What is Differentiated Instruction in Writing? How to Know.

If you have you ever heard (or said yourself 😉) “My students could never work quietly at centers!”, then this might be just the post for you. Once you know what is differentiated instruction in writing, many of the problematic behaviours that are disruptive to writing centers will disappear.

Our understanding, or misunderstanding, about what is differentiated instruction can be the roadblock to our success because we believe the strategies don’t work in our classroom.  

Differentiation is so much more than levelled passages. Mary Shea of Canisius College, in her article “Differentiating Writing Instruction: Meeting the Divers Needs of Authors in a Classroom”  in the Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education, 6(2),2015, “Differentiating . . .. calls for effective classroom management — another topic in itself.”

To learn more about the connection between differentiation and classroom management I encourage you to read my original blog post on “What is Classroom Management?” . This post identifies my five pillars of classroom management strategies , and the connections between them.

You may also want to download my FREE “Engage the Energy! 5 Pillars for Calming the Classroom Chaos Checklist”  This checklist will help you to assess what you already have successfully implemented.

Meanwhile, what is differentiated instruction in writing? To understand this is an essential classroom management techniques that will support focus and independence during center times.

The Formative Assessment :The Essential First Step in Differentiated Instruction

Assessment for the purpose of  planning is essential to what is differentiated instruction.

Although it is true that assessment is data collection, the best formative assessment for writing is a writing conference. This is a beautiful quiet moment of connection and celebration with a student about their writing.

As we work together, I lean into what the student is writing, their interests, strengths and weaknesses, and their engagement with writing.

How to Differentiate Instruction Using Assessments

Of course, not all writing conferences will be like this one, and that is the purpose of writing conferences.

This brief assessment has also left me with more questions than answers. Is the student engaged or disengaged? Poorly focused or fully focused? Disinterested in the topic? Lacking confidence? Overwhelmed?

This formative assessment will guide you on your path to what is differentiated instruction going to look like during your writing time.

Perhaps the student writes better when responding to a prompt.  Writing prompts can be very effective for a lot of students.

Other students may be more engaged and productive  when told to write a story within a genre.  For instance, if you are doing a unit on Fairy Tales.

The assessment provides allows you to know your students and include their interests and their choices, and then you will know the essential part of what is differentiated instruction for your class?

The Next Step to Differentiated Instruction in Writing

Carol Tomlinson, a leader in the concept of differentiation in instruction, established core principles defining what is differentiated instruction. Carol is a  professor of educational leadership, foundations, and policy at the University of Virginia. 

The pillars are: 

1. Content
2. Process
3. Product
4. Learning Environment

I write in greater detail about these in the blog post that I wrote on differentiation.  And more specifically to what is differentiation in teaching writing on this blog post.

I believe differentiation is the fun part as a teacher, because I found a lot of joy and freedom to create a vibrant class as I grew to understand differentiation. For me it meant that I had the freedom, and responsibility, to incorporate play based learning into writing workshop. 

With my assessments in hand I could address the needs that I saw.

Examples of What is Differentied Instruction

Provocations

Whether my kiddos were tactile/kinesthetic movers or visual learners their engagement increased when I incorporated provocations. By incorporating provocations into my class my students levelled up in engagement. Provocations touch on every pillar of what is differentiated instruction.

Peer Editing

When I incorporated peer editing, writing became a more social activity which again encouraged focus and supported my auditory learners. There have to be expectations in place, of course, but students will write a story in part because they are excited to share it with a friend. And, again, this touches on all of the pillars of what is differentiated instruction in writing.

And, with proper instruction and support, teaching children to give and receive appropriate feedback to and from others is also a powerful social emotional learning activity . 💚

Writing Tools

By providing  tools such as anchor charts, levelled writing paper, and personal dictionaries I extended the Zone of Proximal Development for some. These tools provide students with opportunities to choose the type and level of support they need.

Location, Location, Location

Do your students work better at a desk facing a wall to help them focus? 

I had quiet desks (yes, more than one) in my class. At the beginning of the year students shied away from them because they perceived them as a consequence for being disruptive. But, with effort, they learned that self-selecting a quiet place away from distractions may be what served them best.

More Options for What is Differentiated Instruction in Writing

This is a big topic, but I hope that I have helped you to get started with some ideas on what is differentiated instruction in writing. You may also want to check out another blog post in which I have also written more extensively on this.

Authentic Opportunities for Differentiation in Writing are Essential. 

I remember one student whose writing, reading and spelling all improved drastically because she regularly created books for her little sister.  The contents were just about what was important to her in her life, so about as authentic as writing can get.

She entered my class as a poor writer and left at grade level, and I truly believe that those little books she wrote for her sister had more impact on her writing than anything else.

Children’s writing is a reflection of things that are important to them:

• events that are real or imagined
• favourite or influential stories they have read or heard
• to report what they’ve learned from research, activities, or experience
• nonfiction writing topics tied to your current science theme.

So, what is differentiated instruction in writing? Authentic opportunities to write are essential to create strong writers.

Authentic Writing Topics for Differentiated Writing

Non-fiction

1. Research writing for Science and Social Studies
2. Notes for scientific observations
3. Notes for interviews with classroom visitors
4. Collaborative class book for  year-end memories

Narratives

1. Getting to know you topics for beginning of the year
2. Reflections after every school break
3. Positive memories
4. Personal challenges leading to overcoming and success

Poetry

1. Seasonal changes
2. Celebrations
3. Holidays such as Christmas, Valentines, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day
4. Themes such as camping etc. including shape poems, haikus, acrostic, free verse. Have students choose a different camping topic for each poem (ie. tenting, bonfires, cooking, hiking etc.).  

Descriptive (How to . . . ) Writing

1. Describe a halloween costume, a gift, book or game without naming it. A partner must be able to guess it in 5 guesses or less.
2. Go outside on a walk, and describe something they see, hear or smell, and have a partner identify it or draw it.
3. Do a STEM activity, then have them describe how to build it
4. Give a simple cooking class (ie. fruit salad, apple sauce, sandwiches, gingerbread cookie decorating), and have them detail the steps.

Fiction Writing

1. Build a model on a seasonal theme. For example, read Jan Brett’s “Gingerbread Baby”, or “Gingerbread Friends”  to the class. Have them create their own “Gingerbread . . .” story.
2. Writing for a reading genre theme.  Similar to above, but the focus is on what genre you are studying. If you are studying fairy tales, have them write a fairy tale. Are you reading them some sci-fi, have them create a sci-fi model.

List Building

1. Tie  lists into your SEL instruction by creating a list of self-calming techniques
2. Have students create personal goals for instructions and prioritize them in a list
3. Are they struggling with transitions? Have EVERYONE write the steps for transition, compare them, flesh them out, and create one class list for the board.
4. What will they need to remember from home for their upcoming field trip – rain boots, snack, water bottle, sunscreen, pencil, paper and clipboard.
5. On a field trip, have them list 5 new things they learned as a reflection.

Avoiding the Overwhelm of Differentiated Instruction

If you struggle with “all the things” I suggest levelled writing prompts to get you started.

I have created Monthly Journal Writing Prompts which you can find in my store .They support differentiation by:

• offering students the same prompt at different develomental levels of writing, or not.
• supporting authentic writing opportunities by:
  • allowing them to choose their writing prompt (if you want to offer that)
  • providing open-ended writing prompts 
• including a small image included to provide a simple, on-the-page provocation.
• providing a separate editing checklist with visual cues as a tool to support your students without cluttering the page.
• backsides for each level of writing paper to encourage more writing.
• 4 different developmental levels of writing paper per prompt to allow for different levels of challenge:
  • Level one – for students who are only yet able to draw, or perhaps draw and label.
  • Level two – wide interlined paper for students who need support with their letter formation. Not too many lines though to prevent the overwhelm.
  • Level three – the lines are closer together for more writing space, but there is still an interline to support letter formation. 
  • Level four – the lines are the same width as level three but without the interline. These students are transitioning to fluent.

What is Differentiated Instruction in Writing?

The steps are simple:

• Get to know your students with formative assessments.  
• Remember the 4 principles of differentiation.
• Provide engaging and authentic opportunities for writing.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and, because you are a phenomenal teacher, you already know you will grow and learn throughout your career.  Take this one step at a time.

The first 5 years of teaching are a LOT.  But every step you take makes it easier.  

You’ve got this!

Ready, set, . . .  go! 🫶

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