Activities: using activities which have a series of increasingly challenging sub-tasks.

Words and Writing: providing sentence starters for students with lower literacy levels.

Things the teacher can do: circulating so as to see who needs help during a task.

Things students can do or use: checklists which help less-able students to regulate their own work.

Top 10 Differentiation Strategies:

It is an impossible task for teachers to offer a range of resources for every child every single lesson, and if someone is asking you do to this, then they have probably forgotten what it’s like to teach a full-time timetable. However, despite the apparent expectation that teachers can do this day-in, day-out, there are several strategies that you can embed into your practice so that a) you can alleviate teacher workload and b) naturally embed differentiation over time so that it does become more regular. This can only be a good thing for your students and for your marking, planning and teaching.

10. Seating Plans

As daft and simple as it sounds, the seating plan works wonders. Put every child in a specific location in the room that works best for their learning and for you! Don’t be fooled by the child that says, ‘I work best next to my friends.’ They don’t!

9. Marking books with love and attention

Following a seating plan, this is the most sophisticated form of differentiation that you can offer your children.

8. Using data

Keep a close and careful eye on student data and communicate the information via formative feedback to your students is the best differentiation strategy – after marking – that you can use.

7. Verbal feedback

Your feedback must be meaningful, sophisticated and tailored to the individual child. A ‘well done’ or a ‘that’s very good’, is enough to feed their ego, but it’s an utter waste of breath on your part and will not help students make any progress whatsoever. Extend the praise comments with pinpointed formative assessment.

6. Classroom displays

Build up a bank of resources by placing student’s completed work immediately on display in your classroom. But, be mindful that too much clutter display goes against what research says.

5. Scaffolding writing frame

Provide students with a scaffolding writing frame. This is probably worth the most investment on the teacher’s part, but offers some long-term impact.

4. Choice of task

Offer at least two different resources, choices and tasks in everything that you do. Offer a choice of resources that vary in difficulty. Encourage students to select at least two choices they must complete. TakeAway Homework is the perfect example.

3. Forming and framing questioning

Forming and framing questions is probably my favourite strategy of all! How you ask a question can make all the difference in the classroom. Take a look on my blog for a resource called Pose, Pause, Pounce, Bounce or try the Questioning Matrix. It will transform your teaching and how you ask questions of students.

2. Students taking the lead

Nominate students to lead a starter or plenary activity. It’s a high-risk strategy for some teachers to allow students to apparently take over their classrooms, but it something best-served in great lessons where teachers are always in control.

1. Students teaching their peers

Finally, challenge students to teach others what they have learnt and assess this by observing the outcome. This will need planning and can form some part of assessment criteria, but the rewards are great when students can begin to self-regulate one another.

·  WT pupils: Pupils who are ‘working towards’ the success criteria who require more support. 

· WB pupils: Pupils who are ‘working beyond’ the success criteria who need to be more challenged further. 

·  WO pupils:  Pupils who are ‘working on’ the relevant success criteria in accordance with the required expectations.