How to finish the end of year for teachers 2021: 11 top tips

How to finish the end of year for teachers 2021: 11 top tips

How to finish the end of year for teachers 2021: 11 top tips

The end of year for teachers can be a crawl to the end. In this post I am going to give you 11 top tips to finish the end of year strong.

Let’s be honest. For most of us in the teaching profession, 2021 sucked. Global pandemic, school lockdowns, online teaching and mask wearing. The fact that you’re still standing is an achievement in itself. 

With only a few weeks left until the end of the year, how can we finish such an abnormal year well?

I’ve compiled this list of practical things you can do to finish the end of year for teachers strong. 

you didn't come this far to only come this far

Disclaimer: This blog post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something from these links I may get a small commission to help support this blog (with no extra cost to you).  Read full disclaimer here. 

The end of year for teachers: 11 top tips

1. Stay on top of your admin.

When you’re tired and itching for the end of the year to come it can be easy to get slack with admin. But we always pay for this later.

Keep on top of all your normal tasks by keeping to-do lists updated and prioritising tasks that have a deadline.

 

2. Keep building relationships with your students

While the school year may be wrapping up, it can be a great time to get more of an insight into your students’ lives.

Ask them what their plans are over the holidays or what they might be looking forward to next year.

For some students the holidays may provide more uncertainty for them. It can be helpful for them to know that you care and that you will be there when school returns.

3. Find fun ways for students to revise content

While a lot of teachers hate coming to revision time, I actually love it! There are so many fun things you can do!

Turn task cards into a board game or use no prep digital escape rooms! Quizlets and Kahoots are fun too. Make the most of it and get the students involved.

students in masks - end of year for teachers

4. Be patient with your students

As tired you are, your students probably are too. They have also had a big year of uncertainty and disruption to their learning. Remembering this has helped me to be a little more patient and gracious than I may have been otherwise.

5. Tell your colleagues what you appreciate about them

As everyone is exhausted and is just counting the days, colleagues can become short with each other. Try to be a positive part of their day and tell them something you are thankful for about them.

It could be that you enjoy their sense of humour or that you’re thankful to a colleague for the resources they’ve shared. Make it known to them that you are thankful to work with them. Be specific.

6. Clean your desk

My desk is what some may call ‘organized chaos’. I have piles here and piles there. Yes, I do know where everything is, but yes, it is also considered a mess.

Don’t leave the school year with this year’s mess to come back to. Clean it up now so you have a fresh start on your return.

clean desk

7. Throw out old resources & papers 

Following on from the last point, it’s time for not just a clean, but a declutter. Throw out everything that is not essential to keep for next year. These days with so many of our resources being stored online it is unlikely that you need to keep a heap of papers from different assessment tasks and hard copy rolls on your desk. Therefore, chuck it! Just be sure to dispose of anything containing student information appropriately. 

8. Evaluate your programs and assessments

This is probably the very last thing you feel like doing at this time of year. It is definitely not what I feel like doing. But I also know that if I leave it until next year I will forget all the little things I noticed while I was teaching the unit. Therefore, it is worth taking the time to make changes now while it is fresh in your mind. 

if not now when? end of year for teachers

9. Grab any resources you want to have with you over the holidays

Look, I could tell you to not take any work home with you over the break. But I’d be a hypocrite because I absolutely will be. 

This helps me keep on top of my planning and helps me have a smoother start to the year. Using some of my holiday time to plan gives me time back during term time.

It may be that there are textbooks or resources you need from school in order to plan during the holidays. Grab them now before you forget. It will save you a trip back there during break.

10. Create a to do list for the beginning of next year

The end of year for teachers can feel like you’ve got a head full of ‘to dos’. If you can brain dump all of the things that are rolling around your head regarding what you need to do to prepare for next year, then it will be easier for you to switch off a bit over the break knowing you have it all written down somewhere. 

 

11. Keep a record of all you have accomplished this year

Sometimes we can get so caught up in the end of the year that we miss the opportunity to reflect on all we have accomplished this year. 

I encourage you to write a list of things you have accomplished. Include new skills you’ve developed, new resources you created, what professional development you undertook.

While you’re at it add these to your resume. It is always a good idea to keep a running list of these items and if you leave it too long you are likely to forget a lot of it. 2021 was a hard year and there is no doubt that with online learning you worked hard to develop your skills in new areas. 

 

Conclusion

2021 has been a really hard year. The end of year for teachers can feel like trudging waist deep in snow.

But don’t give up yet! Make the most of the last weeks of school to help you relax during the break and also start 2022 refreshed and prepared. Once you make it through the end of term and into the holiday break make sure you check out my post Teacher recharge ideas: 19 ways to refresh over the holidays. 

If you’re feeling like this year might have overcome your passion for teaching then check out my post ‘How to love teaching again’ here.  

 

Share the love!

 

The end of year for teachers is hard! Share this post with your teaching buddies and work together to get through the last few weeks of 2021!

 

Did you find this helpful? Have you got some tips of your own?

Please comment below!

Comments

How to love teaching again

How to love teaching again

How to love teaching again

Have you lost your spark for teaching? Do you want to love teaching again?

This post is just for you! 

Teaching is a hard gig. I don’t know any actual teachers who would argue this point. 

I know a lot of teachers who started out in the profession and LOVED it.

But… the endless nights marking, the disrespect from students, and the constantly moving goalposts from administration meant they fell out of love with the profession.  

If this resonates with you then you are in the right place! 

This was also me. But I have re-found my love for teaching and I am excited to share some of the things I found helpful along the way in the hope that they may also help you re-ignite your love for teaching. 

There are many things that are out of our control as teachers. I just wanted to pause here to say that this blog post is not about dwelling on things we cannot control. Rather it is designed to give you real options for finding your way back to the love of teaching you once had.

So grab a coffee and sit back and relax while I give you some strategies to help re-ignite that flame!

how to love teaching again

Disclaimer: This blog post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something from these links I may get a small commission to help support this blog (with no extra cost to you).  Read full disclaimer here. 

If you are reading this then I know two things about you:

1. Firstly, you have lost the spark you once had for teaching. 

Probably not because of the actual teaching, but because of all the other things I mentioned earlier. You’re exhausted. You are not sure this is sustainable anymore. You’re no longer sure that this is the profession for you.

I’ve been here too. Actually, I’ve been here multiple times.

2. Secondly, and more importantly, you are not ready to give up! You want to love teaching again!

The fact you are reading this blog means you are not ready to let go of the profession you once loved. Good on you! You are amazing. Even in the thick of it all you are looking for a solution!

how to love teaching again

So, how do you reignite the teaching spark?

 

Firstly, rediscover your ‘why’. 

Take a moment to think about what got you excited to teach in the first place. 

What was it that you loved about the idea of teaching? 

For me, it was that feeling that I had really helped someone else. Sounds selfish when I say it like that. That I only liked teaching because it made ME feel good about helping others. But do you know what? I truly believe we have been made to get that feeling when we help others. It is what makes us human. It is THAT feeling that keeps me going back. That feeling that I am making a difference in the lives of others. 

Rediscover your ‘why’ again.

That part is easy. But what happens when that feeling goes away? Or what if your original ‘why’ is no longer relevant?

I have been teaching for over 10 years and there have been many times that the spark I had when I started, was diminished. And if I’m honest, its not the teaching part I fall out of love with. It’s everything else. The office politics. The staff room gossip. The forever increasing administration. The constantly moving goalposts set from those who have been out of the classroom too long. 

So how do you get it back? What can you do?

6 ways to love teaching again

Here are my 6 C’s for how to love teaching again (and stay in love with teaching):

1. How to love teaching again: Create

Create something. 

Being creative is good for the soul and can help you be excited about something you are in control of. 

There are so many things that are out of your control as a teacher. Take ownership over the things you can control and find joy in completing a project of your own.  

Therefore, create a new resource, a new classroom display, a new way of assessing, a new program. Create something that you are proud of.  

 

2. How to love teaching again: Connect 

Connect with other teachers who love what they do. 

A big part of keeping your own flame burning is being a part of a team. Knowing you’re not in it alone and also being with like-minded people who are on the same path as you, or who have been on that path before. Seeing passion and love for the profession bursting from others can help fan the flame for you too. 

We are so blessed to be able to have so many ways we can connect with other teachers. Whether it be through professional network systems, Facebook groups, LinkedIn, conferences or webinars. 

share your vision

3. How to love teaching again: Contribute 

Contribute to others in the profession.

Contributing to others in the profession may help you find purpose and excitement again.

While your students and perhaps even your current staff team may not be appreciative of your efforts, there are so many teachers out there craving your experience and ideas. By sharing with them you may find a new purpose in your career and reignite that passion for education.

 

Where can you go to contribute?

  • At school!

    You can start by contributing to your staff team. Share your resources with them. Spark conversations about pedagogy in the staff room. 

  • Professional networks

    There are many networks out there that have opportunities for teachers to contribute whether it be by presenting at a conference, presenting a webinar, participating in an online forum or discussion. Start small and build up!

  • Facebook groups

    There are so many active facebook groups dedicated to teachers. There are lots of ways to engage with these:

    • Engage by creating your own post in a group to spark discussion. 
    • Reply to someone else’s post.
    • Reply to someone else’s comment on a post.
    • Share one of your resources with the group 
    • Ask the group for their ideas for a lesson / problem etc. 
6 ways to love teaching again

4. How to love teaching again: Conference

Attend a conference. 

Conferences have a way of providing new ideas and atmosphere that get teachers buzzing with excitement. 

If you have the opportunity to attend a conference with a like-minded teaching friend then your ‘buzz’ could be tenfold. Having someone to talk about what you learnt with and discuss the new concepts and how you could apply them to your context is priceless. This also allows for the excitement of the conference to last longer as you return to school together and implement those new ideas.

If you can’t get to a conference then I highly recommend watching some TED talks. Here are my top 9 TED talks for teachers which will make you laugh, challenge your thinking and inspire you. 

5. How to love teaching again: Communicate 

Communicate with your administration, colleagues, family and students.

  • With your administration / leadership team

Have you tried to communicate your feelings or frustrations with your team leader or administration staff? 

While it can feel hard to approach them with your thoughts, it is worth trying to communicate with them to find some sort of solution.

Depending on the reason you feel you have fallen out of love with teaching, it could be that small changes from your leadership or administration staff could make a difference. Even just setting out to have this conversation could help you pinpoint the exact issues that you feel are weighing you down. 

  • With your colleagues

You may not be the only one feeling this way. Sharing your feelings with your colleagues could help you find someone who is also seeking to re-ignite their passion for teaching.

Setting out on the path to love teaching again with a colleague could give you both accountability and someone to bounce ideas off.

  • With your family

Your family may have already picked up on the fact that you are falling out of love with your profession. But it could be worth talking through some solutions with them. They may have some helpful insight into what may help you move forward. Whether it be setting some boundaries regarding bringing work home, helping you to use weekends for your own mental health, or just reminding you what you used to love about teaching.

  • With your students

If you follow me on Instagram you will have heard me harp on about building relationships with your students. Why? Because the more time you spend with them, the more you will enjoy spending time with them. They have personality and a sense of humour. They are fun!

Building positive connections with your students may remind you why you used to enjoy teaching.

building relationships with students

6. How to love teaching again: Change 

Change your position, school or (last resort) career.

Are you in a position to change your role or loading? Could you chat with your principal about changing your grade level, subject area, classroom, or how many days you work? Is there an opportunity to apply for a promotion or take on a leadership role?

They say change is as good as a holiday! 

What if none of these changes are available to you?

Maybe it’s time you had a bigger change of scenery. Maybe it is time for you to apply for jobs in other schools, districts etc. It could be that you have lost your spark because you’ve outgrown your current school and need a different kind of challenge. When I was feeling super flat after a few years at my first school it really helped changing to another. It gave me a new sense of purpose, new challenges and different people to connect with. 

If you are currently at the point where you are thinking you need a complete career change then I do believe it is worth trying a school change first. What have you got to lose?

What if I just can’t do it anymore?

I do want to add here that if you are reading this blog post then I feel you are really wanting to stay in the teaching profession. But I also want to add that you shouldn’t feel obliged to. It might be time for you to chase a different dream, and that is ok! 

Conclusion

Teaching is a hard gig. It’s important you don’t try to push through it alone.  

Create, connect, contribute, conference, communicate and change to reignite that spark. 

Let me know in the comments below if you try any of these! I’d love to hear your stories and if any of these suggestions helped! Alternatively, please send me an email to connect here.

Share the love!

Share this post with others who may be struggling to love teaching at the moment.

 

Did you find this helpful? Have you got some tips of your own on how to love teaching again?

Please comment below!

Comments

53 EASY Differentiation Strategies for Your Classroom

53 EASY Differentiation Strategies for Your Classroom

53 EASY Differentiation Strategies for Your Classroom

Just after I started in my first teaching position, I remember sitting in a whole school staff meeting on differentiation strategies and feeling sooooo overwhelmed. How on earth was I meant to adjust all the different activities to meet all the different needs of my students? Did that mean I had to create 30 different lesson plans? How was I meant to do that as well as keep on top of my marking and assessment task writing and… you get the drift. I completely freaked out. 

It wasn’t until later in my career that I really started to understand what differentiating actually is and how it can be manageable on a daily basis if you have the right differentiation strategies. 

That’s where this post comes in! I’ve created a list of 53 low prep differentiation strategies that are easy to implement on a daily basis and don’t require multiple lesson plans! If you’re a teacher leader who is looking for ways to differentiate professional development for teachers then see my blog post  here.

So grab a coffee and sit back and relax while I give you a list of differentiation strategies in the classroom to make your job easier!

list of differentiation strategies in the classroom

easy differentiation strategies for the classroom

Disclaimer: This blog post, ’53 easy differentiation strategies for your classroom’, may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something from these links I may get a small commission to help support this blog (with no extra cost to you).  Read full disclaimer here. 

What are differentiation strategies?

Carol Ann Tomlinson defines differentiation strategies as the practices of proactive planning and inclusivity to ensure the learning experiences are accessible to all learners to meet their individual learning needs.

I love this definition as it really encompasses the main point – that differentiation strategies are used to meet the learning needs of students. 

Differentiation is an understanding of student learning needs and how to meet them. It requires successful incorporation of multiple strategies in order to meet the individual needs of those in your classroom. It is not individualised learning and does not require multiple lesson plans from you.

list of differentiation strategies

list of differentiation strategies

What areas can you use differentiation strategies for in the classroom?

According to Tomlinson (2000), there are 4 ways you can incorporate differentiation strategies in the classroom to foster learning opportunities.

You can:

1. Differentiate the Content

Differentiating the content means ensuring each student starts where they need to. Some students may need to start at an introductory level, while others can jump in at the extension questions. 

This also includes how students receive the content. For instance, whether they receive the content via the teacher, a video, visual resources, etc. 

2. Differentiate the Product

Differentiation strategies relating to the product can refer to either the end product students produce to demonstrate their learning, or the standard of that product. 

3. Differentiate the Process

The process or method used is how students engage with the content. An example might be that you explicitly teach one group while having another do some research, or watch a video or do some hands-on modelling.

This also includes differentiation strategies that make the learning accessible or achievable. An example may include providing more processing time for individual students. Another could be providing scaffolding that breaks down the concepts into manageable chunks.

4. Differentiate the Environment

The environment shapes how or where the activity is completed – this includes whether students complete the activity in groups or individually, and where they might complete that work in the classroom.

Now, let’s get onto the good stuff!

The ultimate list of differentiation strategies 

53 EASY DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES IN THE CLASSROOM

List of differentiation strategies: Content

1. Provide various entry levels

Some students might need instruction from the foundations of the topic. Others might need to explore the concept on a deeper level. 

Here are some easy, low prep ways to do this practically:

  • Divide your questions for a topic into sections so they gradually increase in difficulty. You can either let students choose which section they begin in or allocate those sections.
  • Allow students to choose whether they listen to explicit instruction. After doing some pretesting it may become obvious that some students already have a good knowledge of the topic you are about to teach. 
  • Provide the opportunity for peer teaching. If you have some students who already understand the concept then allow them to teach some of their peers. 
  • In a textbook or worksheet with multiple questions, students have to get 3 answers correct in a row in each section before moving on to the next. This means those who have understood the content and are ready to move forward will be able to and it immediately differentiates the work for the entire class. 

2. Incorporate videos

Videos are a great resource to use for differentiation if teaching a mixed ability class. 

How? 

Instead of having the class watch the video together, allow students to watch it individually with headphones. This allows those who need to rewind and rewatch certain parts to do this. 

Often I pair my videos with questions. My higher ability students are able to watch the whole video and then answer the questions. For my students needing more support, I give less questions and allow them to complete while watching the video and pausing when they understand the answer. Those needing even more support are provided with the approximate time in the video that the question is answered. list of differentiation strategies list of differentiation strategies

3. Jigsaw activities

Jigsaw is a way of grouping students. First, students are split into groups where, as a group, they are to research / investigate / learn about a specific part of the topic. 

For example, for studying renewable and non renewable resources in science, one group might study solar energy, another wind energy, another fossil fuels etc. Once they have become ‘experts’ at their given topic they then get split into mixed groups where each student is considered the ‘expert’ of their own topic. In this group each student takes a turn to teach the group about their area. 

This can be done with random assignments of groups, or you can sort students into groups and provide the expert topic based on their learning needs. For example, solar energy may be easier for students to research than fossil fuels.

4. Incorporate student interests

Being able to know your students well enough to incorporate their interests can sometimes be overwhelming – particularly at the beginning of the school year. 

However, there are differentiation strategies you can use to do this without knowing all their individual likes, hobbies and sports. 

For example, in teaching physics I like to have students choose one of Newton’s laws and write about how it applies in a sport or hobby of their choice.

5. Changing the context or application

The context or application of the learning can be differentiated. For example, one group of students may apply their learning to an everyday example, while another may apply it to an industrial example. 

list of differentiation strategies

6. Scaffolded notes

Scaffolded notes give students freedom to express their understanding while also being able to ‘doodle’ with diagrams, colouring or sketches. I like to use these super simple note-taking templates for topic summaries or while watching a video.

Click here to get them for FREE!

I actually find that my extension students often need this type of scaffolding to help become more concise in their notes. 

7. Encourage cross-curricular application

Some students might be ready to apply their knowledge across subject areas. By incorporating this type of learning, your extension or gifted students will be able to engage in critical thinking and higher order thinking skills. 

8. Less ‘drills’ and more problem solving 

If your pretesting shows that students already have a good knowledge base, allow them to skip the drills and launch straight into the application and problem solving questions. 

9. Have students write their own questions

Another way to extend students would be to ask them to write their own questions. This works well if you can pair up some of your extension students to work together. That way they can each write a question, have their peer complete it, then swap back again to mark their peer’s answer. The level of understanding and critical thinking required to write an appropriate question is far superior to that needed just to answer a question. However, all students can still engage at their own level.

Any differentiation strategies that include students doing more of the work than you is a win! 

10. Graphic organisers / visual representation

Graphic organisers allow for the visual processing of concepts and ideas, and more specifically how they connect to other concepts and ideas. A way to differentiate using these is providing students who need extra support with a graphic organiser or a scaffolded graphic organiser, while those who need extension could create a graphic organiser. 

11. Task cards

Task cards are an easy activity to provide to the whole class. Why have I included it in my favourite differentiation strategies list?

Because they provide options of student choice. Choice in the order they complete the task cards and choice in how many they complete. 

12. Add personification

Personification is my favourite of all differentiation strategies for engaging higher order thinking skills for students. This can be so easily added to any worksheet, activity, or task and super easy to add into a lesson if some students finish their work early. 

So what is it?

Personification is attributing human characteristics or personality to something that isn’t human.

Therefore, to incorporate personification into learning ask students to answer questions like these examples below:

  • English: What would a fictional book say to a non fictional book?
  • Science: What would a conical flask say to a beaker?
  • Shapes: What would a square say to a triangle?
  • Chemistry: What hydrogen bond say to a dispersion force?
  • English: What would a synonym say to a metaphor?
  • Pythagoras: What would a hypotenuse say to a right angle?

list of differentiation strategies

List of differentiation strategies: Product

13. Offer choice for the type of activity or type of product

I used to think this was so much work as I didn’t want to have to make 4 different lessons for students to choose. 

But you don’t have to do this! 

For example, research tasks are easy to differentiate in this way as students could choose how their final product will look. Will it be a brochure? A poster? Video? Slideshow? You can still provide the same success criteria and have students research the same key points, but give them choice in how they would like to present it.

For activities, rather than having students go through all stations set up around a room, give them a number to complete. If you set up 5 stations then ask students to choose three to complete. This also allows those who may finish sooner to have the opportunity to complete an extra station. It also means that for those students who need extra time you could easily differentiate and ask them to only choose two to complete.

14. Engage with their cultural background

Providing opportunity for students to engage with their cultural background can not only engage them but allows for differentiation in your classroom. This may be as simple as allowing them to research or apply the relevance of the topic to their cultural practices or traditions. 

15. Incorporate technology 

Technology provides a lot of options for choice for students to learn and demonstrate their learning. Students could choose whether the end product may be a short video, powtoon, infographic and so on. 

16. Differentiate the success criteria

While you might be providing students the same activity to complete, differentiation could come in with the success criteria you provide for students. Students who need some extension could have different levels of success criteria to meet. These could vary in terms of depth or breadth of understanding shown, or the quality of product produced.

17. Provide sophisticated language prompts

An example of this is providing sophisticated language examples to include in answers. For example, when explaining ask students to use words such as ‘consequently’ or ‘thereby’, rather than the words ‘and’ or ‘but’. 

18. Change the verb

Differentiating the verb used can prompt students to deliver various products. E.g. design, create, evaluate, assess, compare etc. Blooms taxonomy can be a helpful reference for this.

19. Allow for the expression of creativity

Allow students to be creative with the end product. This could be done by offering choice for presenting information via a model, diorama, painting, sculpture, drama, song etc. This is also one of the low prep differentiation strategies for you as it leans on student agency rather than your creation of new material.

20. Interview students

I’ve often come across student’s who struggle to express their level of understanding on paper, but can very clearly express it verbally. This is a great option for informal assessment and can be done during a regular class lesson. Differentiation strategies within interviewing could include the types of questions asked, the phrasing of the questions, the format you want them to answer in, the length of time given for an answer.

list of differentiation strategies

List of differentiation strategies: Process

21. Use technology

There are lots of different programs that allow for easy differentiation by offering students choice. For example, Quizlet allows students to choose how to learn the content. Choices include flashcards, multiple-choice questions, typing an answer, practicing spelling, matching the correct term to definition, or playing a game. 

Differentiation using technology could also be offering choice in the type of technology used. Students could choose whether to use a tablet, computer, phone or alternative.

22. Offer choice for the order they complete tasks

While there is often a need to have students complete tasks in a particular order, be aware of opportunities to change up that order. Allowing students to choose their own adventure allows students to learn the material in the order that makes sense for them. 

23. Use stations 

Stations allow for students to move around the room and often choose who they are working with and how long to spend on each activity. I will often use normal classroom activities, task cards or even just worksheets, and place them around the room and call them ‘stations’. Students have a choice of where to start, who to work with, and how to stand / sit / group around the station.

24. Cut and paste activities 

Allowing for students to physically manipulate something can be so powerful for those needing adjustments. It helps their brain to process the information in a new way. This can be easily done in class with simple worksheets. For example, if you are wanting students to match the term with the glossary definition then provide students with a printable version they could cut and paste. This offers another opportunity to provide choice as students could choose to cut and paste, or use colour coding, or write the term in the box with the definition. Three different options for one activity and no extra prep from you!

25. Use virtual or augmented reality

As a science teacher, I find the hardest areas to support my students in are those concepts that are theoretical concepts or those which we cannot see physically. For example, teaching atoms and molecules. Virtual or augmented reality programs allow students to visualise things that usually wouldn’t be possible. My favourites to use in science are the Google AR periodic table and this 3D periodic table.

26. Hands-on learning

Providing students with the opportunity to explore learning in a hands-on way provides immediate differentiation as students will engage in a way that makes sense to them. To differentiate you could provide multiple types of materials for students to choose from. For example, to learn about ratios in maths I provided both cordial and paint for students to explore. 

27. Modelling

Modelling can be done in many different ways. It could involve going through step by step showing students exactly how you want them to go about solving a problem. This could be done while sending your extension students off to investigate the topic. Modelling a process could also be done by providing a scaffolded worksheet for students who need it.

28. Inquiry-based learning and project-based learning

Inquiry-based learning is about students discovering the answer to a problem while project-based learning is about exploring the ‘why’ of an answer. Both of these options allow for varying levels of exploration by students and allow for choice in how they go about investigating. 

29. Incorporating STEM or STEAM projects

Using STEM or STEAM in the classroom has the benefits of cross-curricular activities and project-based learning while also fostering student development in critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity. Often differentiation strategies for these kinds of activities happen organically as students are drawn towards their own interests and inquiry. list of differentiation strategies

 

30. Cloze passages 

Cloze passages are easy to differentiate quickly by choosing what level of support you want to give your students. Here are some examples of varying levels of support you could provide:

  • No word bank. This also provides students with the opportunity to use their choice of synonyms when filling in the blanks.
  • Providing the first letter of each word with no word bank.
  • Full word bank.
  • Providing the first letter of each word with a full word bank.

list of differentiation strategies

differentiated states of matter worksheet

31. Provide written or printed instructions broken down into steps

This is one of those differentiation strategies that you can do for the whole class rather than just a few students. It won’t hinder the rest of the class to have instructions broken down into steps. It is also important for students to have these visually represented to them so they can refer back as often as needed, whether it be printed or upon the board.

32. Change the reading level

It is important that students are given the opportunity to engage in learning by being provided with resources that are at an appropriate reading level. Use programs such as Choosito to find passages and activities at appropriate reading levels. Learning A-Z provide high quality differentiated learning materials that include various reading levels for multiple subject areas.

33. Try a self-paced classroom

I recently had a year 11 Earth & Environmental Science class in which I had students at both ends of the spectrum and everything in between. So I decided to try what I call a self-paced classroom.

I set up the learning for each week and students were to go to their assigned document and complete each activity at their own pace. If they came to a part that needed explicit instruction or an experiment then they would let me know and we would do it together. This allowed for more differentiation strategies to be used in class as I was able to tailor my instruction and be more hands-on during class.

While this initially took more planning at the beginning of each week, it absolutely made this class more manageable as each student could engage at their own pace and level. 

34. Provide sentence starters

For a lot of students needing extra support, they get overwhelmed by a task because they don’t know where to start. 

Therefore, providing sentence starters gets them moving and helps their brain start a train of thought. 

35. Provide extra processing time

This could be as simple as giving students fewer questions to complete in the same amount of time. 

36. Provide class discussion questions before discussion time

This allows students who need extra processing time to have the opportunity to still be a part of a class discussion. These could be a homework task or as simple as handing out the questions before marking the roll so the students have time to read the questions in advance. For some students, this could be the difference between being able to contribute to a class discussion, or not. 

37. Give warning before being called upon in class

Following on from the previous point, students may freeze or shut down when being called upon in class if they haven’t had a chance to consider and process the question. 

So, if the activity is to answer a few questions and then go through them as a class, you could go and quietly say to the student that you are going to ask their opinion about question #3. This gives them time to process it, time to ask you questions if they don’t understand, and time to make it an answer they are proud of. 

list of differentiation strategies

38. Provide a list of websites 

Providing a list of reputable websites for students when asking them to do any type of research can be really helpful for steering them in the right direction. This is another time you could utilise Choosito to ensure students are able to access information at the appropriate reading level.

39. Scaffolding

Scaffolding is one of my favourite differentiation strategies and is useful in most topics to provide a model or structure to follow in order to solve a problem.

This could be as simple as providing boxes to write different thoughts in, or as intricate as providing step by step working out for solving complex mathematical problems.

Again this is something you could provide the whole class, and if extension students don’t feel they need it they can complete the same questions without the scaffold. 

40. Use programs that allow instructions to be read to them

For some students, something as simple as having instructions read out loud to them can allow them to be able to access the learning. Depending on what device they may be using there are different apps or plugins students could install for this purpose. 

41. Colour coding

Colour coding is a simple and effective strategy to implement in almost any class setting and provides a visual representation for the students who need it. This could be just highlighting keywords in green or adjectives in orange. I love to do this when teaching students how to ‘explain’ using colours to highlight the cause, effect and linking phrase in different colours. It could be using two different colours for showing opposites or grouping of information. 

42. Larger text fonts

Of all the differentiation strategies this one has to be the most simple and easiest to implement. But so often I see worksheets with tiny text or a font that is too hard to read.

Therefore, keep the creativity to the clip art images and ensure you are only using really easy fonts to read such as Arial or Georgia. 

43. More white space

Cramming as much as you can onto an A4 sheet for printing can be overwhelming for students trying to learn. 

So simplify your handouts by allowing more white space. 

44. Online programs 

There are many different programs out there for different subjects that provide high-quality learning activities for students. These can provide accessibility to students by allowing personalisation of the interface. This includes enlarging reading text and having instructions read aloud. Often these programs include built in differentiation strategies in the content.

list of differentiation strategies

List of differentiation strategies: Environment

45. Group work

Using multiple forms of grouping for students in a class provides differentiation as students take on different roles within their groups depending on who they are with. Some examples for grouping could be:

  • Grouping students who need some extra support together. This will also allow you to provide this group with more explicit instruction as you move around the room.
  • Grouping students of mixed ability together. This allows those who need extension to take on a leadership role within the group and have the opportunity to share their understanding with their peers.
  • Groups based on choice. This could be student choice for who is in their group, or students could be grouped by their choice of activity. Both of these options allow for differentiated instruction and learning. 

46. Offer choice for how they work

Offering student choice leads to increased engagement as students feel they have ownership over their learning. Allowing students to choose how they work, whether it is individually, with a partner, as a small group, etc is an easy way to incorporate differentiation strategies into your classroom without loads of preparation. 

47. Where they complete the work

Allow students to choose whether to stand, use different chairs, sit on the floor, work outside etc. Taking a class outside for a lesson on the lawn is fantastic for this. Since there are no chairs, students can choose whether to sit, stand, lie on their stomachs, sit on a rock, choose to sit in the sun or the shade. So much choice!

48. Brain breaks

Brain breaks are so important for retaining high levels of student concentration when learning new concepts. Providing choice in how they have breaks enhances your differentiated classroom. 

49. Pair students of varied abilities

Pairing a student who may need extra support with a student who needs a challenge can be a great learning experience for both of them. 

50. Allow to complete work in a small group

Allowing some students to work in a small group as opposed to completing a task individually can be a good differentiation option. This provides the support of their peers and together they may be able to accomplish something that individually they wouldn’t have been able to.

51. Change the environment 

Changing the environment for students can be very powerful. This can include allowing for some students to sit in a more quiet space, while others can work in pairs. This could also include where the students’ desks are facing. One student may learn more effectively with their desk at the front of the room facing the board, while another can work opposite a peer.

52. Allow students to remove themselves from distraction

Similarly to above, this refers to allowing choice for students. For example, wearing noise-cancelling headphones or the freedom to move around the class if needed.  Allowing this freedom can allow students to take ownership over their learning and concentration by being able to change their environment if needed.

53. Allow gifted students to work together or with students from higher grade levels 

This isn’t always the easiest to organise but if there is an opportunity it can be an invaluable experience for students in both grades.

For instance, I once had a student in year 10 who was super passionate about biology and DNA. We organised for him to go and teach a lesson to the year 12 biology students. Needless to say, he was so chuffed and worked so hard to prepare for the lesson. The year 12 students were definitely taken aback by his depth of knowledge and understanding and it inspired them to take their learning beyond the curriculum too.

list of differentiation strategies

Conclusion

Differentiating your instruction does not have to be onerous. Use a combination of the above differentiation strategies to help plan your lessons. Remember that differentiation is about meeting the learning needs of your students. Give yourself some time to try a few different differentiation strategies to find what works for your students.

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Teacher leaders check out my blog post ‘how to differentiate professional development for teachers‘.

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References

  • Tomlinson, C. A., 2000. Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grades. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. 

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