Writing Tiered Lesson Plans

  Now for information to write tiered lesson plans to go with the tiered assignments from yesterday.  It is something I need to really look at since I discovered too many of my students test at grades 4 and 5.

There are eight steps to look at each time the teacher writes a tiered lesson plan.  Understand that depending on the criteria used to divide students into groups may require the teacher to adjust groups as needed.

So look at these things every time you write a tiered lesson plan.

1.  Identify the grade level and subject for the lesson.

2.  Look at the standard you will be addressing in this lesson.  Don't wait to the end, do it now.

3. Identify the key concept or idea.  Ask yourself what is the big idea and what you want the students to know at the end of the lesson.

4. Decide if students have the necessary background knowledge or do you have to provide it?  Is scaffolding necessary?

5. Determine if content (what you want them to learn), process(how students make sense out of content) or product(outcome of the lesson).  It is recommended to only do one if you are just beginning.

6. Determine what type of grouping you should do.  One way is to divide students based upon pretest assessment.

7. Divide the students into groups.  It is recommended one use only three groups because if you go for more, it becomes more difficult.  The standard divisions could be into below level, on level, and above level.

8. Develop the assessment associated with the lesson which could be formative, summative, or both.

So now you know the basics for writing tiered lesson plans with tiered assignments.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.