Module 2 Summary

Videos

Differentiated instruction is extremely valuable when providing instructions to students. The video provided information on identifying what specific students need differentiated instruction. Some teachers believe that differentiated instruction is just for students who are performing below grade level. However, that is not the case. Differentiated instruction is for ALL students. I teach students who are learning on three different levels. I have accelerated learners, on-level learner, and students who are below grade level. Differentiation is a must in my classroom. Each one of my students has different needs to be met. This strategy helps me provide instruction and learning activities that will meet their learning needs. Choice boards are a big hit in my classroom for reading centers. I provide three different choice boards for each level of learners. This allows for my high flyers to be challenged while my on-level learners are practicing grade level standards and my below grade level students are working on learning activities that will help them reach their learning goals.

 In The Story of Differentiation, this video provided a refresher for me. At my school, teachers are trained on differentiated instruction using Carol Tomlinson’s knowledge on the topic. We have many books in our book room to help teachers provide differentiated instruction for ALL students. One big idea from the video was flexible grouping. This is something I’m very familiar with and provide for my students learning needs.  

Planning Strategic Reading Lesson Plan

The PowerPoints in this module were very interesting. From the information presented on planning strategic reading lesson plan, it is important to remember that it is teacher directed that supports instructional goals by providing purposefully grouped students with target strategies that will facilitate fluent reading and comprehension. This type of plan offers text exploration through various reading strategies and leads to more student directed instructional approaches such as literature circles. Teacher instruction and explanation of reading contexts is extremely important, it’s also important for students to become independent and self-sustained readers. This can be accomplished through the use of literature circles.

Literacy Practice: Promoting Content Area Reading Scaffolding

Literacy is seen in all content areas. This can be a problem for students who struggle with reading so it is important for teachers to help students overcome their learning challenges. One way teachers can help students is scaffolding the instruction presented to students. Scaffolding helps students to gain a better understand of the learning material. Instruction should be modeled by the teacher to introduce the learning material or task and overtime the learning task shift to the students.   

Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheel

This is a great resource to have when planning instructional activities for students. It’s important for teachers to provide lessons which reflect different areas of the Bloom’s Taxonomy. As teachers, we work hard to provide engaging activities that promote in-depth conversations as a way to promote higher order thinking skills. The Bloom’s Taxonomy wheel helps provide key words when creating comprehension and discussion questions.