1. Same Goal, Different Methods: Differentiating Instruction for OSY
Lysandra Alexander, Migrant Coordinator, Pennsylvania Department of Education (PA)
Joan Geraci, Director of Regional Programs, Gloucester Co Special Services School District (NJ)
Joan – Welcome to this engaging workshop. My name is… My co-presenter is… We are representatives from our states for the Professional Development group of the GOSOSY Consortium.

2. Objective
This workshop will teach you how to provide effective lessons when instructing groups of students with varying levels and learning styles.
Joan – Read slide 2

3. Differentiated Instruction: What is it?
Joan – Introduce the video 3

4. Differentiated Instruction: What is it?
A differentiated lesson is one in which all students are learning the same material in different ways. To create an effective lesson using differentiated instruction, it is important to have a balance between what you are teaching and how the students are learning.
Joan – Review the main points of the video
learning
teaching 4

5. Before the Lesson: Considerations
Student Readiness – How prepared are they to learn specific information or skills?
Interest – What appeals to the students’ interests?
Learning Profile - How do the students approach learning and learn best?
Lysandra – To differentiate determine:
The students level of readiness - how prepared they are to learn specific
information or skills. An informal assessment should be conducted to make this determination.
Interest – What appeals to the students interests?
If they are interested in what they are being taught they will be more motivated to learn.
Determine what they like, their hobbies, which sports, places or food they enjoy
Learning Profile – How the student approaches learning and learns best:
visual, auditory, kinesthetic, multi-modality. 5

6. Before the Lesson: Elements to Consider
Content
What the student needs to learn
Process
How the student makes sense of the content being taught
Product
How the student demonstrates what has been learned
Affect
The feelings and attitudes that impact the student’s learning
Lysandra
In order to achieve balance for an effective lesson, the following four elements need to be considered:
Content: What does the student need to learn?
Process: How the student makes sense of the content being taught. Students have
different ways of learning such as:
 Visual – Student learns better by seeing (pictures, photographs, textbooks)
 Auditory – Student learns better by listening (audio books, music, lecture)
 Kinesthetic – Student learns better by using hands-on activities and movement
 Multi-modality – students learn by a combination of more than one learning style
3. Product: How the student demonstrates what they have learned  quizzes/tests  projects  activities  oral reports and/or written reports, etc.
Affect: The feelings and attitudes that impact the students’ learning.
Create a safe and supportive environment
Be respective of the students thoughts and feelings
Lessons should be interesting and challenging
If the students are interested in the subject matter and feel supported by their teacher and peers, they will be motivated to learn 6

7. What’s in Your Toolbox? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrmgquUplo8 7
Lysandra – Introduce Video
Regardless of your educational background, you brings talents and skills to the table… What do you think you contribute to the lesson? In the video we will show you some of the strategies you can use in your setting. Transition for During the Lesson 7

8. During the Lesson: Strategies
Flexible Grouping to ensure success
Suggestion – Group according to:
Academic Level
Learning Styles
Prior Knowledge
Interests
English Language Skills
Joan – Read PP – Learning styles – auditory, visual, kinesthetic and multi-modality
English Language skills – levels can vary silent period, low beginner and intermediate. We’ll talk about these in more detail in a bit 8

9. During the Lesson: Strategies
Create a Learning Community
Encourage:
Students to collaborate. Allow them to share individual strengths and learn from each other.
Students to have a voice in how the learning community works and take responsibility for solving problems.
Different viewpoints and ideas.
Consider that relationships may already exist between students.
Understanding and working with these relationships can impact the success of your group.
Joan - A Learning Community is a group of people who share common goals and attitudes. They help foster success among students with different ability levels and learning styles.
can increase productivity in the group as they learn from each other. Remember: You also need to be prepared in case they are changes in the classroom, a student might not attend the class or decided to work that day. Know your groups’ characteristics well so you can successfully improvised learning communities 9

10. During the Lesson: Differentiation for ELs
Example Topic: “Protect Your Back While Working” Lesson
Teacher to student in silent period:
“Lift the box.”
Teacher to Low Beginner:
“What is she doing?”
Teacher to Intermediate student:
“Why do we need to lift correctly?”
Lesson can be found at:
Joan - Silent period is when the student is taking everything in, but may not be able to voice what they understand. There can be understanding, but not producing language. Student can point, etc.
Low beginner student can respond in one or 2 word sentences.
Intermediate student can respond in phrases or simple sentences. 10

11. Strategies for Differentiated Instruction
RAFT – is a writing strategy that can be used in all content areas and offers students a choice in how to focus and complete their writing assignment.
R is for Role – the person or thing that the students will become.
A is for Audience – the person or people who will be reading the finished product.
F is for Format – the way in which the writing will be done. Examples might
include letter, brochure, memo, speech, comic, or advertisement.
T is for Topic – what the writing will discuss. Students can demonstrate their
mastery of content knowledge in this matter.
RAFT allows for differentiated instruction because students get a choice in their assignment based on their interest and preferred style of learning.
Lysandra 11

12. Strategies for Differentiated Instruction: Example
Example Topic: A Popular Place
Teacher reads aloud to all students a paragraph on a popular place they all said they want to visit, sharing important facts about the location.
RAFT activity:
Beginner students – take the role of the interesting place for an audience of potential tourists creating the format of a poster to encourage visits regarding the topic of a popular place
Intermediate students - take the role of a tourist for an audience of friends addressing the format of writing a postcard regarding the topic of a popular place
Advanced students - take the role of a travel agent for an audience of tourists
with the format of creating a travel brochure regarding the topic of a popular place
Lysandra 12

13. Role of a tourist writing and addressing your
Intermediate
INTERMEDIATE
Assume the:
Role of a tourist writing and addressing your
Audience of friends
Format of a postcard
Topic A Popular Place
Friends
Tourist
Postcard
Lysandra
A Popular Place 13

14. RAFT Formats to Differentiate by Modality
Lysandra 14

15. Stop & Do Your turn! Activity:
Handouts: Healthy Mouth Life Skills Lesson and Blank RAFT handout
Select a level of student ability: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Create a RAFT Activity for your level of student
Keep in mind students’ English Language proficiency and ability level
Lysandra 15

16. RAFT Example: GOSOSY Life Skills Lesson
Example Topic: Healthy Mouth Life Skills Lesson
Lesson can be found at:
RAFT activity:
Beginner students – take the role of the instructor of their roommates or other OSY as their audience and create the format of a poster with labels of the parts of the mouth to show proper dental hygiene for the topic
Intermediate students - take the role of a patient with the dentist as their audience
with the format of a written list of questions to be asked of the dentist for the topic
Advanced students - take the role of a dentist for an audience of patients with the format of writing a small brochure highlighting instructions on proper dental hygiene for the topic
Lysandra 16

17. Graphic Organizers Example - Venn Diagram What are some similarities
Graphic Organizers use visual symbols to give information, concepts, thoughts, or ideas and show the relationship between them.
Example - Venn Diagram
What are some similarities
and differences between
these?
Joan - We’ll go over different graphic organizers with you and you’ll do an example as you go. The Venn Diagram is an example of a graphic organizer that you may be familiar with. 17

18. Graphic Organizers Circle Map Defining words or concepts in context
Your Turn! Complete a Circle Map
Use the word ‘migrant’ in the inner circle and write descriptive words around it
Defining words or concepts in context
Joan - This graphic organizers comprises two circles: a small, central circle within a larger one. You can ask your students to write a key idea or topic in the central circle and to list everything they know about that idea or topic in the bigger circle. For example, the central circle may simply state the word ‘my cat’; outside this circle, students may list a series of characteristics or facts about the cat. As we see in this example, students may complete graphic organizers with words, but they can also use pictures. Now is your turn – complete a circle map for defining the word Migrant. You can work with the people at your table and you have 2 minutes to complete your circle map. 18

19. Graphic Organizers Double Bubble Map Comparing and Contrasting
Your Turn! Complete a Double Bubble Map
Compare
PK Migrant to OSY Migrant
Comparing and Contrasting
Joan - This graphic organizes looks exactly like its name would suggest: it comprises two main circles which are joined in the center by more circles indicating similarities between them. On the outer sides of each main circle, there are other circles that show aspects they do not have in common. You can use this type of organizer to help students compare and contrast two items. For example 2 animals (as in this example), two famous athletes or 2 places they have lived, etc.
Now is your turn – complete a double bubble map for defining the word Migrant. You can work with the people at your table and you have 2 minutes to complete your double bubble map. 19

20. Graphic Organizers Flow Chart Sequencing
Your Turn! Complete a Flow Chart
List the Migrant Eligibility Factors in sequence
Sequencing
Joan - Another type of graphic organizers is a flow chart. Flow charts are used to describe a sequence of events. For example, this flow chart presents the sequence of events to make a peanut butter sandwich. Now is your turn – complete a flow chart for identifying the edibility factors. You can work with the people at your table and you have 2 minutes to complete you’re your flow chart. 20

21. Strategies for Differentiated Instruction
Technology – Technology-based lessons (iPads, laptops, computers) are useful in teaching
students of various learning styles.
Examples: SAS Curriculum Pathways, Moby Max
Online resources that provide interactive lessons, videos, audio tutorials,
and apps for English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and Spanish
Through the various interactive resources students learn, practice skills, and have assessments to , print, or save.
This information helps teachers continue to group students
based on their needs
Lysandra – You can use interactive resources online to do this – here are a couple of examples 21

22. Strategies for Differentiated Instruction
Tiered Instruction:
all students learn the same skills but at different levels
Teachers make slight adjustments within the same lesson to meet
needs of the students
The activities challenge students at their ability level
Lysandra - Tier 1 is instruction you would do classroom style with all students, tier two is a more intensive intervention with small groups of students based on need, tier 3 is intensive intervention or one-on-one support. As you go up in the pyramid time and intensity increase. 22

23. Strategies for Tiered Instruction
Example: Teacher reads aloud to all students, a paragraph on a popular place they all said they want to visit, sharing important facts about the location.
Beginner students – give students a Double Bubble graphic organizer. One bubble is labeled “interesting” and the other labeled “surprising.” Have students select words from a fact word bank you have provided and copy the words into the correct bubbles (interesting/surprising), in which they believe the words belong.
Intermediate students - can list the facts they found most interesting or surprising and write a sentence for each fact, stating what they found interesting/surprising.
Advanced students – can write a paragraph describing the place, what they found interesting and surprising and why.
Lysandra 23

24. After the Lesson: Assessment
Suggestions:
Review assessment results regularly to gauge student progress
Change instruction as needed based on assessment results
Use creative ways to help students prepare for assessments
Create charts or posters that can be left on display
Develop or have students create study guides
Leave instructional materials with students (flashcards, games, etc.)
Lysandra - Providing continual assessment helps you see what information has been learned and where further instruction is needed. Assessments help you plan grouping and activities based on your students’ levels. 24

25. After the Lesson: Assessment Types
Formal
Informal
Creative and Fun!
“Test” or Quiz
Informal assessments enable an instructor to evaluate students’ performance. They can be interactive, engaging, and hands- on.
Examples:
Thumbs up / thumbs down hand responses
Quick write
Holding up a Yes / No card
Turn and share with a partner
Role play activities
Oral questions to which the student responds
Given to students individually Systematically measures learning and can be scored
Examples:
Tests and quizzes
May be written, oral, multiple choice, etc.
Formal assessments available on the GOSOSY Website
Lysandra 25

26. After the Lesson: Assessment
Example Assessment For: “Protect Your Back While Working” Lesson
All students would use the word bank to complete the assessment in the following ways, depending on the level of their language ability.
The teacher’s instructions would be differentiated as follows:
Student in Silent Period: “Match the pictures to the correct words.”
Low Beginner Student: “Write the correct word in the blank:
___________ a box correctly keeps your back safe.”
Intermediate Student: “Write the steps to correctly lift a box.”
Word Bank:
Joint
Lifting
Stretch out
Squat
Pressure
Lysandra Providing continual assessment helps you see what information has been learned and where further instruction is needed. Assessments help you plan grouping and activities based on your students’ levels. 26

27. After the Lesson: Teacher Reflection
It’s important to reflect on your lesson:
Did I meet individual student needs?
What changes could I make in order for the lesson to more effective for all students?
Was there an activity that was too easy or too challenging?
Joan 27

28. Expert Advice
The teacher’s role in the differentiated classroom is to continually ask him/herself:
“What does this student need at this moment in order to be able to learn and progress with this content?”
“What do I need to do to make that happen?”
-Tomlinson and Imbeau (2010)
Joan 28

29. A word from a student https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M1lKf-94q4 29
Joan – Introduce the video – you can hear why differentiate instruction is essential from a student’s perspective 29

30. Conclusion
Lysandra – Open up for questions. Where there any aha moments? What did you find useful? What questions do you have for us? 30

31. Resources
There are many websites on differentiation. Below are some of our favorites:
Kentucky: Strategies that Differentiate Instruction teinstruction4.12.pdf
Starter Kit: Differentiated Instruction
Edutopia: Differentiated Instruction Replication Tips 31

32. Contact Info
Lysandra Alexander Pennsylvania Department of Education: Joan Geraci Gloucester County Special Services School District (NJ): x1053 32

33. For more information on Differentiated Instruction, please visit the GOSOSY Website at 33