DI, Chapters 8-10

I may have said this before, but I am going to say it again. When I read textbooks that give suggestions for teaching--whether they are for curriculum, assessment, or management--I am constantly trying to determine possible variations of those suggestions that I can use in my kindergarten placement. As I was reading chapters eight and nine, I was stumped--and still am to an extent--as to how I could possibly differentiate according to readiness and interest. I am having difficulty seeing how I can help my students move at different speeds, with different independence levels, and especially with different topics of study when my students are only beginning to read. I cannot simply "turn them loose" with a project/assignment that requires the students to read independently. I am having difficulty thinking of a way to differentiate by readiness and by interest.

However, when I got to chapter ten, my brain began to shout, "Hey, I CAN do this." I know I can teach the same material in a different way each day to help my students learn the material. I can provide different activities for students to complete that best suits her/his learning style. For example, I might teach about the growth of a plant by reading a story on Monday, by having the students look at and discuss a diagram of plant life cycles on Tuesday, draw a picture of plant life cycles on Wednesday, act out the growth of a plant on Thursday, and sing about plant growth on Friday. On the other hand, I may have a group of students that I know is musically inclined work together to write a song while a group of students who prefers to learn kinesthetically makes up a skit on the same topic.

I will have to continue thinking about and planning ways to differentiate by readiness and interest, but I know I can start with differentiation by learning profile.