Differentiating Instruction With Technology In K 5 Classrooms

Learn how to use technology to differentiate by student interest, readiness, ability, learning profile, content, process, and product.

Differentiated instruction plus technology equals a better learning environment for diverse students. Learn how to use technology to differentiate by student interest, readiness, ability, learning profile, content, process and product.

Reviews research on the uniqueness of middle years students and illustrates the importance of using technology to create differentiated lessons, especially with this age group.

First published in 1995 as How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms, this new edition reflects evolving best practices, practitioners' experience, and Tomlinson's ongoing thinking about how to help all students access high-quality curriculum; engage in meaningful learning experiences; and feel safe and valued in their school. Written as a practical guide for teachers, this expanded 3rd edition of Carol Ann Tomlinson's groundbreaking work covers the fundamentals of differentiation and provides additional guidelines and new strategies for how to go about it. You'll learn What differentiation is and why it's essential How to set up the flexible and supportive learning environment that promotes success How to manage a differentiated classroom How to plan lessons differentiated by readiness, interest, and learning profile How to differentiate content, process, and products How to prepare students, parents, and yourself for the challenge of differentiation We differentiate instruction to honor the reality of the students we teach. They are energetic and outgoing. They are quiet and curious. They are confident and self-doubting. They are interested in a thousand things and deeply immersed in a particular topic. They are academically advanced and "kids in the middle" and struggling due to cognitive, emotional, economic, or sociological challenges. More of them than ever speak a different language at home. They learn at different rates and in different ways. And they all come together in our academically diverse classrooms.

"Translates the need for differentiation into a format that breaks down the ′why′ into the ′how.′ By using conversations between real teachers and a coach as they undergo the endeavor of putting differentiation into practice, the authors have provided the means for practitioners to see firsthand how theory can become reality." —Jason Thompson, Fifth-Grade Teacher Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School District, NY "This book has a great variety of lessons contributed by teachers—very well laid out and easy to follow. The book provides good examples of using differentiation across subject areas." —Wendy Rader, Kindergarten Teacher Union County Public Schools, Charlotte, NC Watch what happens when educators put differentiation to work in real classrooms! Every student has unique learning styles, interests, and preferences. By differentiating instruction, teachers can reach all the students in their classroom, from struggling students to the gifted. Based on research and the authors′ experiences at one remarkable elementary school, Differentiation at Work, K–5 describes what schoolwide differentiation looks like in real classrooms. Lane Narvaez and Kay Brimijoin show school administrators how differentiated instruction can be successfully implemented schoolwide and provide teachers with authentic tools for the classroom. Readers will find: Nine sample lesson plans from a variety of disciplines and grade levels, with materials included Voices of teachers, students, and other members of the school community describing their experiences with differentiation A chapter on supporting schoolwide implementation through coaching Preassessments to determine students′ prior knowledge Strategies for designing and refining lessons Applications at the district level This hands-on resource demonstrates how increased student achievement can become a reality when the entire school focuses on making differentiation work.

Like Amy Benjamin’s other books, this one is easy to read and simple to implement. It demonstrates that you can manage the complexities of differentiated instruction – and save time -- by using technology as you teach. It showcases classroom-tested activities and strategies which are easy to apply in your own classroom.

Although much has changed in schools in recent years, the power of differentiated instruction remains the same—and the need for it has only increased. Today's classroom is more diverse, more inclusive, and more plugged into technology than ever before. And it's led by teachers under enormous pressure to help decidedly unstandardized students meet an expanding set of rigorous, standardized learning targets. In this updated second edition of her best-selling classic work, Carol Ann Tomlinson offers these teachers a powerful and practical way to meet a challenge that is both very modern and completely timeless: how to divide their time, resources, and efforts to effectively instruct so many students of various backgrounds, readiness and skill levels, and interests. With a perspective informed by advances in research and deepened by more than 15 years of implementation feedback in all types of schools, Tomlinson explains the theoretical basis of differentiated instruction, explores the variables of curriculum and learning environment, shares dozens of instructional strategies, and then goes inside elementary and secondary classrooms in nearly all subject areas to illustrate how real teachers are applying differentiation principles and strategies to respond to the needs of all learners. This book's insightful guidance on what to differentiate, how to differentiate, and why lays the groundwork for bringing differentiated instruction into your own classroom or refining the work you already do to help each of your wonderfully unique learners move toward greater knowledge, more advanced skills, and expanded understanding. Today more than ever, The Differentiated Classroom is a must-have staple for every teacher's shelf and every school's professional development collection.

This updated edition of Strategies for Differentiating Instruction offers practical approaches that allow all students to make continuous progress and be appropriately challenged by focusing on their various levels of knowledge and readiness to learn. Written in an accessible, teacher-friendly style, chapters explore methods to tier learning experiences so that all students’ unique learning needs are met. The new edition updates the strategies complete with student examples and provides Developing and Assessing Products (DAP) tools for a variety of products as reproducible appendices. Full of research-supported examples and designed specifically for teachers who are new to differentiated instruction, this book offers vetted, practical advice for preassessing students, implementing differentiation strategies, and managing and assessing student learning. This new edition is a must read for teachers seeking to master the essentials on how to differentiate instruction and address all students' needs, interests, and abilities.