Do you remember the Blue Bird Reading Group when you were a 2nd grade student?
The Blue Birds were the students who needed the most support from the teacher.
Everyone knew who the Blue Birds were and that they weren’t working at the same level as their peers.
As a teacher, I never wanted my students to feel like they were like the Blue Birds.
Even if they DID need my support, it was important to me to maintain their integrity and provide them with age appropriate resources.
I wanted my students to feel like they had the POWER to LEARN and be SUCCESSFUL just like their peers.
_____________________________________________________________
So How Do We Maintain Integrity While Also Providing Differentiated Support?
We give students the SAME Activity.
Yes. You read that correctly.
We give them the SAME Activity but we USE it in different ways.
_____________________________________________________________
For Example...
For Valentine’s Day, I’m giving my own children at home the SAME Math Craft.
My 3 year old will be matching the heart numbers for 0-10. Simple Number Recognition.
My 5 year old will be matching the heart numbers for Sums within 20. Basic Addition that will challenge him as he works more with teen numbers.
My 6 year old will be matching the heart numbers for Differences within 20. He already has strong number sense and this will compliment the number bonds he is currently working with in his Kindergarten classroom.
The process is slightly different for each child, however, they will all have a cute Love Bug they can display on our family Bulletin Board when they are done.
You can find this Valentine Math Craft, including editable love bug templates, here or by clicking the picture below.
