With spring comes warmer weather, plants blooming, and excitement from students knowing summer is on the way! However, it also means end of the year testing is soon. Teachers work hard all year to ensure students master the skills they need to succeed in reading. By spring, teachers understand their students’ reading levels and look for ways to differentiate instruction for them. 

Challenges

It can be challenging to meet the needs of all students. For example, struggling readers must be up to speed, while gifted students need more difficult lessons. Thankfully, there are easy strategies you can use to differentiate instruction and make learning accessible for all students. 

#1 Differentiate Instruction for Different Skill Levels  

As a teacher, we know our students best! We know the various skill levels of each of our students and that reading comprehension cannot be a one-size fits all approach. Providing resources and activities for different skill levels is essential to differentiate instruction. 

For example, the Titanic Close Reading Comprehension Passages provide leveled reading suited to the needs of both beginners and advanced learners. You can assign the appropriate reading level to each student. This allows students to access learning at their own pace and level rather than working through a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Not only does this allow students to feel more confident in their reading comprehension but also their close reading skills. Specifically, the skills include making logical inferences, citing text evidence, and drawing conclusions. Students will love learning about the Titanic’s history as you work your teacher magic and implement strategies to differentiate instruction!

#2 Differentiate Instruction for Different Learning Styles

As teachers, we can tap into students’ unique interests and abilities to engage their attention and help them learn better. Luckily, using a high-engagement resource like the Titanic Close Reading Comprehension Passages will set you up for success! Whether your learners are auditory, visual, or kinesthetic, this resource will allow you to differentiate instruction for every learning style! 

Specifically, this differentiated activity has a close reading graphic organizer that works great for visual learners, while the annotation activity will hold the attention of your kinesthetic learners. There is even a think pair share activity perfect for auditory learners who need to hear the content to comprehend better. Honestly, there is something for every learning style!

#3 Adapt the Learning Environment 

Differentiating instruction means more than adapting activities and curriculum to meet individual student needs. It also means adjusting the physical environment of the classroom so that it helps foster learning. This can include rearranging desks to facilitate small group discussions, creating physical displays to help students visualize concepts, or changing lighting and music to put students in a more relaxed and focused mindset for reading.

Luckily, by using the Titanic Close Reading Comprehension Passages, you will have a week-long close reading lesson done for you! Thankfully, this means you will have more time to create a fun and differentiated learning environment for your students!

However, providing ways to differentiate instruction shouldn’t last more than one week; your students need differentiation all year! This Close Reading Comprehension Passage Year-Long Bundle will provide 45 weeks of differentiated leveled close reading passages. I love that all 90 passages are high-interest and provide activities for every learning style. There is even a detailed teacher guide and notes to help you feel confident when teaching while using ways to differentiate instruction. 

Benefits of Differentiation in the Classroom

By tailoring activities, tasks, and materials with specific differentiation strategies, you will provide each student with appropriate learning opportunities to meet their personal needs. Ultimately, students will be more confident in their skills, which means you will see more excited faces as they dig deeper into reading!

These Titanic Close Reading Comprehension Passages can also be found in my April Close Reading bundle, which includes topics like Easter, Baseball Legends, Earth Day, Arbor Day, and the sinking of the Titanic. These week-long lessons follow a close reading model, including a teacher guide and notes to make teaching and differentiation easy! 

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