Differentiation In Action

This practical guide full of use-tomorrow strategies helps teachers put theory into practice and make differentiated instruction work to support all types of learners.

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.

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.

Examine how PLCs provide the decision-making platform for the rigorous work of differentiated classroom instruction. A practical guide to implementing differentiation in the classroom, this book offers a road map to effective teaching that responds to diverse learning needs. Takeaway objectives at the beginning of each chapter guide discussion, and each chapter ends with action options of highly interactive strategies.

Full of just-in-time, step-by-step guidance, this book shows you how to incorporate student voice and choice in the process of planning for student-driven differentiation. This unique approach is based on building collaborative student-teacher relationships as a precursor to student growth. Organized into three parts for quick reference, this book Identifies the criteria for positive teacher-student relationships Examines four areas for differentiated learning – content, process, product, environment Describes the process of planning and implementing student-driven differentiation Motivates and supports you in your student-driven differentiation journey Provides unique examples and engaging vignettes throughout, including a fun project inspired by Shark Tank!

More than 45 tools and activities that make it easier for professional development leaders to show teachers and administrators how to successfully implement and maintain differentiated instruction.

Offers a definition of differentiated instruction, and provides principles and strategies designed to help teachers create learning environments that address the different learning styles, interests, and readiness levels found in a typical mixed-ability classroom.

This third book in the Differentiation in Practice series presents annotated lesson plans to illustrate how real teachers incorporate differentiation principles and strategies throughout an entire instructional unit.