Utilizing+Differentiation+in+Writers+Workshop

Planning and implementing for a differentiated classroom - setting the stage for engaging all learners By Maryland Spicer and Shelby Looney __Introduction__ Close your eyes. Picture yourself in a traditional elementary school classroom. What does it look like? What do you hear? What are the teachers and students doing? Students would be sitting in their desks, set up in rows with the teacher in front of the class presenting a lesson. The students ideally would be sitting quietly, listening as the teacher concludes her lesson followed by the students working independently to complete identical worksheet after worksheet. This cookie-cutter approach to education worked for those students who fall into the middle of the Bell curve. However, what about those who fall at either end of the curve? Did this approach to education meet all of their social and academic needs? NO!

Welcome to 21st Century Learning! The classroom dynamics have changed dramatically over the course of the last several years; students from varied cultural, learning and socio-economic backgrounds sit at the desks. Regular classroom teachers face the challenge of meeting the needs of all of these diverse individuals so that every child demonstrates growth in written and oral language skills. This requires a flexible teacher who is willing to differentiate instruction for his/her students during the writer's workshop, through collaboration with administration, colleagues and support staff. Utilizing Tomlison's model of Differentiated Instruction while taking into consideration the Planning Pyramid proposed by Schumm, Vaughn and Leavell helps the teacher to carefully plan to meet the needs of all the students in the classroom while covering the essential concepts that all students should master based on the Common Core Standards. To make this a reality in the classroom setting, much support is available to the teacher through professional development, on-line resources and written materials.

__Before Beginning__ One must first understand differentiated instruction as a teaching philosophy that is responsive to the students readiness, current level of ability (zone of proximal development - ZPD (Vygotsky, Lev)), and interest in order to "maximize each student's growth and individual success". (Hall, Tracey) Tomlinson identifies three components in which teachers can differentiate their instruction: content, process, product. Taking time to plan for the the students different needs and how the teacher wants to accommodate them so that all students will be able to demonstrate the essential concepts for the lesson, will clearly guide instruction. Although there will be commonalities among teachers when using differentiated instruction for writer's workshop, the presentation and management may vary greatly from classroom to classroom. Below is one representation of how writer's workshop may be differentiated in a kindergarten classroom.

__Getting Started__ The process of planning for differentiated instruction, in this case Writer's Workshop, is not a linear process but may begin with any of the three components that Tomlinson identified and then organizing the classroom layout to facilitate the flow of student activity.

__Classroom Set-Up: The Physical Layout of the Room__
 * Student Seating - whether with desks or tables, students seating should be arranged in groups to allow for collaboration and small group work when necessary. For certain activities, students may be arranged in homogenous ability groups or heterogenous ability groups depending upon the content focus. The physical arrangement of the room a long with transition procedures should make movement of students efficient.
 * easel
 * white board
 * smartboard if available
 * individual white board and/or clip boards
 * writing utensils
 * paper
 * skills and concept centers
 * interest centers
 * Charts with Guidelines- clear rules and expectations need to be established as a classroom community and posted for the students to reference visual and concise written cues should be included on the charts. Below is one examples of what may be included as part of those guidelines:
 * Classroom Rules - should be agreed upon and modeled by teacher and students
 * Rules for Independent Work - while working independently, the student needs to have a seperate set of rules so that they are not interrupting the teacher and/or teacher's assistant while they are working with students individually or in small groups. A signal needs to be established so that the students can get the assistance that they require to continue with their work. For example, each child has a stop light that indicates how they are working: green - all set working on own, yellow - using sound map or talking to study buddy for help, red - needs teacher assistance. The chart may include the following items.
 * Stay on task
 * Stay in your assigned seat
 * If you get stuck or are finished
 * re-read your story
 * refer to your sound map
 * ask your study buddy
 * move marker (arrow) to red if you need the teacher's help
 * Rules for Group Work -
 * Stay on task
 * Remain in your assigned area
 * Be respectful of others
 * Take turns - problem solving
 * Rules for Learning/Interest Centers -
 * Stay in your area
 * Share
 * Take turns
 * Leave your area the way you found it

__Considering Content__ When constructing an instructional unit, it is imperative to reference the Mass State Frameworks and Common Core Standards to ensure that appropriate grade level content is being covered. //[|MA ELA Frameworks]// Using the Planning Pyramid that was created by Schumm, Vaughn, and Leavell teachers can clearly state the concepts, skills, and knowledge for which students will achieve during the writing workshop on three different levels. The base level representing the core concepts of written/oral language and standard English language conventions that all students in the classroom should master. The upper two tiers representing additional skills related to the topic which allows students to gain a deeper level of understanding of the overall topic. The upper two levels is open for all ability level students to access. Some struggling students may flourish with a topic that engages them and easily navigate the higher level concepts, while some advanced students may not care for a subject and struggle to understand the base concepts. Careful planning on the part of the teacher is essential for instruction to be clear and accurate in order to communicate the important learning objective(s) as well as for the students to understand the expectations for their product. When planning, careful consideration needs to be given to the students readiness skills, background knowledge, and current level of achievement. This information can be attained through the use of various assessment tools such as an informal skills inventory and prior writing products.

__Process__ Each student is at a different level in regards to their written expression and use of standard English grammar conventions, therefore, the teacher needs to vary his/her instructional approach in order to assist the students in progressing to the next level of acheivement. This can be done through a whole group focus lesson and mini-lessons as needed, small group instruction for students who have similar needs and interests, individual conferencing with the teacher or instructional assistant, and peer group work. When planning for writer's workshop, there may be several groups set up around the classroom. The teacher should use flexible grouping in which the teacher may choose to meet with students of like abilities to work on one specific skill, or a heterogeneous group of students and assign study buddies to ensure student success. While in groups, the students are encouraged to use Think, Pair, Share to communicate ideas with one another. The teacher may choose to walk around and facilitate student learning, or the teacher can call individual students to work on specific writing skills. To help each student focus on skills they need to improve upon, during pre-writing conferences the teacher and student will create work plan that empahsizes specific skills that they agree on. These should be skills that the student has struggled with previously that need continued practice in order to acheive mastery. The teacher may also refer to the skills scaffolding assessment key at the top of the student papers in order for the teacher to track the students independent writing level and for the teacher to assist the students to move to the next level in the writing process. Skills Scaffolding Assessment Key: P= Picture M= Message L= Lines IS= Initial Sound ES= Ending sound MS= Medial Sound AP= Alphabetic Principle WP= Word Pattern

__Product__ Based on the students current level of achievement, they will be given tiered activities utilizing writing papers geared toward their level. The teacher will conference with the student to facilitate revisions and finally complete a rubric for the students achievement in each unit of writing. Students will also be given a rubric for which they can self-assess. Some students will go through and complete a published version of their writing while others will stop at the draft with revisions. It is up to them. When writing is completed to the students satisfaction, the students will be encouraged to sit in the author's chair and share their stories with their classmates and older school buddies in order to promote pride in their workmanship.

__Conclusion__ Although to the untrained eye, this writer's workshop may seem a bit chaotic and unproductive, the students are engaged in substantive learning activities which require a great deal of self regulation on the part of the student as well as careful planning on the part of the teacher. This atmosphere provides a safe environment with which students can push themselves to do better and learn more without the risk of failure and which also embraces the differences of each individual child.

__References__ Bodrova, E & Leong, D.J., (1995). //Scaffolding the writing process. The Vygotskian approach.// Colorado Reading Council Journal 6, pages 27-29. Eddinger, K., Mulroy, H. //Differentiation and Literacy//. Institute on Inclusive Education, Nazareth College of Rochester. June 25-26, 2003.

Hall, Tracey. //Differentiated Instruction: Effective Classroom Practices Report//. National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. June 2002. pages 2-9.

Leavell, A., Schumm, J., Vaughn, S. (1994) //Planning Pyramid: A Framework for Planning for Diverse Students Needs During Content Area Instruction//. The Reading Teacher, volume 47, # 8. pages 608-615.

McCloskey, Mary Lou. //Strategies to Differentiate Instruction in Writing and Reading//. IGA National Teacher's Conference. November 2005.

Noble, Toni. (2004) //Integrating the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy with Multiple Intelligences: A Planning Tool for Curriculum Differentiation//. Teacher's College Record, volume 106, number 1. pages 193-211.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. __How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-AbilityClassrooms__. Alexandria, VA. 2001.