Last week Thursday made me realize that differentiating instruction based on entire classes is just as important as differentiating instruction based on individual students. I had my students use a graphic organizer to organize information on the human geography of Europe and encouraged them not only to use bullet points but also to draw or create symbols to help them remember the information they read. Each student had their own graphic organizer to complete and then they were tasked to fill in poster-sized graphic organizers that I prepared for them and posted on the walls of the classroom. My fifth block loved this activity! They were really enthusiastic about gathering the information and were really creative when creating symbols to represent the information they gathered. My sixth block was not so enthused. I've realized that they perform really well with traditional, structured lecture and note-taking but do not do so well when the activity has more freedom and requires creativity. My seventh block was a mix of students who really liked the activity and students who just wanted to finish the block so they could go home.
I've learned that I have to be more creative when planning activities for my students and that sometimes, I have to plan different activities for each of my classes based on what keeps them engaged and the style of learning they are most comfortable with.
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