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Differentiated Instruction
in the English Classroom
CONTENT, PROCESS,
PRODUCT, AND
ASSESSMENT

Barbara King-Shaver
and Alyce Hunter

HEINEMANN
Portsmouth, NH
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Heinemann
A division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
361 Hanover Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801–3912
www.heinemann.com
Offices and agents throughout the world
© 2003 by Barbara King-Shaver and Alyce Hunter
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by
a reviewer, who may quote from brief passages in a review, with the following
exceptions: Appendices A and B may be photocopied for classroom use only.
The authors and publisher wish to thank those who have generously given
permission to reprint borrowed material:
Figures 1–1 and 4–12 are reprinted by permission from Engaged in Learning:
Teaching English, 6–12 by Kathleen and James Strickland. Copyright © 2002
by Kathleen and James Strickland. Published by Heinemann, a division of
Reed Elsevier, Inc., Portsmouth, NH.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
King-Shaver, Barbara.
Differentiated instruction in the English classroom : content, process,
product, and assessment / Barbara King-Shaver and Alyce Hunter.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-325-00577-X
1. English language—Study and teaching (Secondary)—New Jersey—South
Brunswick (Township)—Case studies. 2. Individualized instruction—New
Jersey—South Brunswick (Township)—Case studies. 3. South Brunswick
High School (South Brunswick, N.J.)—Case studies. I. King-Shaver,
Barbara. II. Hunter, Alyce. III. Title.
LB1631.K496 2004
428’.0071’2—dc21 2003056576
Editor: James Strickland
Production service: Matrix Productions
Production coordinator: Sonja S. Chapman
Cover design: Jenny Jensen Greenleaf
Compositor: House of Equations, Inc.
Manufacturing: Steve Bernier
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
07 06 05 04 03 RRD 1 2 3 4 5
FM_Pgs_i-viii.qxd 8/14/03 11:30 AM Page iii

Contents

Foreword by Carol Tomlinson iv

Acknowledgments viii
1 What Is Differentiated Instruction? 1
2 How Does Differentiated Instruction Apply to Middle
and Secondary English Classrooms? 15
3 What Does a Differentiated Classroom Look Like? 27
4 How Do Teachers Manage a Differentiated Classroom? 41
5 What Do Specific Examples of Differentiated Instruction
Look Like in the English Classroom? 61
6 How Do Teachers Put It All Together? A Case Study
with Examples 79
7 What Is the Relationship Between Differentiation of
Instruction and Other Educational Beliefs and Practices? 125
Works Cited 130
Appendices 132
Index 134 • iii
 new unit, but it is time well spent when the goal is helping all stu-
dents learn to the best of their ability. Taking the time to find out
what students know, what their interests are, and what their learn-
ing styles are helps teachers know their students better both aca-
demically and personally. These activities benefit both the students
and the teacher.

Getting to Know Students: Their Interests

One way for teachers to get to know their students’ interests better
is to use ice-breaking activities. These activities have been tried
with students from elementary school through graduate school,
and students consistently respond positively to them.
For example, “Find-Someone-Who” is a strategy that asks stu-
dents to get up and mix with their classmates to find someone who
has the interests described on a prepared interest sheet (Kagan
2000). At the end of the activity, the teacher can collect the sheets
and read them in order to learn more about the students’ interests.
Figure 4.1 shows an adaptation of this activity: Getting-to-Know-Me.
Another icebreaker combines personal and academic informa-
tion: Getting-to-Know-You Vocabulary Icebreaker (Figure 4.2). The
teacher prepares this sheet ahead of time by listing Scholastic Ap-
titude Test (SAT) vocabulary words on a prepared sheet and asking
the students to introduce themselves by identifying which words
describe their likes and their dislikes. The students use these state-
ments to introduce themselves to the whole class. The teacher can
collect all sheets and review them to learn more about his/her stu-
dents.
Interest inventories, as we suggested earlier, are an additional
way to obtain the likes and dislikes of students. Many published in-
terests surveys are available, or a teacher may create her own, such
as the one presented in Figure 4.1. Additionally, visual learners may

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 Getting to Know Me
Name Nickname

1. My three favorite pastimes are

2. My pet peeve is

3. The best book I ever read was

4. The music I prefer to listen to is

5. My favorite subject is

6. The subject I struggle with the most is

7. One goal I have is to

8. As a student, I

9. The best movie I ever saw was

10. In the summer you would most likely find me

prefer to represent their interests by creating a collage or by bring-

ing a favorite item to class and explaining its significance to them.
For students who prefer writing, a journal entry can provide an
open-ended way for students to introduce themselves. Another
way to learn more about students is to have them interview each
other and then introduce their partners to the whole class, stress-
ing their partner’s likes and dislikes.

How Do Teachers Manage a Differentiated Classroom? • 43

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 Figure 4–2

Getting-to-Know-You Vocabulary Icebreaker

Name Date
PART ONE
Read over the following list of words and choose two that describe you and two that do
not describe you. Explain how each word does or does not pertain to you. The brief expla-
nation must show that you know the meaning of the word.
For example:
I am very gregarious. I can start a conversation with complete strangers while
waiting in line to buy groceries.
I am not lackadaisical. If anything, I work too hard.
You will be introducing yourself to the whole class using two of the four words you se-
lected. By the end of the week, everyone will be responsible for knowing all of the words
listed here.
diffident intransigent munificent
judicious insouciant circumspect
petulant belligerent perspicacious
lugubrious impervious intrepid
tenacious supercilious laconic
sagacious altruistic indigent
dejected demure ebullient
impecunious unassuming benevolent
insolent discreet fastidious
decorous ingenuous
PART TWO
Complete the following sentences with information that describes you. You are also re-
sponsible for knowing the italicized words.
I have a propensity toward
I have an affinity for
I have an antipathy to
I have been known to be remiss in

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 Getting to Know Students: Their Readiness
Teachers should also obtain information on the students’ academic
readiness when beginning a new unit of study. Consider how often
a topic, including a work of literature, is taught as if everyone in the
class knew nothing about it. For example, consider how many times
Shakespeare’s life and the Globe Theater are taught in English
classes between grades 6 and 12. It is no wonder that students roll
their eyes when a senior English teacher begins to draw a diagram
of the Globe Theater on the chalkboard. If there are 25 students in a
class, there are 25 people with different prior knowledge. It is impor-
tant to find out what that knowledge is. When this is obtained,
teachers can plan lessons that build on that knowledge and differ-
entiate lessons as needed. English teachers can ascertain readiness
in general areas such as writing and reading early in the school year.
An effective way to identify student differences in writing is to ob-
tain a writing sample at the beginning of the school year. This may
be a timed writing on an assigned writing topic or a piece of writing
completed outside class. One advantage of a timed writing topic is
that students have the same writing topic and the same time frame
for writing. Another advantage of a timed writing sample is that the
teacher knows that the student alone is solely responsible for the
writing. The disadvantage is that a timed sample may not represent
a student’s best work. A learner may not know anything about a par-
ticular topic or be able to relate to it and therefore find it difficult to
write about. Teachers can begin the process of differentiation by
providing a variety of topics for these timed writings. Some teachers,
to obtain a more comprehensive view of a learner, collect both types
of writing at the beginning of the year. The writing topic might com-
monly be connected to a book read over the summer.
Obtaining evidence of differences in reading ability early in the
school year is not as easy as it is for writing. One way to obtain this
information is to check the students’ scores on a recent standard-

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 ized test, but the information included there may be outdated or in-
accurate, based as it is on a one-time snapshot of the students’ per-
formance. Students can self-report their past experiences as readers
(see Figure 4.3). This is, by nature, subjective, but it provides insights
into how students see themselves as readers. Even if it is not aca-
demically accurate, it provides a good starting point.
Two effective prereading strategies for assessing prior knowl-
edge involve using a KWL chart (Ogle 1986) and a Prereading List.
On a KWL chart, the first two of three columns are completed be-
fore reading about or studying a given topic. In the first column,
students identify what they know about a certain topic (K). In the
second column, they brainstorm what they want to know about
the topic (W). After reading or studying the topic, students return
to the KWL chart and complete the third column, what they
learned (L). Figure 4.4 presents a sample K-W-L chart for students’
pre- and poststudy of The Great Gatsby.
A Prereading List is a similar strategy that can also be used with
any genre (Figures 4.5, 4.6, and 4.7). The students are given a list of
terms and asked to identify those they know well enough to teach,
those they know fairly well, those they have heard of but are not
quite sure of, and those that are unknown to them. Reviewing the
students’ responses to this list can help teachers decide whether
some students are already familiar with the material to be studied.
Differentiated lessons and assignments can then be made based
on the information obtained.

Getting to Know Students: Their Learning Styles

“Learning style is a gestalt that tells us how a student learns and pre-
fers to learn” (Keefe and Jenkins 2002, 443). Knowing their students’
learning styles helps teachers plan instruction and assessment that
are meaningful to each individual.

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 Figure 4–3

English Survey
Name Date

1. My favorite author is .

2. The best book I ever read was .

3. Please circle as many as apply to you:
When I have to write an essay, I
put it off until the last minute. write it as fast as I can.
get help revising and editing. take time to plan it out.
4. Please circle as many as apply to you:
When I am reading, I
need it quiet around me. predict what comes next.
stop and reread many times. give up when it is too difficult.
5. I prefer to read (circle as many as apply to you)
novels short stories plays poetry.
6. When I am asked to read aloud I am (circle one)
confident embarassed angry
7. If given free choice, I would like to write about
.
8. If given free choice, I would like to read about
.
9. One goal I have is to
.
10. As a student, I
.
11. The best movie I ever saw was
.
12. In the summer you would most likely find me

How Do Teachers Manage a Differentiated Classroom? • 47

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Ch_04_Pgs41-60.PMD
48 •

48
Figure 4–4

Sample KWL Chart for The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Student’s Name Unit/Text The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

What I Know What I Want to Know What I Learned

(About the 1920s) (About the 1920s) (About the 1920s)
The Roaring Twenties were wild Was everybody partying? Music was important.
People danced the jitterbug. Was it the same everywhere? People danced the Charleston.
There were speakeasies. Why did it end? The Depression started.
Who were the famous people? Not everyone was partying.
What else did Fitzgerald write? Fitzgerald was a spokesperson
for his generation.

8/14/2003, 11:07 AM
Differentiated Instruction in the English Classroom
Fitzgerald wrote This Side of
Paradise as a young man.
Fitzgerald captured the
American Dream—its
good and bad points.
 Figure 4–5

Name Date

Prereading List for The Scarlet Letter

Place a “T” next to the terms you know well enough to teach to someone else.
Place an “H” next to the terms you have heard of.
Place a question mark “?” next to terms that are new to you.

____ Puritans
____ Massachusetts Bay Colony
____ symbolism
____ Nathaniel Hawthorne
____ theme
____ blank verse
____ setting
____ characterization
____ morality

Write a sentence that includes one term you know from the list. Make certain that your
sentence shows that you know the meaning of the term.

When a signal is given to move from your seat, find someone in the class who can tell you
what a term you are uncertain of means. Write that explanation down.

How Do Teachers Manage a Differentiated Classroom? • 49

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 Figure 4–6

Name Date

Prereading List for Poetry

Place a “T” next to the terms you know well enough to teach to someone else.
Place an “H: next to the terms you have heard of.
Place a question mark “?” next to terms that are new to you.

____ meter
____ rhyme
____ rhythm
____ free verse
____ imagery
____ blank verse
____ personification
____ onomatopoeia

Write a sentence that includes one term you know from the list. Make certain that your
sentence shows that you know the meaning of the term. If you do not know any of the
terms, write one question you have about poetry.

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 Figure 4–7

Name Date

Prereading List for Romeo and Juliet

Place a “T” next to the terms you know well enough to teach to someone else.
Place an “H” next to the terms you have heard of.
Place a question mark “?” next to terms that are new to you.

____Shakespeare
____monologue
____ aside
____ couplet
____ Globe Theater
____ Stratford-Upon-Avon
____ soliloquy
____ iambic pentameter

Write a sentence that includes one term you know from the list. Make certain that your
sentence shows that you know the meaning of the term. If you do not know any of the
terms, write one question you have about reading a play.

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 Various frameworks have been developed by psychologists and
educators to consider formally the concept of how a student learns.
The simplest place to begin is by learning about students’ modality
preferences (Saphier and Gowee 1997). Do students learn better
when they see, hear, feel, or combine impressions? Chances are that
middle and secondary English students either already know their
personal preferences or simply need prompting to discover them.
The prompt may take the form of a formal learning style inventory
to discover their modality preferences. Another framework to con-
sider is Gardner’s multiple intelligence definition and theory that
helps all learners to identify how they relate to knowledge and know-
ing (1983). Do they remember better when they sing a jingle about
their assignment? Do they like to work with others? Do they have to
see to believe?
It does not matter whether teachers who plan to differentiate in-
struction are formally cognizant of any or all of the formal frame-
works. Rather, to begin to differentiate, it is most important that
teachers acknowledge that individuals do learn differently and that
it is their role and obligation to learn about these differences and
also to help the students discover their own unique learning styles
through any of the suggested strategies in Figure 4.8.

What Does Classroom Management Look Like in

a Differentiated Classroom?
The maxim that good teachers lead from behind is especially true
in a classroom in which lessons are differentiated. Students may be
busy writing, reading, and talking, but to the casual visitor, it may
appear that the teacher is not really teaching. Direct instruction,
only one of many ways to deliver instruction in a differentiated
classroom, may not always be apparent.
Because classes in which differentiation is practiced are student
centered, the teacher may be seen moving from group to group or

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 Figure 4–8

Suggested Strategies for Getting to Know Students

1. Getting to Know Me
2. Getting-to-Know-You Vocabulary Sheet
3. Interest Surveys
4. Visuals: Collages, Show and Tell
5. Journal Writing
6. Interviews
7. Timed and Untimed Writing Samples
8. Standardized Test Scores
9. Self-reported Reading Survey
10. K-W-L
11. Prereading List
12. Learning Style Inventories

providing direct instruction for a small group of students or for an

individual. At times the teacher may be addressing the class as a
whole, or students may be presenting their work to the entire class.
Having a class such as this operate smoothly does not happen by
chance. Leading from behind means that the teacher must plan
carefully. After the lesson or unit is planned, the managing of the
day-to-day process of learning is as important as the delivery of
instruction. Concern with classroom management can stop teach-
ers from trying new approaches to teaching and learning.
Basic classroom management for differentiated classrooms is
similar to management in traditional classrooms. Students need to

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 Figure 4–9

Classroom Agreements
As members of this class, we agree to:
Check the board daily for instructions
Maintain records in our work folders
Complete all work on schedule
Help move desks when needed, quickly and quietly
Listen and share when working in groups
Talk quietly when working in groups
Wait our turn and not interrupt the teacher or other students
Do the best work we can

know the class expectations and the consequences for not adhering
to these expectations. In addition, the teacher must explain clearly
the procedures for working independently and for working coopera-
tively. All of these expectations and procedures should be posted in
the room for students to refer to as needed (see Figure 4.9).
In addition to the procedural rules for an effective classroom,
teachers can include expectations for the affective behavior of stu-
dents as well. Karen O’Holla, a teacher at South Brunswick High
School in New Jersey, asked her students to brainstorm behaviors
and attitudes they would like to see in their classroom. These are
posted on a bulletin board in her room (Figure 4.10).
Organizing resources for differentiated instruction ahead of time
can help students use the class time more efficiently. For example, if
students are moving from station to station during a class period, all

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 Figure 4–10

Behaviors and Attitudes

In our class students are:
Respectful
Courteous
Attentive
Positive
Helpful
Interested
Supportive
Inquisitive
Patient
Complimentary
Industrious
Creative
Reliable

the materials they need to complete the task at each station should
be set up ahead of time. In schools in which teachers move from
room to room, this preparation can be accomplished in other ways.
The teacher can assign management tasks to students in the class.
For example, at the beginning of the class, students can distribute
the materials needed at each area. At the end of class, students can
help in the cleanup process.
The workshop model for student-centered classes works well
for differentiated instruction. In this model, the unit or lesson
begins with the teacher and students exploring a topic or skill

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 together. Students then break into groups or begin independent
study. During the class, small groups of students or individual
students may meet with the teacher for direct instruction or to
review work they have done. At set times, the whole class comes
together again to share their ideas, ask questions, or have closure.
This pattern of whole-class work, to group and individual work,
to whole-class work continues until it is time for the students to
present their final products. Although students work indepen-
dently and in small groups, there is still a time frame within which
the work must be completed. For this model to work smoothly,
the teacher has to plan carefully, monitor the students’ work, and
revise the plan as needed.

Anchor Activities
Because students work at different paces, the teacher needs to
have anchor activities prepared for those who finish early. Anchor
activities, tasks that have been designed for students to work on in-
dependently, are not busywork but tie into the topic and the skills
being studied. In English classes, anchor activities might include
silent reading, journal writing, essay drafting, revising, editing,
grammar worksheets, and prereading activities. Anchor activities
must be announced at the beginning of the unit so that the stu-
dents will know how to move to these activities without interrupt-
ing the teacher, who may be working with another student or
group. For example, one activity might be for students to take their
writing folders out and revise a paper they have been drafting. An-
other anchor activity might be to practice a skill such as editing by
reviewing grammar rules and then applying them in editing a pa-
per. Practice editing sheets for punctuation and usage may be
completed at a student’s own pace.

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 How do Teachers Keep Track of All of These
Students Doing Different Things?
Record keeping is a challenge for the teacher in a differentiated
classroom, but it does not have to be overwhelming. Successful
record keeping actually begins with the planning stage. When
teachers use a planning guide, such as one of those discussed in
Chapter 6 (see Figure 6.1), they have already identified the areas of
the curriculum that can be differentiated. After preassessing the
students and ascertaining their learning needs, the teacher can
complete a differentiated learning plan for students when needed
(Figure 4.11). After students have reviewed the plan, it is their re-
sponsibility to keep a record of the work they complete. The plan
should contain the goals, a timeline, a student record-keeping sys-
tem, a schedule for meeting with the teacher, and a defined con-
clusion or final product. At times, the differentiated plan may be
for pairs or small groups of students as well as individuals.
One form of student record keeping that is familiar to many En-
glish teachers is a work folder or portfolio of student work. Students
are responsible for keeping their work folders complete. In the fold-
ers are student work samples, peer or teacher feedback on work, a
notation of any conferences held, and a calendar or timeline.
Strickland and Strickland (2002) offer a model of record keeping that
can be adapted for many language arts activities (Figure 4.12).
Teachers do not have to complete a record for each student each
day; they can select specific students to watch on any given day, but
it is essential that all students be monitored consistently and evenly.

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 Figure 4–11

Differentiated Learning Plan

Student’s Name Date

Unit of Study

I agree to complete the following assignment:

The product(s) I will submit are:

My time frame for completing this work is:

My work will be assessed based on:

The consequences if I do not fulfill my contract are:

Signature of Student Date

Signature of Teacher Date

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Ch_04_Pgs41-60.PMD
Figure 4–12 Model of Record Keeping

59
Symbol Explanation:
+ well developed

8/14/2003, 11:07 AM
√ satisfactory
– needs attention
NA not applicable

Reprinted from Engaged in Learning: Teaching English, 6–12 by Kathleen Strickland and James Strickland. Copyright © 2002 by
Kathleen and James Srickland. Published by Heinemann, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc., Portsmouth, NH.