Tiered and Anchor Activities Rebecca Mann rlmann@purdue.edu

Tiered Activities Tiered Instruction features: Whole group introduction and initial instruction Identification of developmental differences Increase or Decrease the: Abstraction Extent of Support Sophistication Complexity of goals, resources, activities & products

What constitutes a tiered activity? A focus on a key concept – parallel tasks Adjust to students’ achievement levels Adjust number of steps to the students’ productivity levels Students working with appropriately challenging tasks Result = Respectable work for everyone Students understand why they are all not doing the same thing.

Zone of Proximal Development The difference between what a child can do with help and what he or she can do without help (Vygotsky, 1979). Allowed to work in your ZPD, you will be in a state of moderate challenge.

ZPD Too Hard Moderate Challenge Too Easy Don’t know where to start Missing skills Can’t solve Makes no sense Moderate Challenge Know something Have to think Must persist Effort leads to success Too Easy Already knows Gets it quickly No effort needed Based on C. Tomlinson, 2004

The Equalizer Foundational Transformational Concrete Abstract Simple Complex Single Facet Multiple Facets Small Leap Great Leap More Structured More Open Less Independence Independence Slow Quick Information, Ideas, Materials, Applications Representations, Ideas, Applications, Materials Resources, Research, Issues, Problems, Skills, Goals Directions, Problems, Application, Solutions, Approaches, Disciplinary Connections Application, Insight, Transfer Solutions, Decisions, Approaches Planning, Designing, Monitoring Pace of Study, Pace of Thought

Essential Steps Know your students’ interests, learning styles, and ability levels Identify your learning objective Determine how you will get students to that goal

Ensure the Mastery of Basic Skills: Mastery Not Mastery Recognition of situation requiring repeated addition, uses multiplication to shorten solution process Uses variety of basketball passes depending on best strategy for the moment Explain role of any word in sentence & explain how role changes based on placement Can automatically recite multiplication facts Primarily uses the bounce pass in basketball regardless of its potential effectiveness Can match parts of speech to its definition Wormeli, 2006

Preassessment Options Textbook Pretest Student/Teacher Conference - as short as a 5 minute talk K-N-W Chart - What do I Know, Need to know & Want to know Journal - Write what you know about... List - If I say ... What does it make you think of? Product - Draw a bar graph... Use the graphing calculator to plot... Concept Map... Five Hardest

Essential Steps Know your students’ interests, learning styles, and ability levels Identify your learning objective Determine how you will get students to that goal

The Planets Average students: Write a sentence, giving an important fact, about Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto as you pass on your way. Above average students: Research the planets that you will pass and fill out the Solar System Comparison Graphic Organizer. High End Learners: Research the planets that you will pass and create a visual product that shows the earth in relation to the other planets.

Beginning Probability Task 1: It’s early Monday morning and your mother has laid out the following clothing items for you to choose from: a red shirt, a blue shirt, a white shirt, blue jeans, and khaki pants. How many different outfits can you make with the clothes your mother has provided? Task 2: You are making cupcakes for a class celebration. Your classmates have indicated that they would like a choice of different cupcakes. You have: chocolate and yellow cake batter; strawberry, white, and caramel icing; and green and blue sprinkles. How many different types of cupcakes can you offer your classmates? Task 3: You are trying to determine your schedule for next year at Leonard Middle School. First period, you can take art, chorus, or band. Second period, you can take technology or creative writing or be an office assistant. Third period, you can take a foreign language: German, Spanish, French, or Latin. Figure out how many different schedules are possible based on these options.

More work or No work for you? How could you change the probability lesson for the high end students so that you will have as little prep as possible?

Tiered Activity: Biographies Level Prompt Tier 1: These students benefit from structure and direct instruction. Write a biography of your famous person. Use the timeline you created to help you organize your ideas. Remember to answer the following questions as you write. When and where was your famous person born? Where did your person live while growing up? What was his or her childhood like? What did he or she do when he or she became an adult? Why is your person famous? Tier 2: These students can organize ideas without too much prompting. Write a biography of your famous person. Use your timeline to help you organize your ideas. Remember to emphasize why your person is famous. Tier 3: These students thrive on high levels of challenge. Tell the reader about your famous person’s life through a series of letters written over his or her lifespan from that person to a friend.

Natural Resources Prompt 1: Every day our custodians throw out a tremendous amount of trash. What can we do at our school to reduce the amount of trash we throw out each day? Come up with a plan that you can present to the principal that explains your solution to our trash problem. Prompt 2: Every day our custodians throw out a tremendous amount of trash. What can we do at our school to reduce the amount of trash we throw out each day? Think about these different types of trash: Paper Food Plastic Cans and other metals Come up with a plan that you can present to the principal that explains your solution to our trash problem. Prompt 3: Our school custodians have a problem. Each day they throw out a large amount of paper. They would like to save as many trees as possible and would like to come up with a plan to recycle the paper used in the classrooms. Your job is to come up with a plan for the custodians. Step 1: With a partner, talk to the custodians to find out what they do with the paper now. Ask them if they have any ideas about how to solve the problem. Step 2: With your group, brainstorm ideas for solving the paper problem. Step 3: Use the PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) strategy to sort your ideas Step 4: Write up 2 different plans using your “Plus” ideas.

Vacation Time! Calculate approximate cost of gas Prompt One Given the cost of gas and mpg of car Prompt Two Given mpg of car Prompt Three Asked to approximate cost and justify answer Family plans to average 50 miles per hour and travel 6 hours per day stopping twice to eat for an hour each time. How long will it take to get to their destination? How many nights? Cost of hotel is about $80 per night – calculate hotel cost for trip to destination. How long will it take? How many nights will they need to spend in hotels? Calculate hotel cost for trip to destination. How long? How many nights? Find hotels that include breakfast. Calculate hotel costs for each stay. Vacation Time!

Differentiation Quiz… Should every student do it? Would every student want to do it? Could every student do it?

Teachers who differentiate find… Greater understanding of the concepts All students experience challenge Ability to apply concepts/skills to new situations and daily life Students are excited Students have ownership Students are more independent learners Students have more metacognitive skills Students have greater mastery of content Students have problem solving skills Students are able to initiate their own projects.

Now, all you round pegs get back into your square holes!” “Summer’s over kids! Now, all you round pegs get back into your square holes!” NCLB