Differentiation

How to scaffold complex text for at-risk readers (article).... some very practical ideas.

Below is a passage from this article:

(How do you differentiate for readers?)

The place to begin is with the student’s reading level. At different points during the year, we need to determine at what grade level each student reads. This can be done with whatever reading test your district uses. By understanding student reading levels, we have a better sense of which students may struggle with a text.

The text is the next place to focus. Prior to teaching a whole-class novel, we need to determine which chapters are independently accessible, which are accessible with scaffolding, and which are too difficult without extreme support for the at-risk readers. For independently accessible chapters, all students, including the at-risk readers, should be expected to read these chapters on their own.

To facilitate our at-risk readers’ access to parts of the text that will frustrate them, various scaffolding techniques can be employed. The challenging parts of the text fall into two categories:

1. If a chapter (or reading piece) is deemed too challenging for the at-risk reader without some scaffolding, we can support the student in various ways:
   • Use small-group direct instruction (guided reading) to help the struggling student access the whole-class novel.
   • Make sure that the struggling student is introduced to challenging vocabulary before he or she reads the chapter.
   • Create an anticipation guide for that specific chapter to help build a struggling student’s background knowledge prior to reading the chapter.
   • Create a graphic organizer to access the information in the chapter.
   • Do a class or small-group reading of a short piece (poetry, nonfiction) that will help the struggling student access background knowledge needed for the chapter.
   • Work with note-taking strategies to help students access the content.
   • Create a short summary for the student to read before he or she accesses the chapter.
2. If a chapter is deemed too difficult without extreme support for the at-risk reader, then we can implement these strategies:
   • Allow the student to listen to the chapter on CD as he or she reads along in the text.
   • Have the at-risk reader do a shared reading with a peer who is able to access the text, with teacher-highlighted sections so that the accessible parts of the chapter are read by the at-risk student and the more difficult parts are read by the student who is able to access the text.
   • If the student has academic assist time (study skills) established through an Individual Education Plan, then determine if the academic assist teacher can give the student direct instruction for the chapter.

COMPLEX TEXTS FOR AT-RISK READERS

To make sure that students who are not reading at grade level have access to complex texts, we have several options. Again, we need to understand the reading abilities and levels of the students. If we know the students’ reading levels, then we can make sure that we stretch the students through differentiating some of the pieces chosen. For example, if the student is in eighth grade and reads at a fifth grade level, then we can try to choose some complex fifth or sixth grade pieces for him or her to read independently when not doing whole-class pieces. Finding texts that are complex, while still at a level where the student can work independently and not get overly frustrated and quit, takes time and effort. Hopefully, more resources will become available to assist teachers in making the common core accessible to at-risk readers.

Another way to use complex texts for at-risk readers is to choose short pieces that reach the text complexity level at which the students should be reading. These pieces can be taught as a whole-class activity where we model close reading skills for the students. This will allow at-risk readers to be exposed to texts that are at their grade-level band in complexity, but since they are taught using whole-group instruction, there is less opportunity for the students to reach their frustration level. The instruction can also be differentiated so that those students who need more support receive it, while those who can work independently move forward on their own.

Article:  5 x 5 Approach to Differentiation in Ed Week Teacher:

• Setting the stage:

1. Assessment - latin Assidere - sit beside.  "Formative Assessment is the best weapon a teacher has."
2. Building Relationships
3. Keep students moving forward - "Progress on meaningful work is the best intrinsic motivation..."
4. Life Skills Lessons - big ideas like we are not born smart or dumb, we build our brains; Life isn't fair, etc.
5. Create a community of learners VS a classroom of students

• Day to Day:

1. Zeigarnik principle:  Getting started is the hardest part.  Once started it's hard to stop.
2. Differentiated assignments - "Not uniform work but similarity of proficiency."
3. Computers
4. Praise effort and learning
5. Flexible groups - "Students are always auditioning for different stages."

Check out this site for lots of differentiation strategies based on product, process, and content.

A variety of strategies.