Differentiating Content, Delivery and Assessment

At the beginning of every school year there is a certain amount of time set aside for review and one of the concepts my students generally dislike reviewing are the four types of sentence structure.  Last year, there was a slideshow/lecture followed by worksheets; even I will admit, it was not my favorite lesson.  This is why, I believe that sentence structure might best be taught in steps. 

To begin, I would provide my students with a topic they would enjoy, like food.  By choosing a topic, and not allowing an entire classroom of 12 year olds to pick their own topic, I feel would be easier because there is no time spent on choosing their topic and any conversation should revolve around that topic.  For example, if the topic is food, there shouldn’t be side conversation about the makeup tutorial they watched before school.  The steps for teaching would be as follows:

Step One: Show students how to create a simple sentence and then ask them to write their own simple sentence based on the topic provided. 

Step Two: Using my example, make my simple sentence into a compound sentence. Since I’m modeling this for my students, I can show them that a compound sentence is basically two simple sentences combined with a conjunction.  It would also be the perfect time to play Conjunction Junction; even if students don’t like Schoolhouse Rock, I have noticed that the song sticks.  Students would then create a compound sentence out of their simple sentence.

Step Three: Using the same topic, I would model how to create a complex sentence.  I would then ask students to create their own complex sentence.

Step Four: Following the same format, I would model how to create a compound-complex sentence by using my compound and complex sentences to create a compound-complex sentence.  At this point, I might incorporate a Shmoop video for a little fun and further explanation on compound-complex sentences, as well as a brief review of simple and compound sentences.  After, students would create their own compound-complex sentences from their compound sentence.

After all of these steps have been completed students would then use what they have learned to create examples of each type of sentence without me modeling the process; this is where differentiation can be used. 

Advanced Learners: Rather than just having my students write sentences, they can be tasked with writing a paragraph that incorporates each type of sentence.  It may be easy enough to write the sentences, but what happens when you need to incorporate all four types of sentences into one paragraph that flows?  This will also require use of transition words to ensure that sentences aren’t choppy.

Intermediate Learners: Students will create at least one example of each type of sentence, but they cannot “re-use” their simple sentence; each sentence must be based off of a new topic or subject, but they can refer to notes.  While it is helpful to build upon the simple sentence, it is imperative that they learn how to create various types of sentences without using this method.

Beginner Students: Students will create at least one example of each type of sentence using the method outlined in the lesson.  In addition, students can be given worksheets that can assist in planning (i.e. contain images that they can write about, fill-in the blanks, etc.), in order to create their own sentences. 

While content and delivery may not require differentiation for some students since modeling will be used throughout the entire lesson, other student may still need assistance similar to what the beginner students require in the assessment portion. This can be done by giving visuals that the students can refer to when completing the sentences (i.e. a type of food, a person eating food, etc.), to act as a prompt.

I know that reflecting back on the types of sentences, it seems like an easy concept, but it is one I saw my students struggle with last year and, while this isn’t a complex or complicated lesson, I believe that it could help any learner, despite their learning level.

Project Based Learning

Last year my students read Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, both of which are dystopian tales.  My students were asked to briefly describe their own utopian society, but this activity was very brief and, since they were working on their own, it was easy; they did not have to worry whether their views of the perfect society would differ with those of their peers.  This year, I would like to revisit that activity, but I would like to change it so that it becomes a PBL activity.

THE LESSON

Title: Creating a Utopian Society

Objective: Students will work together to create a utopian society.  By the end of the lesson, students will be able to understand and explain why utopian societies fail.

CCSS Standards: SL.8.1.a-d

Materials:       Creating a Utopian Society Planner   
                       Chromebooks

Part 1 - Introduction: 

1. As a class, we will briefly review the societies introduced in “Harrison Bergeron” and Fahrenheit 451.
2. Students will answer the following writing prompt: “What would your perfect society look like?”

Part 2 - Creating a Utopian Society:

1. Students will be divided into groups of 4.  As a group they will discuss what their ideal, or perfect, world would be like.
2. Each group member will be given an assigned role in order to create the perfect utopian society: Political Leader, Urban Developer, Marketing Director, and Recreation Director. 
3. Each student will be responsible for completing at least one task from the Utopian Society Planner within their assigned role in order to create a utopian society, but they must also work with each other to ensure cohesion.
4. The groups will create a multimedia presentation describing the Utopian society that they have created and addressing the topics addresses in the Utopian Society Planner.
5. Groups will present/explain the societies they have created to their classmates and justify the rationale used behind their choices in creating their society.

Part 3 – Conclusion:

1. All students will take part in a class discussion that revisits the reasoning behind utopian societies and whether or not utopian societies are possible.

Differentiation and Student Accountability

Differentiation is achievable within this lesson in numerous ways.  First, as the teacher, I could use cooperative grouping to pick and choose which students work together.  Additionally, I could also choose to assign the roles, rather than letting students pick what they want to do within the group.  In addition to this, rather than telling students what task they have to complete under their assigned role, they have the ability to choose a task; some tasks appeal to different types of learning (i.e. create a map of where your perfect society would be located, create a diary entry of how a typical day would be spent within your utopian society).  Because of the assigned roles and the need for students to defend/justify the rationale behind their decisions, each member has a sense of responsibility, especially in regards to their presentation.  Although this assignment seems simple and it appears that a group of four students should be able to create a perfect society, each individual role has differing tasks, goals, and questions posed.  For example, the Recreation Director may want to build an amusement park, but they can’t do that without the approval of the Urban Developer, who in turn must go to the Political Leader, who is in charge of the money.  It seems simple, but then the question is posed: How do you obtain money to build these projects?  Suddenly a perfect society of fun, freedom, and no taxes seems less plausible.

Rubrics!

I love using rubrics.  Rubrics are fantastic for many reasons, but these are my top three:

1) Rubrics assist in grading by simplifying process. 

2) When shared with students at the time the assignment is given, rubrics provide students with a clear picture of what is expected.

3) Rubrics are also a great resource for student “grading”.

This year, I have over 200 students, and I’m not ashamed to say I need all the help I can get when it comes to grading, which is why I like to use rubrics.  If expectations are clearly stated within the rubric, it makes grading much easier because either one simply needs to reference the expectations for each point value given.  Additionally, if students have access to these rubrics ahead of time, they know exactly what is expected if they are to receive the maximum amount of points.  Similarly, they will also see the points that they will receive if they do not meet certain expectations.  Although my students don’t complete many student graded rubric assignments, I have found that they are helpful.  For example last year, my students created skits for one of the short stories they had read.  On that rubric I included items like voice projection, use of props, etc.  Although I had final say on the grade, my students did like getting feedback from their friends in addition to my feedback.

Here is an example of a rubric that I have created:

When creating this rubric, I specifically thought of several short stories that my students read last year.  I enjoy allowing my students to choose projects and, while I understand many don’t like to present the finished product in class, I still heavily encourage them to do so in order to develop their public speaking skills.  In most of my classes I have found that, once they have seen their friends present or share, many students are more open to sharing.  However, this can mean that, even though the projects are different, students are still seeing numerous projects that all summarize the same story over and over.  For this reason, I created a rubric that can be used with any story, but several of the activities focus on different elements of the story.  This way, through their presentations, students are not just presenting, but they are also teaching different elements of the same story.