveAccesstotheGeneral
EducationCurriculum.Availableathttp://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/curricular_materials.asp
AccessCenter.(2004).DifferentiatedInstructionforReading.WashingtonD.C.:Author.

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