First, I want to say “thank you” to all of the people who visit the site each day to access the hundreds of ideas that have been catalogued here. I am very pleased to know that you are finding the information valuable. I am also very happy to announce that the creation of this site […]

There are so many reasons to love Reading Rockets. They have great articles, tips for teachers and even lesson plan ideas. I usually share their articles on this blog, but today I am sharing one of their many fabulous lesson ideas-the paragraph hamburger.

What is a paragraph hamburger? Glad you asked! It’s a writing organizer that visually outlines the key components of a paragraph. As you teach the elements of a good paragraph (topic sentence, detail sentences and a closing sentence) you show students that each one forms a different part of a tasty [read more…]

I could not feature differentiation and literacy all month long without a mention or two of The Daily 5. I chose this post from Setting Up for Second because it is so visual and detailed that even novices would be able to replicate the materials and format by reading this classroom/lesson description.

So many aspects of this structure allow students to learn in their own ways. For example, students have choices throughout the process of [read more…]

Here is a fun yet simple game from The Inspired Educator Blog (great spot for teachers and learning coaches). The activity is called [read more…]

I recently discovered an idea-packed essay on differentiation techniques written by educator Emma Davies and could not wait to share it here. Most articles on DI offer ideas that those of us in the field have seen and read many times before (e.g., tiering, cubing, station teaching). These ideas may be on-target and useful, but they may not always be fresh and new. Davies caught my attention because several of her suggestions were a bit different. So, if you are someone who reads a lot on this topic and want a few new tips, click on over and check out her “6 Steps to Differentiated Instruction”.

My favorite idea is the use of a [read more…]

It’s Spring Break at Differentiation Daily! We will be taking a little time off and will return with lots of exciting new posts new posts and creative ideas.

For your next unit, why not offer your students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned with their own webpage? Disposablewebpage.com is a site designed for just this purpose. The pages are free, easy to create, and will last for up to 90 days. Students can make a title, insert information, add pictures, and even post media from other websites to show their knowledge. For instance, at the end of a math unit, you might have students create a website explaining fractions with sample problems and their own [read more…]

Today’s Tech Tuesday today is a real gem from Google. The Google News Timeline was selected primarily for social studies teachers, but others may have fun ideas for using it in their classrooms as well. This site posts the key news stories from Google News in a calendar-like format. You can scroll down to see more stories or you can search for specific topics.

The timeline view gives users a glimpse of the key stories each day. Time Magazine covers are included in the searches (others can be added) and provide a nice visual for students who need that type of support.

One of the best uses of this site is to choose a topic or story and see how it unfolds over [read more…]