Montgomery Township aims to differentiate for the needs and skills of all learners in the classroom. Classrooms carry a variety of leveled books for all readers and similar readers will be grouped together for instructional time. At math time we will also break into small groups so that children who need more support will have more time with the teacher or practicing certain skills, while advanced children will practice the concepts by applying them to other situations, explaining their thinking, and increasing their independence.
There are no activities that are available to certain students that other students cannot have if they are ready. If your child shows skills to handle higher levels of work, they will be offered the same opportunities. Similarly, if your child is unable to understand the enrichment activities in one area independently, he/she will be offered more appropriate ones.
Students have been assessed in reading and math and placed in an appropriate learning environment. Every classroom in OHES has a variety of learners.
In the beginning of the year, we take some time to assess and learn routines. The many challenges that you might have seen at the end of first grade take time to introduce. It takes time to get to know your children’s skills and make sure they can work independently within our routine. As the year goes on, the more challenges I will begin to offer them.
There are basic skills that all second graders need to be able to do that I need the whole class to learn, whether or not your child already knows this. An academically advanced child, seeing the same thing, should be able to see it in a new way by connecting it to information already known or another discipline and process the information at a deeper level. Teachers do not give extra math homework. If you want your child to do more homework or higher levels of homework, there are age-appropriate workbooks for purchase or you make up similar or extension problems. I would also be happy to recommend higher-level math or thinking games for your family to play together. Optional monthly Challenges will be sent home starting in October.
We have begun our Gifted and Talented program, called Voyagers in 2022. It is led currently by each school's librarian. Participation was determined by reading, writing and math scores, as well as MAP scores and COGAT. Groups meet once a cycle for 40 minutes.
Here are some examples of how we differentiate in our classroom:
In Math:
Math games are often differentiated by increasing the size of numbers (like 3 digit instead of 2), increasing the number of steps to the game (First add the money, then compare), combining skills (roll for tens and ones, then show greater than/less than), adding a challenging level to the problem from a higher grade level (identify the shaded fractions and add them together/reduce it even more). If the game involves counting money, I might ask “How much change for a dollar?” or “double that/triple that”. These are times when advanced mathematicians would be working together.
There is a LOT of oral differentiation. When 200 mealworms arrived for science, I asked the students how many each student could have. This problem is posed to all because everyone has the same opportunity. An enrichment student would attack that problem and solve it. Eager students would try it, but perhaps not successfully. Some mathematicians are beginning to be exposed to this dialogue of math language. This is also an opportunity for advanced students to explain their different ways of thinking and teach the concepts to each other. Unfortunately there are a lot of oral problem solving skills like these that you are not able to see coming home. Our games and orals problems have no paperwork component.
Every day we do Daily Math. While most students would be working on the second grade level, students who show initiative and skill are working on the third grade level problems. Enrichment students show their clear, organized thinking on our Read it, Draw it, Solve it problems that require analyzing word problems and using strategies to solve, show and explain.
We are working toward mastering our addition and subtraction facts (30 facts in 2 minutes). We will have fact practice sheets periodically. When your child shows mastery of these facts as per our goal, different activities will be provided during some of our fact practice time. Any student struggling with facts will be offered special games to take home for practice.
I will offer more complicated logic games to children who demonstrate advanced thinking or initiative. For example, at math game day in November one group played SET with me (which Mr. Piccirillo and I like to play at home). This game requires careful visual analysis of four attributes – color, shape, number, and shading to make matches. It is harder than you might expect, but most children who are ready for challenges enjoy taking them. I have told the children that I am more than glad to loan them any of these math games that personally belong to me for them to use with their families over the weekend, as long as they promise to be responsible for them.
Mathmania, a magazine from Highlights for older children, Sudoku and other problem-solving number activities will be used for children who are ready for challenges.
We have several math sites that offer interesting challenges for advanced mathematicians to work on the computers together.
Math picture books that include problem-solving are great for advanced thinkers to start making cross-curricular connections.
In Language Arts:
Our classroom library has an extensive selection of high-level books for independent reading, which I will help to guide your children toward. I keep many of my enrichment books at home for my personal collection, but they are available upon request of students or when I notice they are ready for certain kinds.
Our guided reading groups will be reading books at the children’s levels, having more in-depth discussions and working on small group projects that demonstrate a higher understanding of the texts.
Our differentiated spelling program offers words based on the students’ current spelling needs (as per a standard assessment). Groups are flexible and allow for moves if children need more practice or make large strides. Groups are reassessed periodically to see if changes are needed.
Students are always encouraged to use the model texts we read as ideas for improving their own writing. Enrichment students should be skilled writers who are trying out a variety of story structures and styles. Their writing should have more details and advanced vocabulary. They will be exposed to many literary devices that should start to show up in their written pieces and encouraged during individual conferences to add more advanced elements to their writing. They might be offered the 3rd grade rubric for writing and encouraged to try to meet those higher standards in their pieces.
During our read aloud stories, I pose a variety of open-ended questions. The more challenging questions about the book, characters, meaning, vocabulary that are meant to engage advanced thinkers and introduce the rest of the class to deeper thoughts and concepts.
If you know of other age-appropriate challenges that your child responds well to, I would be happy to listen. I am always eager to find new ways to meet the needs of all learners in our classroom.