Before you can change the content of a lesson, you first have to know what your students already know - or don't know. None of us enjoy having our time wasted, and that includes kids! Instead of forcing students to regurgitate content they may have mastered years ago, a quick formative assessment can help you to place kids in the lessons that are right for them. Once you have a better of idea of what your students are ready for, then you can effectively group them to maximize their learning.

7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessments

Differentiation: It Starts with Pre-Assessment

From GT expert Ian Byrd: "You might wonder, 'But if I have to teach my 5th grade standards, how can I possible differentiate the content?' This is where the prompts of Depth & Complexity come in. They help us to go deeper into more specific bits of your content. Students still work with the same content, but you take those who are ready much further.

For example, rather than thinking about just Paul Revere, students could ponder 'The rules Paul Revere followed' or 'Paul Revere's ethical decisions.'

For more ideas, check out his article on differentiating objectives.

From GT expert Ian Byrd: "You might wonder, 'But if I have to teach my 5th grade standards, how can I possible differentiate the content?' This is where the prompts of Depth & Complexity come in. They help us to go deeper into more specific bits of your content. Students still work with the same content, but you take those who are ready much further.

For example, rather than thinking about just Paul Revere, students could ponder 'The rules Paul Revere followed' or 'Paul Revere's ethical decisions.'

For more ideas, check out his article on differentiating objectives.