Julien's dad and I went to his elementary school to attend this semester's SST meeting. Not only did we hear how DES is attending to his needs, but I saw many lovely examples of differentiated lessons. Perhaps I'm learning that it still doesn't come naturally to me, although it looks so effortless. Here's an example from the bulletin board display of fifth grade new year resolutions:
"New Year, New Me!
"Write about your goal and resolution for the New Year. Describe the steps you will take to achieve your goal."
Now, this is very different from what I tried for the New Year. Right away, I tasked my students to quantify a specific kind of improvement they wanted to see, and to create a plan. Am I killing all natural impulses and love of learning? My tendency is to expect too much too soon.
In contrast, I can appreciate the simpler and clearer design of the posted writing exercise/formative assessment. The apparent expectation was that the students would demonstrate their understanding of goal and be able to write steps in a process to achieve that goal. The resolution was the real-world connection, although secondary to the process-writing in order to reach a goal.
It is also delightful to see a variety of responses based on the students' ability levels and interests.
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