Differentiated Instruction in the English Classroom

There's a lot of talk about differentiated instruction, but what is it really? And how does it apply to the middle and secondary English teacher?

Differentiated instruction is a recognition that students vary in their needs, interests, abilities, and prior knowledge. It's a springboard from which students work toward the same ends, but they use different content, processes, and products to get there. It's all about successfully teaching each student. And it can be done in the regular English classroom.

Barbara King-Shaver and Alyce Hunter help teachers of both middle and high school English understand and apply the principles and practices of differentiated instruction, addressing their unique challenges and needs. What's more, they offer a practical instructional model based on the experience of real teachers in real classrooms, including their own. Their model features:

• definitions with examples
• specific classroom lessons
• a unit design template/overview
• follow-up activities
• alternative assignments and assessments
• discussions of classroom management and content concerns
• a user-friendly format for quick access to information
• forms for planning and delivering lessons, including learning contracts, curriculum compacting guides, and much more.

Whether you're an English teacher new to the profession, new to differentiated instruction, or just looking for new ideas and strategies, you'll find in this book just the right technique or tool to help you reach each student.

Differentiated instruction is based upon the recognition that students vary in their needs, interests, abilities, and prior knowledge. This guide for middle and high school educators presents a practical instructional model that applies the theories of differentiated instruction to the teaching of English. Reproducible forms for planning and delivering lessons are included.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-131) and index.

Barbara King-Shaver and Alyce Hunter help teachers of both middle and high school English understand and apply the principles and practices of differentiated instruction, addressing their unique challenges and needs.

Barbara King-Shaver recently retired after working more than thirty years as a classroom teacher, a supervisor, and an administrator. In addition, Barbara has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University since 1972. She earned her doctorate in education from Rutgers in 1979, working with Janet Emig on the first New Jersey Writing Project. As an educational specialist at the New Jersey State Department of Education, Barbara trained teachers throughout that state. She has led school-wide projects on differentiated instruction and literacy across the curriculum. In addition to her book, Differentiated Instruction in the English Classroom, co-authored with Alyce Hunter, Barbara has just completed When Text Meets Text: Helping High School Readers Make Connections in Literature. Both books are published by Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH.Alyce Hunter, Ed.D., has been working as an English supervisor and administrator in various districts in New Jersey. She also teaches graduate students and teachers at Wagner College Graduate School of Education, Staten Island, New York.

What Is Differentiated Instruction? How Does Differentiated Instruction Apply to Middle and Secondary English Classrooms? What Does a Differentiated Classroom Look Like? How Do Teachers Manage a Differentiated Classroom? What Do Specific Examples of Differentiated Instruction Look Like in the English Classroom? How Do Teachers Put It All Together? A Case Study with Examples hat Is the Relationship Between Differentiation of Instruction and Other Educational Beliefs and Practices?