Differentiated Instruction

The 21st Century classroom is a "second home" to a richly and excitingly diverse set of students. Educators teaching any subject at any grade level must present information in ways that will reach students with varying degrees of individual strengths, needs, and talents; different academic preparation and prior experience; and a wide range of English proficiency. In order to teach such a broad range of learners, master teachers rely on strategies and activities that differentiate instruction.

Although teachers have always addressed students who fall within a continuum of abilities, the movement toward inclusion in the classroom has brought together students representing a greater range of differences than ever before. For this reason, it is not uncommon to see students in a classroom learning the same key concepts but accessing the information through a wide and creative range of divergent activities. Teachers who differentiate instruction incorporate paired and cooperative team activities, hands-on learning, the use of realia (tangible, 3-dimensional physical objects of, or from, the real world), alternative and authentic forms of assessment, adapted instructional strategies, and appropriate accommodations into their lessons. In the best and most integrated classes, the dynamics of student-to-student interaction change to match the learning activity. Thus, at times, students who have been identified as "gifted and talented" work together with students with learning disabilities; native English speakers are paired with non-native speakers; and in addition to participating in more traditional paper-and pencil tasks, students are offered opportunities to acquire concepts through alternative processes including performing skits, creating murals, writing songs or poems, and using technology. Through similar activities, students are also able to show what they have learned.

PLT Activities Apply Best Practices in Differentiated Instruction

The student pages and activities in Project Learning Tree offer excellent examples of differentiation. Through differentiated instruction, teachers are able to provide additional challenges for gifted or quick learners while ensuring that the lesson is comprehendible and accessible to those still acquiring English language skills and to students with disabilities. Project Learning Tree's guide provides educators with a curriculum that facilitates teaching to a variety of levels and enables students to become a community of learners.

All PLT activities apply current "best-practices" in differentiating curriculum; however, several activities were identified as particularly appropriate for the diversity of the contemporary classroom. These lessons are infused with enrichment and additional research opportunities, a variety of evaluation and assessment options, and a range of activities that will meet the diverse needs of students in each classroom.

Methods to enhance PLT activities through differentiated instruction are noted in the sidebar of the relevant activities. Within the activities, suggestions are made as to how to incorporate the methods listed in the sidebar. These suggestions are highlighted by the differentiated instruction icon.

Differentiated Instruction Methods Used Throughout the PreK-8 Activity Guide