Blog #5:

After looking over the many strategies and ideas for differentiating, I found so many that would be very engaging for students giving them many opportunities for variations in completing activities. The one that I am going to use is the "Tic-Tac-Toe" menu. I particularly liked this activity because it gives the student so many options to chose from as well as back-up alternative options. I also like how there can be student participation on deciding what activities can be placed in the tic-tac-toe menu.

Because this is a lesson on the student's hero, students would be choosing who they want to write about. Having students at different levels of reading, I would guide them toward the appropriate level of book for this assignment based on their reading level. The resources that I would have for choosing material on their hero would be the classroom library, the school library and I would also let them use appropriate internet material to find information on their hero.


Using this strategy to structure a lesson on hero's, I would fill in some (but not all) of the spaces on the game with activities that the students may choose from. A list of the activities that I
would use are:

1. write a newpaper article on your hero
2. dress up as your hero and give an oral report telling why you have chosen this hero
3. make a collage of various pictures and sayings that tell about your hero
4. make a timeline of your hero's life
5. make a diorama of a very important event that took place in your hero's life
6. write a book report from a book that is about your hero
7. write a poem about your hero

After filling in seven spaces on the tic-tac-toe menu, I would leave two spaces empty for student suggestions. I would take suggestions from the students and write them on the board. If there are more than two I would have the students vote on the two that are their favorite. I would also allow students to independently approach me for ideas of their own that I may approve. Students would then choose 3 activities on their tic-tac-toe menu that appeal to them.

I feel that this would be a great way to differentiate for students. It gives them the ability to choose from a variety of activities as well as using community input for activities to be added to the list. It also offers students the opportunity to come up with their own suggestions to be approved by the teacher giving students who may be reluctant to suggest activities to the class or if they have ideas that they may want to try. The activities offered give students the opportunties to be creative in a variety of ways, keeping them engaged and having them all accomplish the same task using different strategies that are appealing to the individual student.