Tiered Lessons: Tiered Lessons: A TutorialA TutorialLos Angeles Unified School DistrictLos Angeles Unified School District

Student Integration ServicesStudent Integration ServicesGifted/Talented ProgramsGifted/Talented Programs

“Tiered instruction is like a wedding cake; all one flavor; same color

icing but multilayered”

Carol Ann Tomlinson

Defining Tiered LessonsDefining Tiered Lessons

• Tiered lessons are another differentiation strategy.

• Tiered lessons address one standard, concept, or generalization.

• Tiered lessons allow students access to more than one pathway toward the information.

PrePre--Assessment: A Critical Assessment: A Critical First StepFirst Step

• Do you know your students’levels? interests? learning styles?

• Open ended pre-assessments shed light on student knowledge.

• These are not graded; rather, they are a tool teachers can use to determine tiered groupings.

Grouping StudentsGrouping Students• Students may be grouped by:

• Readiness;• Interest; or• Learning Style.

• Typically, three tiers (below grade level, at grade level, above grade level) is sufficient to meet the needs of students; occasionally, additional or fewer tiers will be needed.

• The number of students in a group may vary: Tier I may be made up of two groups of four, Tier II may be made up three groups of three, and Tier III may be made up of one group of three.

Differentiating the ContentDifferentiating the ContentLet’s use this standard!

Third Grade, Number Sense 2.7: Determine the unit cost when given the total cost and number of units.

• Differentiating by readiness:– Tier I might need to review multiplication facts, and

division by a one digit number before attempting standards based problems with whole numbers.

– Tier II might need a brief review of division with decimals before completing standard related tasks using whole numbers and then moving into more complex problems involving decimals.

– Tier III might move beyond the basic standard by working problems with a combination of unit costs and items, whole numbers and decimals, and attempting double digit division.

Differentiating the ContentDifferentiating the ContentLet’s use this standard!

Sixth Grade Social Studies 6.2 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the

early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush.• Differentiating by interest:

– Tier I will explore these concepts as they relate to mummification.

– Tier II will explore these topics as they relate to religion.– Tier III will explore these concepts as they relate to the

government.– Tier IV will explore these concepts as they relate to the

clothing, jewelry, and make-up traditions.

Differentiating the ContentDifferentiating the ContentLet’s use this standard!

Third Grade, Earth Sciences 4b Students know the way in which the Moon’s appearance changes during the four-week lunar cycle.

• Differentiating by learning style:• Tier I might be your bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial learners. A

hands-on experiment might suit the needs of these students best.

• Tier II might be your naturalistic and intrapersonal learners. Journaling, sketching, and charting the phases of the moon—as they observe them—might best help these students to understand the concepts.

• Tier III might be your logical-mathematical learners. They might enjoy looking at the lunar cycle in terms of days and weeks, hours and minutes, years and the leap year concept.

• Tier IV might be your verbal-linguistic learners. They may best learn the concept through reading and writing.

Differentiating the ProcessDifferentiating the ProcessLet’s use this standard!

Sixth Grade Social Studies 6.2 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social

structures of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush.

• Differentiating by readiness:– Tier I learners may be the most advanced in the class.

They may need access to resources and independent time to conduct research. Teacher facilitation in small groups will be necessary to encourage and direct these students.

– Tier II may be the students who are performing at grade level. They will need small group instruction as well as independent and/or pair time to conduct research and to pull together their findings.

– Tier III may be the struggling students. They will need small group instruction to guide their research and to formulate their ideas into a final project. These students may also need individual instruction from the teacher.

Differentiating the ProcessDifferentiating the ProcessLet’s use this standard!

Third Grade, Earth Sciences 4b Students know the way in which the Moon’s appearance changes during the four-

week lunar cycle.• Differentiating by interest:

– Tier I may consist of students who are interested in stories, particularly folktales. These students can read and compare stories from various cultures that explain the moon’s phases. They can then compare these stories to the scientific information and perhaps write a folktale of their own.

– Tier II may consist of students with a keen interest in science, particularly the solar system. These students may enjoy identifying, studying, and comparing the moons and lunar cycles of other planets with that of Earth.

Differentiating the ProcessDifferentiating the ProcessLet’s use this standard!

Third Grade, Number Sense 2.7: Determine the unit cost when given the total cost and number of units.

• Differentiating by learning style:– Tier I might be your bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, verbal-linguistic,

and/or visual-spatial learners. These students might be asked to create a “shop” by pricing classroom items and completing transactions, recording information as they go. Prices may include a combination of whole numbers and decimals, as student ability level will vary. Once completed, students may be asked to write standards based word problems based on the data they collected from their store.

– Tier II may be your intrapersonal, verbal-linguistic, and/or mathematical/logical learners. These students can be assigned a certain amount of money and, through the use of catalogs, they will workindividually to determine which clothing, games, books, etc. they might want to buy. Students should be encouraged to purchase multiple items at the same price point. After spending their “money,” students can use the data to create story problems for their classmates to solve.

Differentiating the ProductDifferentiating the ProductLet’s use this standard!

Third Grade, Earth Sciences 4b Students know the way in which the Moon’s appearance changes during the four-

week lunar cycle.• Differentiating by readiness:

– Tier I students may need the most guidance. These students can be given a teacher sample of the product, as well as thorough written directions. Teacher facilitation will be necessary to assist these students.

– Tier II learners may need minimal to some guidance. They may find a teacher sample useful, but they may need less guidance to replicate the product (or they may want to “make it their own”)! These students may need guidelines, but may not need explicit directions.

– Tier III learners can be given less structure in creating their product. They may not use the teacher sample at all, as they may have the interest and ability to create an individual product. These students may do well by simply being given materials and broad guidelines.

Create a brochure

Hold a debate

Write and perform a play

Write an essay or

complete journal entries

Create a powerpoint

Differentiating the ProductDifferentiating the ProductLet’s use this standard!

Third Grade, Number Sense 2.7: Determine the unit cost when given the total cost and number of units.

• Differentiating by interest:• Tier I students may be interested in video games. These students

can be asked to design a proposal for a video game that would involve shopping, focusing on the standard of cost per unit. Students should prepare problems to be solved (and the answers) as part of their proposal.

• Tier II students may be interested in science. These students can hypothesize as to how a scientist might apply the skills learnedfrom this standard. Students can record their thoughts along with problem samples and solutions.

• Tier III students may be interested in language arts and/or may like to be a “classroom tutor.” These students can write a picture book explaining the process involved in solving the types of problemspresented by the standard. They can then read their story to students in another classroom.

Create a brochure

Hold a debate

Write and perform a play

Write an essay or

complete journal entries

Create a powerpoint

Differentiating the ProductDifferentiating the ProductLet’s use this standard!

Sixth Grade Social Studies 6.2 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social

structures of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush.

• Differentiating by learning style:• Tier I students may be logical-mathematical. They may

want to create a board game to show their learning.• Tier II students may be verbal-linguistic. They may want to

write a journal from and Ancient Egyptian’s perspective.• Tier III students may be visual-spatial. They may want to

create a three dimensional model (with information to support the content).

• Tier IV students may be bodily-kinesthetic. They may want to act out the content.

• Tier V students may be interpersonal. They may want to create and teach a lesson to the class.

Create a brochure

Hold a debate

Write and perform a play

Write an essay or

complete journal entries

Create a powerpoint

A Step by Step ReviewA Step by Step Review1. Determine what you’ll be teaching and what you

expect the students to be able to do; then2. Determine what you will tier: content, process,

and/or product; then3. Determine how you will group students for this

learning activity: readiness, interest, or learning style; then

4a. Administer an open-ended pre-assessment (not graded) to determine student readiness; or

4b. Administer an interest survey; or4c. Administer a learning styles survey; then5. Develop the lesson, ensuring that an appropriate

level of challenge is reached for all learners; then6. Develop an assessment that reflects the approach

of the lesson, as well as concepts taught.

ReferencesReferences• Gregory, G. & Chapman, C. (2002).

Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn’t Fit All. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

• Kingore, B. (2004). Differentiation: Simplified, Realistic, and Effective. Austin, TX: Professional Associates Publishing.

• Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms.Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

• Winebrenner, S. (2001). Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc.

• Adams, PhD, C. http://www.bsu.edu/gate/Instruction/criticalquestions.htm