Curriculum Differentiation

Ideas on adjusting the curriculum to meet the needs of all students

Helpful hints for differentiating the Curriculum for all students

Schools Plus would like to acknowledge that the information listed below is a body of knowledge that has been collected from a variety of sources - teachers, workshops, classrooms and schools.

  • Set achievable tasks providing regular feedback throughout the activity
  • Teach the student to organize themselves by listing tasks to be done and when they are due. A visual system for younger students, a diary for older students.
  • Sequence activities
  • Have the student’s full attention before giving instructions
  • Instructions, routines and rules should be kept short, concise, clear and positive. Repeat them if necessary
  • Have the student repeat back instructions to check for understanding
  • Give one instruction at a time
  • Write instructions down
  • Identify the main idea when presenting new information
  • Sit the student away from distractions
  • Break work into small and manageable steps
  • Provide breaks for the student in between tasks
  • Use a structured, step-by-step teaching approach
  • Sustain student interest by providing an interesting and stimulating curriculum
  • Vary delivery techniques throughout lessons
  • Vary activities throughout a lesson
  • When asking questions allow ‘think time’ before expecting an answer
  • When teaching a new concept allow immediate success with associated activities. Start related activities straight after the student’s initial success
  • Develop the ability to make decisions with the gradual introduction of choice into tasks
  • Make your expectations of what is expected in an activity explicit
  • Clarify tasks with visual or pictorial cues
  • Provide students with an example of the completed task. For example glue a completed algorithm into the students work book for them to refer to when they are working on a similar algorithm
  • If possible incorporate the student’s interests into curriculum content and activities
  • Teach students to deal with change. Introduce changes gradually
  • Praise the student for effort as well as achievement however minimal that may be
  • Allow students additional time to complete tasks
  • Pair a student with special needs with a more able student.
  • Set closed tasks and questions
  • Check for learning by having the student repeat back what they have done, or explain what they have learnt
  • Ensure that differentiated work matches the ability level of the student
  • Allow students to over learn
  • Select parts of work to be completed so students are not overwhelmed by what they are expected to complete
  • Use concrete examples when teaching life skills
  • Modify the amount of work you expect from children or the form the work needs to be in
  • ‘What we know – What we like to know - How are we going to find out what we would like to know’ (KWL) strategy
  • Use a variety of groupings – whole class, groups, partner, independent, students with a common goal or interest or different learning styles
  • PMI (Plus/Minus/Interesting)
  • Peer Support System-careful selection of a peer as buddy/ tutor; peer to assist with reading instructions
  • Peer tutoring and scaffolding techniques to support peer learning
  • Shared book activity – group questions developed by students – can be related to student levels – group answer questions
  • Spelling – (adaptations to the general curriculum) corrections of the child’s own work- highlight and correct the first 10 words, the child adds these words to own bank of works (dictionary)
  • Shared book activity – Group questions/ answers, questions developed
  • Sentence starters
  • Journal writing for reluctant writers. Once a week, allow ‘oral’ sharing
  • Pre-teach vocabulary/content -use pictures, discussion, key words
  • Three levels of project choice – (1) create & do,(2) write about it, (3) research
  • Repeated reading fluency
  • Instructional teaching
  • Adjusting the text – print size, line length, sentence length, vocabulary ‘white spaces
  • Provide extra resources – concrete materials, word lists, letter cards
  • Teach to the student’s level
  • Reword, re-phrase, breakdown, questioning
  • Daily timetable so students know what is happening (teaching organisation/ independence); include what equipment they will need for each session
  • Visual timetable on student’s desk- explicit instructions to achieve objective and reinforce expectations eg. name on top, colour cut, sort, hand in
  • Visual timetable – transition, choice, predictable, visual start – to finish
  • Personalise the timetable by taking photos of the student in action
  • On desk goals and reminders (use pictures if necessary)
  • EA assisting student- overhand method – child does same tasks as other children but has EA help
  • Flip alphabet memory trigger to be kept on desk - for students having difficulty remembering alphabet letter names/sounds
  • Reduced expectations, same activities but with reduced amounts of work required
  • Spelling number of words changes according to need and ability. Words from – topic, writing, sound families
  • Cooperative learning strategies such as placemats, jigsaws, think, pair and share. These strategies allow for social interaction with students with learning difficulties
  • Cut and paste options on worksheets when student finds writing difficult
  • Use red and green dots to show starting and finishing points on handouts
  • Social stories- provide a basis to introduce changes in routine before they become a drama
  • Computer for daily writing/use of laptop computer for some written tasks
  • Task analysis
  • ‘Chunking’ – breaking activities into small achievable sections
  • Alternative learning activities to improve automatic recall of phonemes within words
  • Scaffolding on work sheets
  • Modify worksheets and assignments - limited sections, multi-choice/close alternative presentation
  • Include in daily work pad a section called Lesson Adjustments
  • Adjust work load when doing projects