Maths

Differentiation

Differentiation is definitely something my colleagues and I take into consideration in every task we implement, as we have a vast range of mixed ability students. Adopting and modifying lessons is the key, and to do this, we make sure our maths tasks are not only differentiated by ability level, but are rich and open-ended to cater for a vast range of learning styles.

Below are a few examples that my colleagues and I use in the classroom. 

Use visual, hands-on materials for students who are visual learners. This strategy of writing numbers on poster notes help students with place value and sequencing digits. Using place cards assist students with difficulty in understanding that a number is a quantity.  

Provide open-ended questions to allow for students to use multiple strategies to work out the problem. Providing the same question but for different levels, allows students to choose the question they are comfortable working with, at a level they are comfortable working at. If students choose the two digit number and complete that with confidence, they can move up the ladder to three and four digit numbers. Always provide students with challenges! (which takes me to the next image)

Allow challenges for students who can achieve results greater than the stage they are at. Year 3 are not expected to use 5 digit numbers, but for students who can work above their stage, it is highly imperative that you cater for them. We have a maths challenge table, for students who have completed the rich task and would like a challenge, there is always an opportunity! 

Resources can be pretty expensive, so thinking OUTSIDE THE BOX is a must for any teacher. My colleague thought of this FANTASTIC, cost effective idea. Instead of purchasing whiteboards for every student (we have 50 students), why not use clear protector folders, which are originally used for books. These are so easy to use, as you can slip in any sheet to reuse and write with whiteboard markers. We just asked students to bring in unused CLEAN socks to use for their erasers and there you have it, your own mini whiteboard! Shoutout to my clever colleague Annette for this great idea!