Today I was reminded how important differentiation is! Yes, it is a regular practice in my classroom (guided math groups, workshop differentiation, etc), but today the purpose for it was so blatant. I was doing a small group preassessment for our next learning standard and come to find out that even though I am already differentiating for some students, they still need more instruction on the prequisite skills for the standard. I have to say that their preassessment actually caught me by surprise EVEN THOUGH I am already differentiating for them and have formative assessments in place. Why you ask? I am trying to figure that out myself. Do I have a new plan in place for them--a plan of attack, so to speak? ABSOLUTELY! But that preassessment was a little jolt, a wake up call if you will.
So, today my message is this...even though you "think" you know where your children are it is so important to keep assessing them AND adjust/change the differentiation in the classroom because their needs are changing EVERY DAY!
I am curious about how everyone else differentiates in their classroom. What do you do when a child is missing the prerequisite skills for a learning standard you need to teach?
