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Planning for the multiple means is very important because when the multiple means are accounted for, the needs of all diverse learners are met. The multiple means aim to ensure that learning is purposeful, reflective, resourceful, authentic, strategic, and action-oriented (CAST, 2024).

Planning how to incorporate the multiple means into each lesson will not only help you be a successful educator, but it will set each of your students up for success. They will be in a learning environment where they can thrive. Planning and being prepared for the multiple means will help students successfully meet their learning goals because they will have everything they need to be successful in the classroom.

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Below you will find ways to differentiate for early finishers through the multiple means.

!The grade level this concerns is third grade!

Multiple Means of Representation:

To differentiate for early finishers, teachers can encourage them to come up with an explanation of how the current learning connects to other learning, and encourage them to see how the current learning can be applied to the real world (CAST, 2024).

Pose the following questions:

-How does assignment A relate to other things we have been learning about in class?

-How does assignment A relate to what happens in the world outside of school?

Multiple Means of Engagement:

To differentiate for early finishers, teachers can have these students mentor other students in the classroom by helping them finish their work or by having them help groups of students finish their work. These students could also work with another early finisher to see how else they could improve their work.

Multiple Means of Expression:

To differentiate for early finishers, teachers can have these students set a goal for themselves in a specific content area that they would like to achieve during a set time frame (CAST, 2024). These students could also come up with another way to explain their learning to their teacher or classmates.

-Ask students to come up with a goal they know they can achieve in the next thirty days, and how they think they will achieve it.

-Have students express their learning in multiple ways. This could be through writing, and then by adding a visual too.

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Below you will find ways to differentiate for gifted students through the multiple means.

!The grade level this concerns is third grade!

Multiple Means of Representation:

To differentiate for gifted students, teachers can encourage students to come up with another way to solve a problem. Use this as a challenge for students.

-Have students solve a math problem in more than one way.

-Have students come up with more than one adjective.

Multiple Means of Engagement:

To differentiate for gifted students, teachers can have gifted students work with lower-level students to help support them, and have peer support. Teachers can also have gifted students work on their own so they can engage in more advanced material (Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education, 2025).

-Pair with lower students in the classroom.

-Challenge through independent work.

Multiple Means of Expression:

To differentiate for gifted students, teacher can have gifted students express their learning in more then one way, or encourage them to reach outside of their comfort zone.

-Have students write a report and present it.

-Have them reach outside of their comfort zone to express their knowledge, like giving a speech.

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Differentiation can occur in a variety of ways for students with learning disabilities. Below you will find ways to help differentiate for students with learning disabilities.

!The grade level this concerns is third grade!

Multiple Means of Representation:

To differentiate for students with learning disabilities, teachers can use accessible materials with settings that can be adjusted, and share information in more ways than through text and images (CAST, 2024).

-Use materials where the screen can be zoomed in, text can be read to students, or highlighted.

-Use videos and other engaging material instead of just images.

Multiple Means of Engagement:

To differentiate for students with learning disabilities, teachers can make learning more playful, create a safe space where learners are wanted and everyone is accepted (CAST, 2024).

-Make the learning less serious, make it playful through games and activities.

-Create a positive classroom community.

Multiple Means of Expression:

To differentiate for students with learning disabilities, teachers can use tools that make the learning environment accessible, make learning flexible, and use scaffolds (CAST, 2024).

-Incorperate tools such as text-to-speech and speech-to-text, and audio calculators.

-Goals can be important but celebrate the small successes and do not force learning.

-Use scaffolds by starting with small learning goals and working towards larger ones.

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Differentiation can occur in a variety of ways, and below you will find helpful ideas of how you can differentiate for English language learners through the different multiple means.

!The grade level this concerns is third grade!

Multiple Means of Representation:

To differentiate for ELLs for multiple means of representation, a teacher can use translations, incorporate images, and decode symbols (CAST, 2024).

-Translate what you would like a student to complete.

-Provide images with instructions whenever possible.

-Decode symbols like the plus and minus signs.

Multiple Means of Engagement:

To differentiate for ELLs for multiple means of engagement, a teacher can create a safe learning environment where all are welcome, provide students with choices for how they learn, and emphasize goals and why they matter (CAST, 2024).

-Create a classroom community.

-Give students choices such as working with a partner, with the teacher, or on their own.

-Explain goals to students and why they are important.

Multiple Means of Expression:

To differentiate for ELLs for multiple means of expression, a teacher can make learning flexible for students, allow for a variety of ways of communication, and allow for a variety of ways of responses.

-Be flexible with students, not all students will be able to complete assignments the way you have planned.

-Communication and responses may occur verbally, through writing, through hand signals, or drawing.

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Multiple means of expression is based on the idea that learners express their knowledge in the way that works best for them, and cannot express it in only one set way.

Multiple means of expression should be used in all classrooms, and would be extremely helpful for students with learning disabilties because it allows more than one set way of expressing knowledge.

Multiple means of expression would be used in a classroom by allowing students options when expressing their knowledge. This could be by allowing students to write instead of speaking, speaking instead of writing, or conferencing one-on-one instead of a whole class presentation.

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Multiple means of engagement is based on the idea that learners each have their own best ways of learning, and they should be given choices when completing work surrounding their learning (CAST, 2024).

Multiple means of engagement should be used in all classrooms because it allows all students a chance to do their very best learning.

Multiple means of engagement would be used in a classroom by ensuring students can work in a variety of ways. This could be independently, on the computer, in partners, or in a small group.

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Multiple means of representation is based on the idea that learners perceive and make meaning out of information in different ways (CAST, 2024).

Multiple means of representation would be used in the classroom when students with sensory disabilities, learning disabilities, and English language learners are present.

Multiple means of representation would be used in the classroom by making sure that all students can understand the information that is being presented. This could be through visuals, audio recordings, or large text.