DIFFERENTIATION
LESSON PLANNING
When considering the needs of all the pupils in the
classroom,
thereby allowing them to achieve to their full potential, lesson plans need to
take into account the following issues:-
| differentiation
and catering for the whole ability range |
| active
learning and pupil centred activities |
| mixed-skill
activities |
| core,
extension and reinforcement activities |
| flexibility
and use of resources such as information technology |
| formative
assessment and descriptions of pupils' levels of attainment |
| pupil
autonomy, self-assessment and target setting |
| developing
pupils' initiative, creativity and imaginative use of the language
|
WHOLE CLASS
1.
Whole class presentation
| specific
new language structures or vocabulary presented, usually orally, as single
items, supported by flashcards or OHP visuals, whole class repetition |
2.
Whole class practice
| imitation
and practice by whole class with listening comprehension and oral competence
the main aim |
3.
Whole class + pair/group reinforcement
| listening
and oral pair work tasks followed by reading and writing tasks. |
The lesson plan tends to deal with the four skills of
listening, speaking, reading and writing in sequence.
All these tasks consolidate understanding of the new
language initially presented and are fairly closed exercises, avoiding
unfamiliar linguistic territory.
Learning objectives are safe, short term and achievable.
GRADUAL
DIFFERENTIATION.
Over a period of lessons, an evaluation of different
pupils' achievements will have taken place.
This will allow the teacher to get pupils to work in
groups on appropriate reinforcement or extension activities and to introduce
other forms of differentiation to suit learner needs.
SEMI-FLEXIBLE
1.
Whole class presentation: as above, mainly oral work
2.
Whole class practice: whole class listening and oral imitation and
practice
3.
Differentiated activities: some pupils continue with reinforcement (e.g.
pair work oral activities, group listening stations allowing pupils to rewind
several times), allowing closer teacher support other pupils continue with
extension tasks (e.g. reading and writing tasks)
INTEGRATED
SKILLS
1.
Contextualisation: encouraging pupils' interest, stimulating ideas and
curiosity negotiating and eliciting language needed for the lesson objectives
2.
Active presentation and practice:
| direct
and active involvement of pupils in the demonstration presenting and
eliciting specific vocabulary and structures |
| asking
for reactions, opinions, suggestions, agreement and disagreement,
predictions integrating personal information and other ideas from the
pupils; |
| check
for understanding using visuals, OHP etc. |
3.
Exploitation:
| pupils
work in pairs, responding at own level; |
| some
pupils using dictionaries extend beyond model; |
| others
only managing minor changes |
4.
Performance:
| guided
choice of differentiated activities; |
| pupils
organising own resources |
THE CAROUSEL
Using principles underlying
the integrated skills.
Possibly as an extension of
such mixed-skill tasks.
Multi-activity work takes
place for different groups of pupils e.g.
| six
pupils work with headsets on listening stations; pupils control the tape and
wind it back as many times as required |
| six
pupils working in pairs on cue cards and role play |
| six
pupils working on reading task |
| six
more able pupils directed to the writing task first |
| six
pupils working on differentiated reinforcement activities, assisted by
teacher |
Carousel tasks may either:
| begin
about half way through a lesson and last until the end of the lesson
(especially in a 35 minute lesson) |
| on
completion of first task, the whole groups move on to the next activity
prepared for them |
| alternatively,
tasks have time limits so that groups rotate from one area of the classroom
to the next |
DIFFERENTIATION
BY GUIDED CHOICE
| the
same principles as above i.e. active presentation, multi-activity group
work, etc. |
| pupils
choose from a menu of tasks best suited to their needs |
| pupils
move at their own pace through the core objectives, organising equipment and
materials themselves, assessing their progress on completion of the
activities |
| higher-attaining
pupils may be directed towards a choice of extension activities immediately
and thereby subsume the core activities (i.e. will deal with them on a need
to know basis) |
| Places
great demands on pupils in terms of maturity and responsibility. |
| However,
the model provides tasks which are manageable and varied according to
individual needs and which are engrossing in themselves. |
| There
are pupils stimulated to achieve at a range of different levels |
| resource,
accommodation, staffing and time implications for the teacher and the
department as a whole. |
Learning Outcomes
Evaluation, Synthesis Analysis, Application, Comprehension, Knowledge, Evaluation,