Using Formative Assessment to Differentiate Middle School Literacy Instruction

Using Formative Assessment to Differentiate Middle School Literacy Instruction
Author: Leslie Laud
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2012-11-28
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1452226210

We all recognize the countless benefits of differentiated instruction. The challenge is in its implementation. Faced with a classroom of 25 students-each with very different needs-how can we possibly keep every student on track and motivated? Through formative assessment and efficient follow-up instruction. This start-to-finish guide will show you how through seven classroom-tested practices for maximizing student learning. Experts on this subject, Leslie Laud and Pooja Patel demonstrate how to Establish new classroom norms Involve students in the use of assessment data and feedback to inform their next steps Clarify end-of-unit criteria to help map learning progression Apply assessment data to group students for tiered activities Differentiate assignments based on student readiness, characteristics, and interest Best of all, Using Formative Assessment to Differentiate Middle School Literacy Instruction is packed with vignettes, sample worksheets, and charts to assist you through each step in the process. Armed with this tool kit, you'll quickly discover new ways to keep all students engaged in their learning. Book jacket.

How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms

How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms
Author: Carol Ann Tomlinson
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2017-03-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1416623337

First published in 1995 as How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms, this new edition reflects evolving best practices, practitioners' experience, and Tomlinson's ongoing thinking about how to help all students access high-quality curriculum; engage in meaningful learning experiences; and feel safe and valued in their school. Written as a practical guide for teachers, this expanded 3rd edition of Carol Ann Tomlinson's groundbreaking work covers the fundamentals of differentiation and provides additional guidelines and new strategies for how to go about it. You'll learn What differentiation is and why it's essential How to set up the flexible and supportive learning environment that promotes success How to manage a differentiated classroom How to plan lessons differentiated by readiness, interest, and learning profile How to differentiate content, process, and products How to prepare students, parents, and yourself for the challenge of differentiation We differentiate instruction to honor the reality of the students we teach. They are energetic and outgoing. They are quiet and curious. They are confident and self-doubting. They are interested in a thousand things and deeply immersed in a particular topic. They are academically advanced and "kids in the middle" and struggling due to cognitive, emotional, economic, or sociological challenges. More of them than ever speak a different language at home. They learn at different rates and in different ways. And they all come together in our academically diverse classrooms.

The Differentiated Classroom

The Differentiated Classroom
Author: Carol Ann Tomlinson
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2014-05-25
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1416618635

Although much has changed in schools in recent years, the power of differentiated instruction remains the same—and the need for it has only increased. Today's classroom is more diverse, more inclusive, and more plugged into technology than ever before. And it's led by teachers under enormous pressure to help decidedly unstandardized students meet an expanding set of rigorous, standardized learning targets. In this updated second edition of her best-selling classic work, Carol Ann Tomlinson offers these teachers a powerful and practical way to meet a challenge that is both very modern and completely timeless: how to divide their time, resources, and efforts to effectively instruct so many students of various backgrounds, readiness and skill levels, and interests. With a perspective informed by advances in research and deepened by more than 15 years of implementation feedback in all types of schools, Tomlinson explains the theoretical basis of differentiated instruction, explores the variables of curriculum and learning environment, shares dozens of instructional strategies, and then goes inside elementary and secondary classrooms in nearly all subject areas to illustrate how real teachers are applying differentiation principles and strategies to respond to the needs of all learners. This book's insightful guidance on what to differentiate, how to differentiate, and why lays the groundwork for bringing differentiated instruction into your own classroom or refining the work you already do to help each of your wonderfully unique learners move toward greater knowledge, more advanced skills, and expanded understanding. Today more than ever, The Differentiated Classroom is a must-have staple for every teacher's shelf and every school's professional development collection.

Differentiating Instruction

Differentiating Instruction
Author: Jacqueline S. Thousand
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 127
Release: 2007-03-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1412938600

In Differentiating Instruction, Jacqueline S. Thousand, Richard A. Villa, and Ann I. Nevin demonstrate how to use co-planning, co-teaching, and collaboration to differentiate instruction more effectively. This new resource, which follows the authorsÆ bestseller, A Guide to Co-Teaching, showcases examples of good practice using differentiated instruction through retrofit and universal design.

Guided Reading

Guided Reading
Author: Irene C. Fountas
Publisher: Heinemann Publishing
Total Pages: 428
Release: 1996
Genre: Education
ISBN:

This book is the richest, most comprehensive guided reading resource available today and the first systematic offering of instructional support for guided reading adherents.

Checking for Understanding

Checking for Understanding
Author: Douglas Fisher
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2015-12-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1416619224

A teacher presents a lesson, and at the end asks students if they understand the material. The students nod and say they get it. Later, the teacher is dismayed when many of the students fail a test on the material. Why aren’t students getting it? And, just as important, why didn’t the teacher recognize the problem? In Checking for Understanding, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey show how to increase students’ understanding with the help of creative formative assessments. When used regularly, formative assessments enable every teacher to determine what students know and what they still need to learn. Fisher and Frey explore a variety of engaging activities that check for and increase understanding, including interactive writing, portfolios, multimedia presentations, audience response systems, and much more. This new 2nd edition of Checking for Understanding has been updated to reflect the latest thinking in formative assessment and to show how the concepts apply in the context of Fisher and Frey’s work on gradual release of responsibility, guided instruction, formative assessment systems, data analysis, and quality instruction. Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey are the creators of the Framework for Intentional and Targeted (FIT) Teaching™. They are also the authors of numerous ASCD books, including The Formative Assessment Action Plan: Practical Steps to More Successful Teaching and Learning and the best-selling Enhancing RTI: How to Ensure Success with Effective Classroom Instruction and Intervention.

Classroom Dynamics - Resource Books for Teachers

Classroom Dynamics - Resource Books for Teachers
Author: Jill Hadfield
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2013-07-15
Genre: Study Aids
ISBN: 0194426041

This very popular series gives teachers practical advice and guidance, together with resource ideas and materials for the classroom.

Differentiated Reading Instruction

Differentiated Reading Instruction
Author: Jules Csillag
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2016-05-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317247655

Learn how tech tools can make it easier to differentiate reading instruction, so you can reach all of your students and help them increase their fluency and comprehension. This practical guide brings together evidence-based principles for differentiated reading instruction and user-friendly tech tools, to help middle level students grow as readers in fun, interactive, and engaging ways. You’ll find out how to: Use text-to-speech tools to facilitate decoding and fluency development; Develop tech-based vocabulary lessons for direct and contextual instruction; Get your students engaged in research and nonfiction texts with videos, custom search engines, and interactive annotation tools; Differentiate your fiction reading instruction with visualization, prediction, and summarization exercises; Encourage students to enhance their reading through using dictation software and diverse Google tools; Create your own formative and summative assessments for students at all levels of reading ability. Throughout the book, ideas are provided for both basic technology use and for more advanced applications--so no matter your comfort level with technology, you’ll find strategies that you can implement in your classroom immediately.

Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth and Achievement in Grades K-6

Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth and Achievement in Grades K-6
Author: Gayle H. Gregory
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2004-10-28
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1452299420

"All-encompassing. I kept turning the pages and saying to myself, ′Oh and they included this and this and this.′ I am very impressed by the range of information." Debbie Wilks, Third Grade Teacher Riverside Cultural Arts and History Magnet School, Wichita, KS "Experienced teachers will remember what they have forgotten. New teachers will find that it reinforces prior learning. All teachers will learn new ideas and strategies. This book offers ideas for teachers of all levels and teachers who teach a diverse student population." William Fitzhugh, Second Grade Teacher Reisterstown Elementary School, Reisterstown, MD Choose the most effective strategies to promote literacy learning for ALL the young readers, writers, speakers, and listeners in your diverse classroom! Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth and Achievement in Grades K-6 is the resource that gives teachers an instructional and assessment framework designed to promote the multiple competencies their learners need: functional literacy for phonics, spelling, and reading; content-area literacy for vocabulary, concept attainment, and comprehension; technological literacy for information searching, evaluation, and synthesis; and innovative literacy for creativity, growth, and life-long learning. With a focus on research-based, data-driven, and differentiated strategies, noted authors Gayle Gregory and Lin Kuzmich offer teachers step-by-step guides to: Pre-assessing diverse learners for literacy skills, competencies, learning styles, and learning gaps Implementing a broad array of high-payoff and developmentally appropriate strategies to move all students to the next stage in their literacy learning Creating units, lessons, and adjustable assignments that address all four competencies in literacy learning in the differentiated classroom With more than 100 planning models, matrixes, rubrics, and checklists included, this book is the ideal resource for all elementary teachers who want to close the achievement gap for emerging learners and insure the growth and development of all learners.