Differentiated Reading Instruction: What and How

The article I read for this week's blog is called "Differentiated Reading Instruction: What and How." This article is based on an experienced second grade teacher's class. I love that they start out with more of the history of differentiated instruction, along with further going into detail about how it is put into practice. 

Assessment is absolutely key in the first stage of differentiated instruction. This is not done as a group, but rather finding what each child individually needs. Each school district has it's own assessments that they require, and these assessments, along with the teacher's knowledge, will help decide what kind of instructions kids need. Keeping notes on student's progress, and then conferencing with the students afterwards, will also help to formulate the kind of instruction they should be receiving. 

Another big key is how students are grouped. In Ms. Martin's classroom, she groups student's together based on reading levels, and as the year progresses, she moves them to different groups, depending on their individual progress. These groups can also be more general, based on whole-class, small groups or  even partner instruction, just depending on what the teacher thinks would be more beneficial. I'm curious to know if things like partner work could be beneficial to helping students read better. For example, if you pair a student who excels with a student who is struggling, would it be beneficial or more detrimental for the students?

Over all I think that this article had a lot to offer. Even though it is set in a second grade classroom, I think that some of these ideas can be "aged up" and used in a high school classroom.