By Kelsey Brown
Learning for every child is unique. Whether it be a child’s preferred learning style (visual, kinesthetic, audial), interests, strength and growth areas, or current level performance, every learner has different needs.
As a teacher, it is my job to personalize students’ learning so that I am meeting all of their needs so they can learn and grow.
In my fourth-grade classroom, meeting the needs of my diverse learners looks like many different things.
In addition to varying the level of academic task students do, I also try and provide a lot of choice.
When students have choice, they naturally differentiate the task and make it meaningful for themselves at a level that is just right for them.
When we write poetry, some students write a multi-stanza poem with a rhyming scheme while others write an acrostic poem. Both are great examples of poetry and help each student grow as a writer.
I also try to leave assignments open-ended so students can take them as far as they would like.
For example, when we are creating a slideshow vocabulary presentation, some students will simply define the word while other students will choose to define the word, find a picture, and use the word in a sentence.
I am on board with it all if the student is meeting my objective, learning, and hopefully having some fun and ownership along the way.