Using Differentiated Instruction in the Teaching Profession
BREAKOUT BOXES
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Breakout boxes are a great way to use critical thinking skills in the classroom. Similar to an escape room, teachers can create one or more boxes with clues to unlock the box. There are multiple ways this can be done. For this breakout box, I had five boxes (all with different codes and lock combinations) with one large box that had 5 locks on the outside. On the inside, there was a smaller tool box with a key lock and a 3-digit combination holding items to solve the clue to open the smaller tool box. Breakout boxes can be bought on the official breakout.edu site or can be purchased separately on Amazon.com. Each box costs $100 depending on how many locks and boxes that are to be used.
COMBINING IDEAS
While reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicles of a Death Foretold (1981), students learn about several characters who all were at fault for the murder of one man. Each character’s lie, deceit, and/or knowledge of the crime caused Santiago Nasar’s death. During this time, the choir director was working on the musical, Into the Woods (Stephen Sondheim, 1987). Each character from the novel was compared to the characters in the musical. I met with the choir director, Tim, before and after school to create a meaningful project to connect the curriculum to our academy focus.
Mateo took a different approach to his metamorphosis project where he decided to use the two main objects from both stories. The single bean that Jack traded for his white cow was morphed into the knife that killed Santiago Nasar. The bean creates the reason for the giant to climb down the beanstalk. Jack took something from him so he was determined to get it back. Just like the giant, the Vicario brothers felt that due to their sister’s word, they needed to get something back from Santiago, whether it was the truth or not.
NOTE-TAKING METHOD
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With Cornell University’s 6-2-2 method, (Cornell University, nd) the paper is divided into three sections. The first two sections are divided at the top of the paper (Figure 1). The note-taking column is where students write down notes during class, readings, or on their own. The cue-column is for students to write down questions after class to help clarify meanings or questions for the teacher the next day in case any of the notes seemed unclear.
SKETCHNOTING
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Sketchnoting is another method when taking notes in class. Carrie Baughcum introduced me to this method at a conference. Students are able to take written notes and use visuals as a way to remember. Instead of writing complete notes, visuals are included as a way to be actively engaged in the lesson while still completing notes for future use.
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Sketchnoting activity focusing no the importance of education
LITERATURE CIRCLES
Using Literature Circles as a formative assessment for both groups helped retain the information as they read. Students were able to choose their own groups of three to work together when then the Literature Circle was shared between each member of the group. The roles between the students changed each week. Students were able to learn leadership skills as well as retain information from the reading.