1. What is it? Why do it? How do you do it?
Tiered Assignment's
What is it?
Why do it?
How do you do it?

2. Curriculum Differentiation
What do you know about tiered assignments?
What concerns or fears do you have regarding differentiation and tiered assignments?
What would you like to learn more about?

3. A Working Definition of Differentiation: Differentiation has come to mean “consistently using a variety of instructional approaches to modify content, process, and/or products in response to learning readiness and interest of academically diverse students.” Tomlinson, Carol Ann. The Differentiated Classroom

4. Differentiation is not a curriculum
Differentiation is not a curriculum. It is a way of thinking about teaching and learning of various styles.
Differentiation is synonymous with good teaching.
Important for teachers to find ways of instruction that allows each student to succeed.
Students must feel safe, be held to high expectations and realize the diverse population of learners.

5. When Differentiating Instruction, The Three Most Important Questions to Continually Ask Yourself...
What will I do instructionally to get my students to learn this?
What do I want may students to know, understand, and be able to do?
How will my students show what they know?

6. Summer’s over kids! Now it is time for all of you round pegs to fit into these square pegs.

7. Other options of differentiation:
**Choice Boards **Tic-Tac-Toe Boards **Raft Assignments **Higher-level questioning ** Curriculum Compacting ** Independent Contracts ** Learning/Interest-centers

8. The differentiation strategy for today is
Tiered assignments.
The purpose of tiered assignments is to provide students with options and allowing them to learn at their individual level.

9. Tiered Assignments
-An instructional strategy that allows the teacher to provide mixed-ability groups access to the same content and objectives during a lesson.
-All students gain an understanding of the key concept but at their own ability and level.
-Students come together to share and learn from one another.

10. The facts on Tiered Assignments
Teach the same objective but at various levels and modalities/multiple intelligences
Range from simple to complex using blooms taxonomy
Each tier builds upon the previous one and allows
students to experience success at their own
academic level. (i.e…a ladder)
Use pre-assessments, abilities, interests & talents to group students
Equally amount of work; engagement; expectations

11. Tier 1: Below grade-level
Recall and understand from Bloom’s Taxonomy
Asks students to recall general information
Ask students to list and briefly describe characters of a story
Identify parts of something; write a summary or outline
Explain a topic, make inferences about what their reading
Demonstrate basic knowledge of the content or objective.
Understand the information and put into their own words

12. Tier 2: On grade-level Analyzing the Information
Applying the Information in a new form
Write a poem retelling a story
Demonstrate a drawing based on information
Sketch a scene from a play by using stage directions
Demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the information
Compare and Contrast characters
Distinguish between fact and opinion
Categorizing data; types of genre

13. Tier 3: Above Grade-level
Evaluating the Information
Creating New Information or product
Making judgment on ideas or concepts/literature
Critique a book or assess author’s viewpoint
Students use their own knowledge to develop an original idea or thought.
Rewrite the ending to a story, write an extra chapter, create a song, poem or play from the information
Design a book cover with an illustration and back cover summary
Using a global event to create a new product
Completion of these types of activities (creating) shows mastery of expected skill

14. Now It’s Your Turn…
Think of a lesson or standard that you would like to teach from the third nine weeks. Using differentiation, create a tiered assignment for two different subjects. **We will share what you think is your best “tier” when you are finished.**

15. I’ve already mapped out all the skills that I know so that I can save you time!