Component 1: Differentiation Plan Overview

Student Name: Michaela Wolf

Lesson(
s)

(Before
unit
starts)

Unit Topic: Short Stories by authors of color

Content/Activities/
Assignments

Differentiation Approach(es)

Interest Inventory

Administered at the very beginning

of the year to determine students
interests and learning preferences.
This inventory is not specifically
related to the unit content, but will
be referred to throughout the year.

On what
basis/bases?

(readiness, learning
profile, interest)

Interest, learning
profile

Who benefits?

(Identify specific students or groups of

students)

All students

All students, but especially:

Gary, who is often absent
from school because of
home issues

(Before
unit
starts)

Pre-assessment

Administered before the unit begins

to diagnose students interaction
with and interest in short stories,
voice, writers of color, and close
reading.

Interest,
readiness

Bethany, because she is

argumentative; it would be
good to assess her interest
level and familiarity with
the subject
Moriah, who is popular
among her peers, but often
absent. It would be nice to
see how she relates to this
material so I can get a
handle on whether she will
feel incentivized by it to
come to class

Understanding voice
through the concept
attainment lesson on
the first day.
3

Students will be split into tiered

groups based on readiness and,
with examples and non-examples
catered toward their readiness,
they will attain the concept of voice
and present their findings to the
rest of the class.

Readiness,
(vaguely learning
profile)

Bethany and Moriah, who

need reading support
Charlie, who needs support
with critical thinking
Nicole, whose confidence is
lacking, despite her
capabilities to excel
Juan, who will need reading
and language support
All students, but especially:

Reading about and

reflecting on the
concept of voice and
how it is used or
interpreted. This is
administered via a
homework assignment
given on the first day of
the unit. (This is one
example of many
options of differentiated
homework
assignments.)

Students will have the choice to

listen to a podcast, watch a video,
or read a creative piece about voice
and how artists use it. Students will
write a reflective response based on
prompts.

Interacting with texts

and materials that
describe and
demonstrate the
relationship between
culture and voice, as
well as style and voice.
This will take on the
form of learning
stations

Students will visit three of four

learning stations, the first of which
they are assigned to and the
second and third of which they get
to choose. The learning stations
(sorts, modules, videos, text
analysis) encourage students to
analyze voice, and they will
challenge students to respond to
the materials in different ways.

Julia, who likes to be

creative and do work that is
open-ended
Interest, learning
profiles

Charlie, who struggles with

open-ended assignments
like this one, but with the
structure of the prompts
should be prepared to
complete the assignment
Juan, who could choose the
auditory or visual option
and reflect on it
All students, but especially:

Interest, learning
profiles, readiness

Elijah, who has the freedom

to explore in a rich and
diverse academic
environment

Engaging in analytical
discussion about the
role of art in activism.
This will take place
during small group and
whole-class discussion
on the seventh day of
discussion. (This
discussion format could
be applied to every
such discussion
throughout the unit.)

Demonstrating
summative
understanding of main
unit concepts and skills
(performance
assessment).
Writing creative
responses to prompts
that invite students to
dabble in developing
their (or a characters)
voice.

Students watch the same video of

an activist speaking through spoken
word, and then they split into
assigned homogeneous groups to
discuss questions written for their
group. After, the students share
back as a class. The idea is that the
students have a base group for
discussion (tiered groups), and
though most questions are geared
toward comprehension and
interpretation, each group has a
question targeted toward the
groups strengths that, when they
answer it to the class, will clearly
contribute to the lesson and
discussion.

Students will choose to work alone

or in small groups on an analysis
paper, podcast, or blog, and oral
presentation or poster.
Anchor Activities: if some students
finish work in class early, they have
the option to practice developing
their own written voice (in their
native language) by responding to
creative or academic prompts about
voice.

Gary, who would benefit

from a base discussion
group (in order to cultivate
meaningful relationships)

Readiness

Elijah, who, in an assigned

group, could exercise his
natural intelligence and
engage with material
without having to worry
about his friends might
think
Nicole, who, through having
her strengths highlighted,
will feel more confident in
herself and her ability to
succeed academically
Charlie, who can be
supported by peers who
also struggle with critical
thinking

Learning profile,
interest
Readiness

All students

All students who finish

early, but probably:
Julia, who flourishes when
she can be creative
Juan, who is likely to enjoy
the writing opportunity
Bethany, who might like the

opportunity to explore her

own (charged) voice