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How to Help Students at Different Levels Learn the Same Topic
Teaching one topic to a class with a wide spread of levels, without writing three lessons: one aim for nearly everyone, support that changes during the lesson, a lesson example with three kinds of support, and teaching terms in plain words.
Ten minutes into the lesson, one pupil has finished the page and another has not written a word. You are teaching ratio word problems to a Grade 6 class, and planning three lessons every day is not an option.
One aim, different support
Differentiation means adjusting your teaching for pupils at different levels. In this guide, the goal is for them all to learn the same thing. Differentiation does not have to mean three worksheets, easy, middle and hard. Those triple the planning, and they quietly decide, lesson after lesson, who sits at which table.
A lighter way is one learning aim for nearly everyone, with the support around it changing during the lesson. England's framework for new teachers warns against inventing separate tasks for different groups just for the sake of it.
One lesson, three kinds of support
The aim for everyone: share an amount in a given ratio. On the board: share 20 sweets between Ali and Ben in the ratio 2 : 3.
- Teach it once to the whole class. There are 2 + 3 = 5 parts, and 20 ÷ 5 = 4 sweets in each part. So Ali gets 8 and Ben gets 12.
- A worked example for a pupil who cannot start. Write out the same steps for 15 sweets in the ratio 1 : 2. Then give a near-identical problem with the first line done.
- A prompt for a pupil who has started but slipped: not the answer, just a question, such as "How many parts are there altogether?"
- An extension task (a harder problem on the same idea) for a pupil who got everything right. Try this: "Ben got 18 sweets when they were shared in the ratio 2 : 3. How many were there in total?"
Answer: Ali 8, Ben 12, and 30 sweets in the extension task. One aim and one example, with three kinds of support chosen during the lesson rather than printed in advance.
One pupil, one question at a time
1. Can the pupil start the first problem without help?
- Yes: go to question 2
- No: Show a worked first step on the board, then give them a problem with the first line already done. Come back in two minutes.
2. Are their first three answers right?
- Yes: go to question 3
- No: Stop them and ask one question about the step that went wrong, such as "What did you do with the total?" Let them fix it before they go on.
3. Have they finished early, with everything right?
- Yes: Give the same kind of problem one step harder, or ask them to write a problem for a partner. Avoid simply handing over more of the same.
- No: Leave them working. Check again in ten minutes, and look out for anyone who has quietly stopped.
Scaffolds that come off
A scaffold is any temporary support that helps a pupil do what they cannot yet do alone: a worked example, a part-done first problem, a word bank, a number line on the desk. The removing is the part that gets forgotten, so decide in advance when each one comes off. The worked example might stay on the board for the first five problems and then be rubbed out.
A task with a low floor and a high ceiling has an easy way in for every pupil and enough depth to stretch the quickest. One good task of that kind can carry a whole mixed class.
Groups that change
Fixed ability tables decide in advance who can do what. A group formed for a purpose and then broken up keeps everyone's options open. Five pupils who made the same mistake might work with you for ten minutes and then go back to their seats. Next lesson, the group is different.
Checking with exit tickets
An exit ticket is one question on a scrap of paper, answered at the end of the lesson and handed in at the door. Sorting the scraps into three piles takes two minutes, and it plans tomorrow's groups for you.
When one task is not enough
For some pupils, varied support around one aim is not enough. If a pupil cannot take part in the lesson even with support, talk to the colleague who coordinates learning support in your school, and with them, the family.
For tomorrow, plan one lesson this way: write the aim, one worked example, one prompt question and one extension task.
Questions readers ask
Does this take longer to plan?
Usually less than three worksheets. You plan one aim, one example, one prompt and one extension, and decide the rest from what you see in the lesson.
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