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    The Seven T's of Practical Differentiation: Alphabet Sevens, #2
    The Seven T's of Practical Differentiation: Alphabet Sevens, #2
    The Seven T's of Practical Differentiation: Alphabet Sevens, #2
    Ebook63 pages51 minutes

    The Seven T's of Practical Differentiation: Alphabet Sevens, #2

    By Sue Cowley

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    About this ebook

    In this book, Sue Cowley offers teachers a practical and easy to read guide to the subject of differentiation. She explains a wide variety of techniques and strategies that teachers can use immediately in their classrooms, to help all their students learn more effectively. Sue offers advice on using targets and timing, tips on creating groups for differentiated learning, thoughts on developing higher order thinking for all your students, and much much more.  This book will help you gain a fresh insight into a complex topic, and learn how to differentiate more effectively, without spending lots of extra time on planning and preparation.

    This mini guide is written in Sue's much-loved honest and straight talking style. No theory, no jargon, just down to earth techniques that really work. Whatever age students you teach, your classroom practice will benefit from the strategies and techniques that she reveals here. Read Sue's concise guide now and find out how to get all of your students learning.

    Sue Cowley is the author of over 25 teaching books, including the international best seller, 'Getting the Buggers to Behave'. Her author website is www.suecowley.co.uk.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSue Cowley Books Ltd
    Release dateSep 15, 2015
    ISBN9781516384228
    The Seven T's of Practical Differentiation: Alphabet Sevens, #2
    Author

    Sue Cowley

    Sue Cowley is a writer, presenter and teacher trainer, and the author of over 25 books on education, including How to Survive your First Year in Teaching. Her international best seller, Getting the Buggers to Behave is a fixture on university book lists, and has been translated into ten different languages. After training as an early years teacher, Sue taught English and Drama in secondary schools in the UK and overseas, and she also worked as a supply teacher. She now spends her time writing educational books and articles, and she is a columnist for Teach Nursery, Teach Primary and Nursery World magazines. Sue works internationally as a teacher trainer, as well as volunteering in primary classrooms, and helping to run her local preschool. You can find Sue on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@Sue_Cowley

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      Book preview

      The Seven T's of Practical Differentiation - Sue Cowley

      Introduction

      This ebook offers you a concise, practical and easy to read guide to the subject of differentiation. My aim is to give you realistic advice that you can use straight away with your students in your classroom – today! The ideas that I give in this short guide will help you differentiate your lessons, without needing to spend huge amounts of extra time and energy on planning and preparation. The strategies described in this book are suitable for students of all different ages. Remember: if a child doesn't learn in the way that you currently teach him, then both he and you are wasting valuable learning time. By making some simple adaptations to the teaching and learning strategies you use, you can reach and teach all of your students.

      In my first few years as a teacher, I can remember being totally confused by the term ‘differentiation’. What on earth did it mean? How on earth was I supposed to do it? And where exactly was I going to find the time? I had a vague idea that differentiation meant creating different activities for different students. So, in the early days I would spend hours creating and adapting worksheets to suit individual children. In those days I thought that differentiation always meant adapting the task to suit each learner, but of course there are many more ways to differentiate than just that.

      All teachers differentiate, all the time. You do it every single day, even if you are not conscious of actually doing it. Perhaps you pick a particular child to answer a question, because you want to build her confidence about speaking in front of the class? That’s differentiation. Maybe you move a child to sit nearer the front of the room, because you know he struggles to write down what’s on the board? That’s differentiation as well. Perhaps you use slightly different vocabulary with one child than you do with another? That’s differentiation too. Put simply, differentiation means the teacher acknowledges that students are individuals, who learn in different ways. It stands to reason, therefore, that the teacher must do different things to help them learn.

      Children really do come in all shapes and sizes. When we talk about ‘difference’, we mean so much more than just different ability levels. The children in your class will have different cultural or social backgrounds, different levels of listening skills, different interests, different stages of written and spoken English, different kinds of motivation, different speeds of work, different maturity levels, different physical or psychological needs, and so on. A key technique for effective differentiation is to get to know your students: what makes them tick, where do their strengths lie, what kind of people are they, what do they really enjoy?  In this book you will discover how to find out this and much much more.

      Differentiation should be part of your daily teaching routine. In this short book you will find out how to embed it into your practice, so that every single child you ever teach gets the best possible learning experience. My ‘Seven T’s’ will help you achieve a properly differentiated classroom, full of happy, confident learners. Your students will be able to access the learning you give them at the appropriate level. And you will be able to enjoy your work, sure and certain that you’re reaching and teaching every single child in your class.

      Sue Cowley

      www.suecowley.co.uk

      The First T: Top and Tail

      The simplest way in which you can differentiate is to use the ‘top and tail’ technique. You can use this approach right away, and it will not take up a huge amount of your time. By using this technique you get into the habit of thinking about differentiation every single time you plan a lesson activity. Even if you don’t manage to use a differentiated activity every time, or you don’t manage to write down all the strategies you use in your lesson plans, you will still be thinking about creative ways to achieve differentiated learning.

      Clearly, your students have a huge range of different levels of ability: they are all unique individuals. However, it is just not possible to prepare a personalised and individualised activity for every single child that you teach in every single lesson. There are too many other demands on a teacher’s time. So, the top and tail technique achieves the next best thing: it touches all the bases.

      It is probably fair to say that you could divide your students into three categories – the

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