Teacher Resources

CRISS Strategies & Templates (York)

Strategies for Teaching Non-Fiction (York)

The links provided above contain graphic organizers and instructional strategies that can be used in any subject area, not just an ELA classroom.

Tiered Assignment Resources:

Catherine C. Stanford & Kathryn Brown

Online Resources:

Tiered Activities: One way to differentiate process for heterogeneous classrooms is to design tiered lessons. When teachers tier a lesson, they design instructional tasks that are challenging for students at different levels of readiness: low, middle, and high levels. Although the students should master the same content or core skills, the means by which they do so vary. The activities assigned to the low, middle, and high groups often differ in complexity, depth of information, or level of abstraction.
Please click the links below to see more examples of tiered activities.

https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/di/cresource/q2/p06/di_06_link_tiered_activities/ :

http://www.teachhub.com/differentiated-instruction-strategies-using-tiered-assignments

Classroom Examples:

Research Assignment: Body Positivity Unit
- ReadWorks:
- Writing: - use handout on nonfiction readings or copy & paste two different pictures- explain where/what/why about the picture and then share your opinion about it
- Nearpod:
  - Sonnet 130-Shakespeare

Tiered Assignments from Above Resources

For Inclusion/Regular Classes:

Teacher led reading of “The Gift of the Magi,: then student led questions and discussions on ReadWorks on the piece
Articles divided and distributed to groupings (made by teacher- homogeneous by pretest on standards) of students- assignment given by teacher for students to complete as a group
Student choose novel for independent study and are given due dates for specific chapters and assignments

For Honors/AIG Classes:

Instead of articles, students are given a country to focus research on in relation to beauty standards for both male and female- students will present findings to class, using a common Google presentation
ReadWorks assignments given with due dates
Students develop questions while reading independent novels for other classes to use in their discussions

Low Prep websites to help teachers select texts for the Classroom

Websites for Reading Comprehension

CommonLit

CommonLit allows you to choose a reading based on: language (English or Spanish), genre, book, grade level, literary device, text set, and theme. There is also an option to choose which standard you'd like to practice.

Assessment: assessments are made of multiple choice and short answer questions that students may answer after or during the reading; there are also discussion questions with each text

Actively Learn

Actively Learn allows you to choose a reading based on: type, genres, and themes. Once you've selected which type of reading you want, you can choose which reading level and standards you want in the text.

Assessment: assessments are made of multiple choice and short answer questions that are placed in the reading so students can complete while they read

ReadWorks

ReadWorks allows you to pick a reading based on text type, topics, lexile, and grade. It also lets you focus your readings by question sets, vocab activities, eBooks, StepReads (differentiation), and Human-voice Audio. This site also has collections for ELL students.

Assessment: assessments are made up of 7 multiple choice questions and 3 sort answer questions; these also allow for vocab assessments as well

ReadTheory

ReadTheory is different from the previous three websites because the program assigns texts to your students based on their individual strengths ans weaknesses. The website will assign readings based on the level of difficulty each student needs, and it will continue to challenge them.

Assessment: assessments consist of short answer and multiple choice questions and they will vary from text to text

Low prep ways to integrate technology meaningfully in your classroom

Content Presentation

These sites will help you to move beyond the textbook and spice up content area learning. Use these for whole class lessons, or allow students to complete assignments in a self guided way. Beneath a very brief description of the website is a variety of ideas for classroom implementation.

Ed Puzzle

Create a video that you can use in your content area by uploading videos and inserting questions for comprehension checks.

Short Stories: Poetry:Informational Text:

Symbaloo

A compilation of digital resources for students. Put multiple websites and more all in one place for easy access.

Novel Study: Put together a collection of websites to have students complete a web-quest in a fluid and fun way. Or create learning pathways for student groups or novel themes. Short Stories: Dive deeper into story themes with various websites for research. Poetry: Create an author study with a collection of their poetry, discussion questions, and information about the specific author. Informational Text: Research the time period or topic of a specific text or compile propaganda and cultural items so better understand texts.

Sutori

Create an interactive timeline, explain a process or provide information about a topic.

Novel Study: Research background information about the time that a novel was setting and compare it to the time period it was written. Discuss the impact of setting on the novel. Short Stories: Include all key plot points in proper order with direct quotes and a visual note for each event. (Locations, time, characters involved, events/activities, etc.) Poetry: Divide a poem into Informational Text: After creating a timeline of a text, go back and

Student Assessment

Use the following sites in order to assess student mastery of content. Whether you are trying to instantly assess mastery to make real time changes to a lesson or creating a fun way to review material, these websites allow for teachers to let students show what they know.

Kahoot Jumble:

All answers are correct, but have to be placed in order within the time frame to get the answer correct. Use this website for plot events, sequencing, word choice and connotation, and more.

Plickers:

Collect real-time assessment data with no need for student devices. Simply print answer cards off and have students hold up the choice they want. Scan the room and review the data you collect instantly.

Goosechase:

Create class scavenger hunt. Use unit vocabulary ,stories, and strategies to send students around the school (or classroom) in search of clues until they find everything on the list.

Peardeck:

Google Slides add on that allows you to ask interactive questions and monitor student answers (students can respond by drawing, writing, a short answer, multiple choice, etc.). The possibilities are endless.

Strategies for Differentiation

What happens after assessment when you need to pull students into a small group or need meaningful work for students after a mini lesson? The following websites allow you to integrate easy to use and meaningful support for all students in your classroom.

Quizziz

Create a quiz to be used with students as a centers activity. Have students complete basic comprehension checks, vocabulary review, grammar practice for a writing station are a few ways for implementation.

ScreenCastify

Prerecord mini lessons for students to watch of old concepts, grammar/usage, introductions to new lessons, or even record lessons in action for students to view as needed.

QR Codes

Create a self checking activity that utilizes QR codes for students to use as they practice recently taught concepts. Students can work either individually or with a partner using task cards to review and practice material.

BuddyBook for English Teachers

This resource is to allow teachers to gather resources and have questions/comments answered. It also serves as a matching service for teachers who want to coach/be coached. Just think of this as your online teacher pen-pal!

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