TEACH-NOW Module 5 Unit 3 Activity 2: Differentiating and Anticipating Student Needs

Students Requiring Differentiation

 My school is made up of students who all speak English as a foreign language, as they are living in a country where Chinese is the main spoken tongue, but attend an English medium school. As my school is a private school and does not have the resources to support students with disabilities, it officially does not accept any. While I and other teachers are fairly certain that there are a few students with undiagonosed disabilities, such as dyslexia and ADHD, we are unable to officially provide students with accommodations. Because of this, there are two main areas where I need to differentiate.


  1. English level and ability: Students read, write, and speak at varying levels in my class. A student who is an excellent writer may be a poor speaker, and vice versa. When it comes to communication, I therefore have the students practice the areas where they require improvement, but may also have a student use their strongest area to communicate their ideas and thoughts.
    1. This is done either through the language I teach in or have them use. As I am fluent in Mandarin, I may re-explain my instructions/lessons to a student in Mandarin. In turn, students may tell me their thoughts and ideas in Mandarin if I feel that their lack of English is interfering with their ability to express themselves fully. I also allow students to communicate with each other (provided it is about the task) in their mother tongue.
    2. Non-verbal students have the option of communicating through writing or speaking if I insist that they use English. They may choose a form of communication that they are more comfortable with. 
  2. Reading readiness: the students, aside from a general reading level (measured through lexile and Fountas and Pinnell), also have certain areas that they are either strong, or require improvement, such as craft and structure, key ideas and details, and integration of knowledge (all from Common Core). 
    1. Students choose texts that are appropriate to their reading level. Additionally, I may provide them with texts that match their reading level.
    2. I also group students based on their level, but less on their general level and more on the areas they need to improve. By doing this, it becomes more personalized and avoids the stigma of having students placed in a "lower" or "higher" group. 
All students have work options where they may work singly, in pairs, or in a teacher-led group. This is true for activities such as task completion, or reading assignments. I also provide flexible due dates for students who require more time as a matter of course, or extend due dates when I see that a task I have set is taking longer than I had originally anticipated. Being EFL students, I have taken care to include a wide cushion, and do not pack many activities in a lesson in anticipation of this. 


 Differentiation within the Lesson Itself

 When it comes to differentiating, I generally try to make my unit and lessons differentiate naturally within the activities and lessons themselves. My favorite form of this is through student choice, which I implement in several ways:


  1. Student response: how a student chooses to answer during class discussion
  2. Questions: questions that address different areas and levels of thinking, which students can choose depending on their cognitive readiness
  3. Work habits: whether to work singly or in pairs/groups, on the floor, in the cushions, or at their desk
  4. Language: activities that can be completed with or without their mother tongue
  5. Worksheet type: different types of graphic organizers or options when completing a written activity.
  6. Reading material: students choose books that are appropriate to their reading and English levels
These differentiation methods are further helped by several resources:

  1. Audio/online/paper texts: students have the option of reading through several mediums. Those who have trouble following text (there is one student we suspect has undiagnosed dyslexia) have the option of listening to audiobooks, or adjusting text through an ebook reader.
  2. Graphic Organizers: I provide several types of graphic organizers for students who might be more visual, while some students prefer a more densely packed organizer, while still others just prefer using lined paper.
  3. White boards: for students who are not vocal, when asking questions I give them the option of writing their answer and holding it up on whiteboards. 
  4. spiral.ac: for full class discussions and reactions, rather than responding orally, they students also have the option of "texting" each other while they discuss. This is particularly useful as it provides a record the teacher can follow as well.
Anticipating Student Needs

My lessons are styled in the workshop method, which means that the majority of my class is not listening to a content lesson, but rather where students are working on a task they have either set for themselves, or chosen. What this means is that much of it has been differentiated and any checks for comprehension are usually achieved through 1-on-1 conferences where I may give personalized, immediate feedback. However, in case I am teaching content, this is how I plan:

Differentiation and Anticipating Student Needs 

As stated previously, my lessons are generally planned with such anticipation, though there are occasions where I fail to anticipate something. The most common I have encountered is a lack of background knowledge, particularly historical/cultural, as the material I teach is western-centric, yet my students have grown up in an Asian country. And in extreme cases, I will scrap a task completely because either no students are ready for it, or I find it inappropriate for the students. 

Those instances, thankfully, are few.

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