Differentiated Activities in Modular

Distance Learning Modality

Speaker: DMEM
 WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATED
INSTRUCTION?
• Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual
needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process
products, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible
grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.
• Differentiating instruction also may mean teaching the
same material to all students using a variety of
instructional strategies, or it may require the teacher to
deliver lessons at varying levels of difficulty based on the
ability of each student.
 WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATED ACTIVITIES?

Also called “differentiated instruction,” differentiation typically

entails modifications to:
 practice (how teachers deliver instruction to students),
 process (how the lesson is designed for students),
 products (the kinds of work products students will be asked to complete),
 content (the specific readings, research, or materials, students will study),
 assessment (how teachers measure what students have learned), and
 grouping (how students are arranged in the classroom or paired up with other
students).
Ways to Differentiate Instruction (Tomlinson)

1. CONTENT
- Students who are unfamiliar with a lesson could be
required to complete tasks on the lower levels:
remembering and understanding. Students with some
mastery could be asked to apply and analyze the
content, and students who have high levels of mastery
could be asked to complete tasks in the areas of
evaluating and creating.
Content: Examples of differentiating activities:

• Using reading materials at varying readability levels;

• Putting text materials on tape;
• Using spelling or vocabulary lists at readiness levels of
students;
• Presenting ideas through both auditory and visual
means;
• Using reading buddies
• Match vocabulary words to definitions.
Content: Examples of differentiating activities:

•Read a passage of text and answer related questions.

•Think of a situation that happened to a character in
the story and a different outcome.
•Differentiate fact from opinion in the story.
•Identify an author’s position and provide evidence to
support this viewpoint.
2. PROCESS
-Each student has a preferred learning style, and
successful differentiation includes delivering the
material to each style: visual, auditory and kinesthetic,
and through words. This process-related method also
addresses the fact that not all students require the
same amount of support from the teacher, and students
could choose to work in pairs, small groups, or
individually.
Process: Examples of differentiating activities

 Provide textbooks for visual and word learners.

 Allow auditory learners to listen to audio books.
 Give kinesthetic learners the opportunity to complete an
interactive assignment online.
 Using tiered activities through which all learners work with
the same important understandings and skills, but proceed
with different levels of support, challenge, or complexity;
 Providing interest centers that encourage students to
explore subsets of the class topic of particular interest to
them;
3. PRODUCT
-The product is what the student creates at the end of the
lesson to demonstrate the mastery of the content. This
can be in the form of tests, projects, reports, or other
activities. You could assign students to complete activities
that show mastery of an educational concept in a way the
student prefers, based on learning style.
Products
Examples of differentiating products include the following:
• Giving students options of how to express required
learning (e.g., create a puppet show, write a letter, or
develop a mural with labels);
• Using rubrics that match and extend students' varied skills
levels;
• Allowing students to work alone or in small groups on their
products; and
• Encouraging students to create their own product
assignments as long as the assignments contain required
elements.
Products
Examples of differentiating the end product:

•Read and write learners write a book report.

•Visual learners create a graphic organizer of the story.
•Auditory learners give an oral report.
•Kinesthetic learners build a diorama illustrating the story .
 Differentiated Instruction/Activities in
Project-Based Learning
REFLECTION AND GOAL SETTING
Reflection is an essential component of PBL. Throughout the
project, students should be reflecting on their work and setting
goals for further learning. This is a great opportunity for them to
set personalized learning goals and for you to target instruction
specific to the goals they set.
DIFFERENTIATE THROUGH FORMATIVE
ASSESSMENTS
Formative assessments can look the same for all students.
They can also look different. We know that students can
show what they’ve learned in different ways, as mentioned
above in terms of products produced as summative
assessment.
Differentiated instruction strategies for reading
•Tiered assignments can be used in reading to allow the students to
show what they have learned at a level that suites them. One student
might create a visual story board while another student might write a
book report. 
•Reading groups can pick a book based on interest or be assigned
based on reading level
•Erin Lynch (2020) suggest that teachers scaffold instruction by
giving clear explicit explanations with visuals. Verbally and visually
explain the topic. Use anchor charts, drawings, diagrams, and
reference guides to foster a clearer understanding. If applicable,
provide a video clip for students to watch.
Differentiated instruction strategies for writing
•Allow students to choose their writing topics. When the topic is of
interest, they will likely put more effort into the assignment and therefore
learn more.
•Keep track of and assess student’s writing progress continually
throughout the year. You can do this using a journal or a checklist. This will
allow you to give individualized instruction.
•Hand out graphic organizers to help students outline their writing. Try fill-
in-the-blank notes that guide the students through each step of the
writing process for those who need additional assistance.
•For those who are excelling at writing give them more lines or pages to
encourage them to write more. For those that are still in the beginning
stages of writing, give them less lines so that they do not feel
overwhelmed.
 Other examples of differentiated activities
1. Run Literature Circles
2. Give Different Sets of Reading Comprehension
Activities
3. Assign Open-Ended Projects
4. Encourage Students to Propose Ideas for Their
Projects
 Other examples of differentiated activities
1. Run Literature Circles
2. Give Different Sets of Reading Comprehension
Activities
3. Assign Open-Ended Projects
4. Encourage Students to Propose Ideas for Their
Projects