Differentiation: worksheet templates and labels - ROAD theme

Here’s how to differentiate your lessons with speed and ease. Modeled on Carol Anne Tomlinson’s “Must do, Should do, Could do” idea, this product caters to students' fitness levels, so to speak, with a “Smooth road", "Winding road" and "Rugged road" theme.
 
Note: the recent update means the templates are now in PowerPoint rather than Word. This makes it much easier to use as you can put text and images anywhere. Can easily be uploaded to Google Slides remember. And yes, slides are set as A4 pages.
 
In this pack you will get:
In Microsoft PowerPoint format, resized as A4 pages (and easily uploadable as Google slides if you prefer):
Worksheet templates with options for 3 levels of work on one page or 1 level on each page.
Examples of worksheets I created for one of my classes using these templates.
In PDF Format - the cues/labels:
Larger landscape width sized cues for your whiteboard, or for the sides of trays – 4 different colors.
Smaller portrait width sized labels for the ends of trays of smaller draws etc – 4 different colors.
 
In terms of setting levels for students, you could ask students to:
All begin at the “Smooth road”, then slowly work their way onto the “Winding road” and perhaps then “Rugged road" activities if they feel able or if there’s time; OR
Choose for themselves which level they feel most comfortable with and, this lesson, work only on the task for that level.
There is a space on the worksheet templates to indicate which option you want students to take.
 
Adhere the labels to your whiteboard (I laminate, then use self-adhesive magnetic tape), then write appropriate activities under each. So…
"Smooth road" activities - for students working at below the expected curriculum level;
"Winding road" activities - aimed at the curriculum level; and
"Rugged road" activities - for students who need extending and are generally working above the expected curriculum level.
 
Logistics - you can:
Simply use them when you’re writing activities onto the whiteboard (I plan electronically, so have plenty of room to whip up a rough plan for 3 levels, but you’ll actually get quick at doing this off the cuff too!)
Put worksheets in 3 different (labeled) trays as a lesson starter. As students enter the room, they pick up the starter from the tray they feel most comfortable with. (Have your trays near the classroom entrance.)
Use the worksheet templates as a handout when you’re up to that part of your lesson.
Ask students to collect their homework from the tray (level) they think is most appropriate for them.
 
Honestly, using this method is awesome! Less able students enjoy it because they have been able to complete everything that was necessary that lesson (“Smooth road”), while the more able students feel extended and enriched (“Rugged road”). YOU feel great because you’ve just differentiated your lesson like a boss!
 
PS: Another little tip? I have ‘fluffy felt’ walls so I also put a self-adhesive Velcro dot (hook side) onto one end, then when I’m not using them I ‘hang’ them on the wall just below the whiteboard. Happy days!
 
For more differentiation products:
This product also comes in a Sports theme and Te Reo Māori theme.
If you need a differentiated slideshow (PowerPoint/Slides) template, click here.