Week+5-Differentiating+Instruction+in+the+Classroom

WEEK 5 Differentiating Web Resources

Readiness []

Interest []

Learning Profile []

Greg

Hi Greg, I like the ideas under the link you supplied for readiness. There are a lot of great strategies that can be used in the classroom in order to differentiate based on students' readiness. I would be interested to incorporate Buddy Studies and using a Learning Contract with students when they are completing differentiated centers. I also came across the link you provided for interest when doing my own search. This a great website with tons of using information for incorporating technology in the classroom. i would use any of the resources under the section "Vary Media Format" in my classroom in order to provide content in various ways. Heather

Greg, I like the links you provided. I think they can be great resources for teachers and assist when trying to differentiate instruciton successfully. I will definitely browse these sites more and use some of the information and resources they provide when differentiating instruction in my own classroom.

-Jessica Korsu

Hey Greg, I think the sites that you posted are excellent resources for incorporating differentiation in the classroom. The idea of using a Learning Contract with students is a great idea, espcailly in providing students with expectations for their learning. Great job, and I will definietly look at these resources in the future to help differentiate my lessons.

Chris

TikaTok - [|www.tikatok.com] SpiderScribe - [|www.spiderscribe.net] Web Quests - [|www.questgarden.com] Do Ink - [|www.doink.com] Secret Builders - [|www.secretbuilders.com]
 * Heather **
 * Readiness **
 * Interest **
 * Learning Profile **

The following link is related to all three types of differentiation and includes a list of great web resources and tools that can be used in the classroom to meet the needs of all learners. It doesn't fit into one category, but I think you would find it useful! Definitely one to bookmark and keep! :) []

I like tickatok. I could definitely use this resource to publish my students' writing. I think they would love it and it would motivate them to continue writing. The last site you shared has some great links that I could sue in my classroom to differentiate insrtuction. I look forward to exploring it more and using it in my classroom ASAP! -Jessica Korsu Heather- The last link you provided has some great ideas and websites that would be super cool to use with students. Thanks for sharing. I have never used Tikatok but it looked like something that my students would enjoy. Kerri

Doink.com looks like an interesting online tool. Just the fact that we can use thew tool to publish their work to our public FB pages and such is cool too. I could have my students do work on music topics, such as composer that we are playing, musicaly styles that we have worked on together, or even simple pesentation sof dates and times they (or community) may need to know. Antone

Jessica Korsu

This is a great site that provides students with a variety of games and activities for different levels. I used this site a lot when I taught first grade. For example, the reading categories are split up by the following titles; "ABC's, Learn to Read, It's Fun to Read, and I'm Reading." Based on the students readiness level they can choose which activity they would like to do or the teacher can direct them to which activity to do. I used this a lot when doing centers, and I directed the students to the activity to do based on their level and ability. There is also a section for Math.
 * Student Readiness** - [|www.starfall.com]

This is another site that offers games and activites for kids in reading and math. This site, however, is geared towards a little bit older students and may spark student interest more so than Starfall. This site is very "kid-friendly." I have this site and Starfall on my blog so students can access them from home.
 * Student Interest** - [|www.funbrain.com]

Learning Profile - [] This article, by Carol Ann Tomlinson, discusses how to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms, which I think we all have. I think this site can be a very helpful resource to teachers trying to differentiate instruction based on learner profile. Dr. Tomlinson gives some great "How To" ideas and tips in this article.

I also found another great website that discusses Differentiated Instruction that I think can be very helpful: []

Jessica, My 5 year old daughter plays on Starfall everyday. She loves reading the stories and playing the games. It is definitely one of our more popular family websites. My students at school love Funbrain. Two good sites. Kerri

While funbrain.com seems to be geared towards the younger students, I could easily use the "Mad Lib" tool with my older students. Hey, who doesn't like a good Mad Lib? They could use it when researching and conveying information about music styles, composers, etc. Just sounds like fun! Antone

Funbrain.com definitly engages student interest while teaching them basic skillls in math and reading through fun games. I could use it to reteach students math skills to rewards students for good behavior. Greg

Jessica, These sites are great for elementary school students. I truly think that there are more resources like this that are available for elementary students,a nd it becomes increasingly difficult to find sites for middle and high school aged students to work on skills. There are many more content specific sites for older students, but for skill development, I wish there were more opportunities for older students. Thanks for the sites!

Chris

** Kerri Mahoney **
Readiness The first two websites are articles about differentiating according to readiness. The third is a beginning to read guide to help parents with preschool to second grade students.

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Interest The first two are articles, and the third is a favorite website that allows for students to learn according to their interests.

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Learning Profile Again, two articles and the third is a program that I am currently using with my students and includes a learning profile inventory. It does have a fee, but the school has chosen to cover the fee to help engage and challenge students.

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Hi Keri, I have never used Renzuli before, but have heard great things about it. I love the ability of this program to group students based on their interests, learning styles, and expression styles and then use these groupings of students to create flexible groupings in the classroom. This is one way of grouping students that I have not yet taken part in, but am eager to try. I would use this feature to group my students based on similar learning preferences. I love the ability of this software to easily differentiate assignments for students based on their learning profile and the fact that all of it is done for us, including the assessment piece. Thanks for sharing! Heather

The PBworks site has soo many topics and suggestions for the user to take a look at. I could get lost in there for quite a while...well I did for a bit. I am looking at graphic organizers next year for my guitarists as they get geared up for their uber complicated concert. I think that foldables are also an intersting way to go. Antone

Keri,
===I also like the tools provided on the Renzulli site. Can I ask which tests or applications you used and in your opinion which ones were the best? I would obviously have to get administration on board to purchase the liscense, but I think this couldbe a very useful tool. I was thinking the Profiler and the Differentiation Engine looked liked they may really help to identify student learning profiles and include DI in my classroom. Thanks for sharing this resource.===

Mike Larson
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Antone,
===I also found information on tiered assignments and the thoughts behind the idea based on readiness are a great ideology. I have been wondering what the grading process would look like though. In my current practice, students grade their assignments from a key I post on the Smart Board, however, if there are multiple assignments out there I would need to alter that procedure. Have you considered this, or do you know anyone who has already used this tiering method?===

** Michael Larson **
=== Here are my resources from this week’s application. Some are ones we have already used and made mention of, but I think if you visit the ones you are not familiar with, you may find a valuable resource you may use in your curriculum as well. ===

** Student Interest **
=== Brainpop is a series of cartoon introductions to topics in different subject areas, and I have found it to be helpful in capturing student interest at the middle school level. Glogster was a tool I have saw other post on, and after visiting I saw the capabilities of the resource to allow students to freely connect their own interests and ideas to their learning. ===

[]
===** Student Learning Profile ** Obviously we have used VoiceThread in this course, but I think it is one of the best technology tools available in offering flexible options where student can respond with their strengths in regards to their learning profiles. Tokbox is a tool I think could also increase engagement and communication while addressing different learning profiles. ===

===Michael, glogster is a creative way for students to express themselves. It allows students to design authentic projects to build deeper meaning of content. This is a resource that I want to apply more with my own students. The more flexibility students have the better they produce and understand. Greg===

Chris Monfiletto
Hi everyone! Here are the sites I have found for each differentiation:

__Readiness__
[] This site offers many global games to students, especially in Social Studies, that involve global issues, such as overcrowding, desertification, and overpopulation.

__Interest__
[]. This site provides students numerous activities and games for social studies, but I will utilize the specific quiz game entitled, “The Great American Adventure”.

__Learning Profile__
[]. This site offers a twenty four questions quiz that students can take to determine their individual learning style.