Education support for teachers, parents, and students We offer strategies and supports for students learning in various environments.
Differentiation Dive is a unique learning community created by educators for fellow teachers, parents, and students. Our goal is to strengthen relationships, inspire creativity, and foster the social emotional health of our community leaving parents, educators, and students feeling empowered in and out of the classroom.
06/02/2022
Trying to find meaningful, fun end of the year activities? This one is for you!
🛝 Playground themed activities ahead!
📕Start with a read aloud.
🧮Create place value parks.
💭Build your dream playground!
🚶🏽♀️Take a walking field trip to a neighborhood park!
📚Read with a buddy on a park bench.
Need templates? Let us know!
05/18/2022
Try an audiobook! 🎧
Today’s reading goal: How does the character change throughout the book
We modeled, practiced, read. Students still needed some additional practice and to be honest… a little motivation to work {teaching in May!}
Enter: The audiobook 👏🏼
First graders listened to an audiobook while creating a doodle timeline to show how the characters changed during the story. Students were engaged AND motivated!
We will take this as a big spring win today! How do you use audiobooks in your class? We want some more ideas!
05/07/2022
Happy Teacher Appreciation from Dory and Katoana.
This is hard.
Days are long and can be somewhat soul sucking.
Find the small moments and if you can’t just remember these faces got you.
05/03/2022
Not planned. Not graded. Definitely not fancy.
But, it’s what we needed!
Sometimes, our lessons don’t go exactly as planned.
Sometimes everyone (including, or especially you 😬) is feeling burnt out or overwhelmed.
Sometimes you might just have an extra 15 minutes!
Try a quick choice break! You don’t need to have pre-made supplies or a new lesson. Use materials, games, or tasks your students are familiar with and allow everyone to choose what fees right for them in that moment. In this example, we chose some very basic options, but to give you some other ideas…
🟡 Listen to an audiobook
🟡 Dot to Dot
🟡 Color by Number
🟡 iPad math game
🟡 Manipulative Play (Legos, Dominos, Pattern Blocks, etc)
🟡 Buddy read
🟡 Listen to a mindfulness podcast
🟡 Puzzle or board game
Pro Tip 👆🏼: It helps to provide both independent and social options for students who get their energy back in different ways.
04/30/2022
🖍 Coloring 🖍
Such a simple, old school activity that has so many benefits for students of all ages.
✋🏽 Promotes fine motor strength and development
👩🏽🎨Encourages creativity
💬Encourages social language development
🤲🏻Develops ability to work together
We have built coloring breaks into our daily schedule. Students have access to blank paper, coloring pages, and mandalas to color when they’ve finished work, need to reset, or during choice time.
♥️ The best part? They’ve started to draw coloring pages for US to copy and share with the class!♥️
04/28/2022
Did you know people have been using manipulatives to solve math problems since ANCIENT times? It’s true!
Studies show that mathematical achievement increases when manipulatives are put to good use.
This week students are investigating money! Some things we have done with coins:
💰 Sort coins into different piles by creating your own rule
💰 Show a given amount in multiple ways
💰 Pretend to make purchases and change
💰 Compare money
💰 Open play (always the first thing!)
Do you use coins in your class? Let us know how you use play coins to help students learn!
04/28/2022
Back to basics, linking cube edition.
Sorting. Patterns. Skip counting. You name it, we can try it!
Looking for an SEL connection? We can do that too!
Create how you feel. Build an animal to represent your mood. What color are you feeling?
An easy, meaningful center that anyone can lead!
04/27/2022
📖✏️🏃🏽♀️🗒
When you need a break from the worksheets AND sitting still.
04/25/2022
Recess Expectations 🛝
We have created some form of this anchor chart every week this year. Too much? Never. If you expect students to follow behavior expectations then show them YOU think it’s important by dedicating time, explicitly teaching them and practice!
Bonus: Take your kids outside for an extra recess to model behaviors and practice 😉
04/23/2022
✨RBT✨
A Friday favorite.
Rose, Bud, and Thorn builds community, encourages appropriate social communication, celebrates wins ANDS challenges ALL in a safe space.
Try it during a morning circle, afternoon meeting, or maybe the dinner table.
We love sharing. Drop your 🌹, 🌱, and 🌵 below.
04/22/2022
New Quarter? Home stretch? Need a new parenting trick? 🪄
✨WARM FUZZIES! ✨
A warm fuzzy is a feeling you get when you do something kind. Calm your body. Help a teammate. Or maybe just read quietly!
A cold prickly is the opposite! It causes harm and isn’t productive or helpful.
See a student say something kind? They get a sparkly pom pom, or as we call it, a WARM FUZZY!
See a student calm their body after a big challenge? You got it, toss them a warm fuzzy!
They 💥Are💥Magic🔥
02/04/2022
I SPY: Differentiation Strategies 👀
How many can you spot? 👇🏼
1- Student Choice: Following a math task students students could choose to take an independent and read or a social break and play a math game!
2- Flexible Seating: Students are able to sit in chairs, on the floor, or stand at open seats. {This wasn’t always the case in our class and sometimes we pull back. Students must be explicitly taught how to make seating choices that are a good fit for them!}
3- A personal checklist on the math puzzle with built in breaks
4- Clipboards! Again must be taught but can make a big difference in handwriting and motivation!