Layered Curriculum ™ How to teach if there’s more than one student in your class

What is Layered Curriculum™ Every Child deserves a Special Education Tasks arranged in levels of understanding Individualized expression and assessment Research-based Curriculum tailored to the variety of students you serve

Levels of Understanding C Level—basic skills, facts, and understanding B Level—able to manipulate their knowledge, problem-solve, brainstorm A Layer—requires the most complex, critical thinking.

C Layer Maximum “C” grade—basic skills, knowledge, and understanding Vocabulary, basic mechanics Do project with detailed directions Do experiment someone else has designed Wide variety of choices—other languages, music, poetry, art, hands-on projects, listening, reading at a variety of levels Something for EVERYONE in your class

Maximum “B” grade—able to apply knowledge and skills to practical situations Design their own experiment Do projects with just basic directions Interdisciplinary studies Creative displays of compare & contrast B Layer

“A” grade—independent research and/or advanced/complicated project Mix traditional research with other things like values, morality and personal opinion Literature research and written response—report, persuasive essay, letter to Congress Usually outside of class time A Layer

Why Layered Curriculum™ Allows for more individualized program Let’s students decide their grade Gives teacher more time for each student Allows for more “intelligences” to be used Provides variety in the period Easily adjusts to a variety of period lengths Allows resources to be shared Reduces at-home grading time Allows a variety of students to succeed

How to create a unit List all the objectives List a variety of ways students could learn the basic material List a variety of ways to reinforce the material Organize them into basic, intermediate, and advanced levels of understanding Decide the point values for each activity

Suggestions for Activities Provide a variety of levels of reading material—hit the library! Have a parent or other volunteer record the chapter on tape Get tape player “listening center” elementary schools often have them Print out, list URLs, or bookmark pertinent sites/articles on the Internet Use a WebQuest

Assessment Oral defense of the students' assignments. As students finish each assignment they spend a couple of minutes, on a one-on- one basis, discussing what they learned Oral reports and presentations—privately or to the whole class or a group Variety of written papers, art projects, experiments

More Ideas Set up learning centers or stations Provide art material for making posters or other creative works Allow students to “perform” songs or skits privately or publicly Allow students to answer verbally or in writing Let students help each other by working together—adjust points

Getting Started Start slowly!! Make sure students and parents (send a letter home) understand the concept Explain time limits Explain how points work Give out all assignments at the start Be sure they understand the rubric Must do work at all three levels to get an “A” 150 points can still be a “C” Doing an “A” project does not guarantee an “A”

FAQs Yes, you can still do whole class work make it short—20-30 min. Yes, you can still do lectures, discussions points for notes, participation, record on tape Yes, you can still give tests (but why?!) Use multiple, preferably self-grading, quizzes Yes, you can still require writing, reading, anything you want Yes you can still have homework Allow parents to sign off some work Think of other means of assessment

Helpful Websites Help4teachers.com Brain.org Quia.com—student and teacher created quizzes, flashcards, website, etc. MS.com--Education tutorials and lessons EXPAN—create future-oriented activities Resumes and cover letters to real places College searches, job searches,