E. H. Sutherland Elementary School

10015 S. Leavitt Avenue
Chicago, IL 60643

773-535-2580
773-535-2621 fax

Catherine Gannon
Principal

Maureen Elwood
Assistant Principal

Ms. Annie Malone, Counselor/Case Mgr

Ms. Jeanmarie Ford, School Clerk

Click here for the 2008/09 Sutherland Parent Handbook in pdf format.

Click here for
Matrix of School Wide Expectations.

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Visitors since
9/1/04

Differentiated Instruction Information

How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms - Chapter 1
How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms - Chapter 2
Skills related to High Quality Literacy Instruction
FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions

How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms - Chapter 1

Carol Ann Tomlinson

What Differentiated Instruction IS and IS NOT

Differentiated Instruction IS . . .

• Proactive-Teacher proactively plans a variety of ways based on needs, levels and interests of students.
• Qualitative not Quantitative- In the quality not the work load not more work for some less for others
• Rooted In Assessment- assessment takes place routinely before, during and after lesson for the purposes of planning and tailoring for students.
• Multiple Approaches to content, process and product
• Student  Centered – experiences are engaging, relevant and interesting. Later understandings are built on previous understandings and not all students have the sam level of understanding. (Background Knowledge)
• Blend  of whole class, group, and individual instruction
• Organic –continually make adjustments

Differentiated Instruction IS NOT . . .

• Individualized Instruction
• Chaotic- Effective differentiated classrooms include purposeful student movement and some purposeful student talking.
• Just another way to provide Homogeneous grouping- No buzzards and cardinals-flexible grouping and evidence of student progression and strengths should be noted.- different groupings should be evident.
• Not-tailoring the same suit of clothes- In sum, trying to stretch a garment that is far too small or attempting to gather a garment that is far too large is less effective than getting clothes that are just the right fit. If the basic assignment is too easy than more complex questions are not an adequate challenge. If the basic assignment is too hard than not providing the necessary background information just leaves that child further behind.

Summary:
In a differentiated classroom, the teacher proactively plans and carries out varied approaches to content, process, and product in anticipation of and response to student readiness, interest, and learning needs.

Source: Tomlinson, Carol, (2001), How to Differentiate in Mixed Ability Classrooms 2nd edition, Alexandria, VA: ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development).

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