A Unit of Study That Works For “Every” Student

Posted on Mar 08 2010 at 5:07 PM


By Melissa Mullineaux

Differentiation, the practice of catering lessons to students of varying levels, is one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. Without practicing differentiation, students tend not to make sufficient academic progress. A teacher must be able to target the specific type of support each student needs in order for her/him not to slip through the year without being noticed. Over the past five months, I have experimented with differentiation via trial and error as I have tried to meet the diverse needs of my students when planning units of study and daily lesson plans.

Next week, my classes will begin a new unit of study: historical fiction. We have decided to focus on the Holocaust in order to teach the important reading and writing elements of historical fiction. Interested to learn my students’ knowledge of the Holocaust, I gave a pre-assessment that focused on general terms and ideas related to the Holocaust. I learned by reading the pre-assessments that my students have a wide range of knowledge concerning the Holocaust; some students have visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. and know an extensive amount concerning the Holocaust while other students know little to nothing about the Holocaust. I found myself asking, “Where do I begin to embed activities and projects for our Reading and Writing Workshop around the ‘heavy’ topic of the Holocaust with my broad spectrum of learners?”

After much thought and consideration, I have decided to practice the following teaching methods: 1) homogenous and non-homogenous group work; 2) reciprocal teaching; 3) Socratic seminar; and, 4) independent work. While my students have been regularly practicing all four methods thus far, I have been providing most of the directions. Now, my goal is to support my students learning by having them take on greater responsibility in the classroom. By this, I mean my students will be responsible for accomplishing tasks with little direction from me, transitioning without being reminded verbally, supporting each other in various group settings, and directing sensitive discussions. This will allow me to facilitate the classroom mood and conversations, conference with students, and provide support for the leveled curriculum that will be incorporated into each lesson. I believe differentiating the curriculum byway of various grouping styles will support my lower readers as well as my mid-higher level readers. The grouping styles will provide a space for varying content levels to be delivered to specific students. I am hopeful that the content of the Holocaust will be manageable as we work together in a routine that benefits all learners.

Historical Fiction is a great opportunity to learn about important events that have shaped the lives of many. I anticipate my students will welcome the opportunity for greater responsibility in the classroom to demonstrate their understanding of communication, routines and procedures, important content, and successful results. Our next class book is The Devil’s Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen, which with student-run routines and differentiated lessons, my students will learn not only about the elements of historical fiction, but a critical period of time in history that still affects the present.
 

Back

Comments

None Found

Add Comment