These differentiation strategies in the classroom are perfect for middle school and high school students. I use these ideas in secondary math, but they would even work in elementary.

I am so excited to launch my first "series" of blog posts! It's making me feel all grown-up and blogger-like :)My first series is going to be on increasing student engagement in the classroom. Over

Differentiation and scaffolding can help students better understand and learn. Here are teaching ideas and tips to use in class.

This month, the Mob is focusing on vocabulary. There's no doubt that introducing, teaching, and reinforcing vocabulary is vital, but what is the best way to do it? Umm, Don't Try This Yes, you guessed it. Giving students word lists, vocabulary word finds, and even crossword puzzles are not going to build their vocabulary. Rote memorization doesn't work -- not in any real, meaningful way. But What Works? I'm not sure there is one perfect way to teach vocabulary. (That's the good news!) Since students all learn in different ways and at different rates, it's important to practice vocabulary in a variety of ways. We know that repeated, meaningful interaction with words helps students learn, understand, and use them. Try This: Generate Word Interest Help raise your students' awareness of the importance of word use by getting them out of their seats to play games! Gather up your Scrabble board and borrow several others and play scrabble. Even though your students aren't technically studying content vocabulary, they are searching their minds for words that contain high value letters and words that will fit on the board. Make a word wall -- or at least an "Interesting Words" wall. Encourage students to add words to a blank piece of butcher paper on your classroom wall. What words do they notice from their reading? Allowing students to illustrate the word's meaning or initial their word finds can help generate interest and enthusiasm for word collections. Subscribe and use Merriam Webster's "Word of the Day." While I wouldn't recommend trying to keep up with a new word a day, you could choose a word of the week. I love this resource because it provides an audio pronunciation and a bit of etymology for the word. Try This: Vocabulary Collector When your students are reading, provide them with a vocabulary collector. It can be as simple as a sheet of paper folded into thirds. Ask students to jot down words and phrases that they come along in their reading. These words could go on your "Interesting Words" wall or into a Vocabulary Catcher (see below). Again, you are encouraging your students to become more aware of words and how they are used. Vocabulary collectors are also helpful in practicing using context clues. Try This: "Vocabulary Catcher" Games Remember fortune tellers? Cootie catchers? Use them for vocabulary. The great thing is that students can create several throughout the school year and use them for impromptu games. I also like them because each one only has eight spots for words -- a manageable amount of words to gather and understand. I have a Vocabulary Catcher freebie on my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Be sure to check it out! The Bottom Line Vocabulary, whether it's content vocabulary or not, is important. Getting students interested and engaged with new words is the first step! So, what innovative ideas do you use to teach vocabulary? Share your ideas below! Happiness always♥

Differentiation is so important in the classroom! The “Differentiated Instructional Strategies” download includes an overview of twenty methods. Under each strategy, there is a list of the types of students who would benefit the most from the strategy. Cut the pages in half and place them on a binder ring for a mini flip book! This resource is great for professional development and lesson planning! About Wondering with Mrs. Watto: Welcome! I am a middle school English teacher who creates graphic organizers, posters, and more! I received my Bachelor of Arts in English and my Master of Arts in Education. Please check out my other products too. I hope my resources help you and your students! Happy Teaching, Jillian Watto Terms of Use: Copyright © Wondering with Mrs. Watto by Jillian Watto. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to the original purchaser to print and make copies for single classroom use. It is prohibited to share purchases with other colleagues or other entities. Copying any part of this product and placing it on the Internet in any form, even a personal/classroom website, is strictly forbidden. This applies to purchased and free products. The act of posting the document(s) on the Internet allows the document(s) to be made available on the Internet free of change, and it is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Team-building activities in the middle school classroom are a great way to build relationships at the beginning of the school year!

Become a master at using differentiation in the English classroom with easy-to-implement differentiation strategies that will help all learners to succeed.

This series of differentiated worksheets includes all of the topics of solving equations and can differentiate the classwork and homework in your classroom.

Scrambled paragraphs are a fun literacy activity your kids will love. This activity contains 5 interesting passages to scramble and re-arrange correctly. Students will use logic and transition words like "for example", "however", and "finally" to determine the correct order. Great activity to reinforce text structures!Each passage contains six sentences. The passages increase in difficulty, making this activity easy to differentiate. This works great as a station activity for helping teach students organization in writing. It can be useful scaffolding for students who are struggling with constructing paragraphs of their own.Answer key is included.No prep, ready to print and use! Teachers are saying: "We loved this resource. I set these up as stations. The kids went around in their groups and tried to put the paragraphs together in the correct order. It was interesting to see how the sequential one was the easiest one for him to complete. This was the perfect activity for our class needs." Format: PDF

Looking for easy scientific method activities for your 2020 classroom? These activities are low prep and work great for distance learning!

Cornell Doodle Notes are a way to encourage student buy-in to note-taking on rich science content, while still providing structure and routine! This post highlights ways to optimize the use of this note-taking method in your science class!

Collaboration is great, isn’t it?! It brings students together and not only enhances their learning, it builds those critical social skills students are in desperate need of. Here are my 5 favorite strategies I use in my middle school classroom to encourage collaboration. They are step by step, ea

data:blog.metaDescription

We interview a sixth grade math teacher who shares how to differentiate using small groups and rotations for middle school math students.

I’ll admit, when I first began using stations the main reason was so I didn’t have to make copies for 200 students. The copy machines at my school were frequently broken, out of toner, and often inaccessible due to high need from other teachers and the lack of regular and predictable planning periods. If I wanted to make copies, I either had to get to school around seven or stay well after the final bell rang. Even then I might not be able to print what I needed for my students because the paper might be locked away to save the district some money. Stations were a perfect solution to my copy machine dilemmas. However, once I began using stations I found many more reasons to keep using them in my seventh grade science classes. Perhaps most importantly, students love stations and are motivated simply because they can be out of their seats and be more in charge of their learning (more on that later). Stations are super easy to differentiate and can be used to meet the needs of all of your students. Also, they are easy to use and quick to set up. If you’ve never heard of stations, ever considered using stations, or if you currently use stations and they aren’t quite as effective as you’d like, keep reading. Students practice identifying variables and writing hypotheses with these Scientific Method Stations. What are stations? Stations are a way for students to practice lesson content while moving around the classroom instead of being seated at desks. (That might sound scary when considering certain classes—believe me, I’ve been there. However, I’ve used stations with even my most rambunctious, out of control classes of 35+ seventh grade students. It can be done successfully.) Stations can be questions or short tasks posted on the perimeter of the room. In my science classes I typically used questions that could be answered with students’ notes, textbooks, knowledge, or skills. I included a variety of question levels—some easy and straightforward and others rigorous and challenging. I have also set up measurement stations with tasks to complete such as finding the volume of an object using the water displacement method or predicting the mass of an object and then using a balance to see how close their predictions were. When I noticed students had a hard time finding information in textbooks, I had stations where students had to find a specific piece of information using glossaries, tables of contents, or indexes. I’ve even cut up a worksheet and posted it around the room as stations. Answering the questions on a worksheet can be tedious, but when that same worksheet is in station form it becomes more engaging and meaningful. When students are up and around the room doing stations they’ll need to record their answers. This can be done on notebook paper that they hand in when they’re finished or in their interactive notebooks. How do I set up stations in my classroom? Start off by writing the questions or tasks you want your students to answer. Use fairly large font so they are easy to read from a distance of several feet. Then print them out and cut them up. If you want, you can laminate them so they are in good condition by the time the last class of students goes through them. I personally did not laminate them, so I always had some rips or pencil marks on the papers by the end of the day. Instead of laminating I just used extra tape to prevent the majority of damage. Once you have your stations printed, cut out, and maybe laminated you can tape them around the room on walls, windows, or tables. Finding space in my classroom was always easy because my room was ginormous. I also had countertops bordering the walls of three-quarters of my classroom. The space you leave between stations obviously depends on how many stations you have, but whenever possible try to leave at least a yard between them. This helps the students stay focused on their task instead of socializing with nearby groups. It also helps the teacher spot misbehavior earlier and sprout fewer gray hairs. When should I use stations? There were two purposes for using stations in my classroom: practice or review. If I was using the stations as a way to reinforce the material we learned, I scheduled them after taking notes and doing a whole class practice. Basically, I wanted my students to have the fundamentals down and the ability to be decently independent before beginning stations. If students needed to review material, I typically used stations as a review activity the day or two before a test. I’ve also had luck using stations before big breaks like Thanksgiving break, winter break, spring break, or summer vacation. Whenever students are especially squirrelly, stations are usually a good choice because students can move around the room and still engage in the material they need to learn and understand instead of wasting learning time. (Stations have kept me sane on more than one occasion before a break.) What behavioral expectations should be established before beginning stations? Before beginning stations, you MUST go over your behavior expectations. Otherwise, the students have a 95% chance of turning feral within three minutes. Here are the station expectations I went over every time we did stations. Students will have no more than three students to a station at any time. If there is already a group at that station, then they must go to another station. Students do not have to go in order. They may skip around to any station as long as they write their answers in the correct location on their own papers. As long as students are on task and working, students may pick the student(s) they want to work with. Students may also work individually. Students will receive only one warning for off task behavior. If they are off task a second time, they will have to complete the assignment individually in their seat using a worksheet form of the stations. Students may only visit the answer sheet twice during the stations. When students finish the stations they need to check all of their answers and return to their seats. How do I monitor behavior during stations, and what do I do about misbehavior? If you aren’t directly supporting a group of students, walk around the room and monitor behavior. Keep an eye and ear out for horseplay. Whenever students misbehave or don’t follow a station expectation give them a warning. If students have a second problem, direct the offending students back to their seats and give them a worksheet form of the stations to complete individually. Remind students they cannot get out of their seats for the remaining station time, otherwise you might find them messing with their friends and wandering around the room “working on the stations.” Depending on whether your stations consist of questions or tasks, your students might not be able to do every station on their worksheet. In that case instruct them to skip the station or complete it individually later on. Biggest advice here: don’t let small misbehaviors get out of hand. Immediately give the warning/consequence and briefly explain to the student what they did wrong and why it’s a problem. Here is an example of how that might sound: “Billybobjoe, you were visiting another group again. When you do this it is distracting to other students and you can’t learn. Because you didn’t follow the station expectations, now you will finish the stations at your desk by yourself on this worksheet.” How can I use stations to meet the needs of all of my students? Stations are excellent for differentiation purposes. Students can choose what works for them. For example, I let my students determine if they wanted to work independently, with a partner, or in a group of three. They also determined the order in which they completed the stations. They could skip around or go in numerical order while working at their own pace. Posting an answer sheet gave my students support by allowing them to check their work or get help with a problem they were struggling with. While my students were working, I was free to meet with a small group of students who needed extra support. Sometimes I determined ahead of time who should be in that day's support group and other times I left it up to the students to come to me for assistance. Consider posting answer sheets (like I did with the Changes in States of Matter Stations) so students can check their work and get assistance if needed. Another way to differentiate is by arranging the stations from easiest to hardest. For the most part, students are pretty good at determining their levels of understanding. Whenever I arranged the stations this way, I explained it to my students and let them choose where they needed to be. Providing the right context and reasoning is important for this. Don’t just say: left is easy, center is medium, and right is hard. Then you’d have a flock of students on the left with no one really benefiting. Explain that the stations on the left side are for students who feel they are having difficulty with the content and need to build up their knowledge and skills first. The stations in the center are a medium level of difficulty for students who feel they have a fairly good understanding of the content and are ready for reinforcement practice. The stations on the right side of the room are for students who feel they understand the material very well and need a challenge. When I explained it this way, my students didn’t feel bad if they were on the left side. As for the right side, many were eager for a challenge and would start by looking at the questions to see if they were ready or needed to go more towards the center. When arranging by level of difficulty, give your students a number of stations to complete. If there are 30 stations, maybe have them choose any 10. Having students complete all of the stations can defeat the purpose of arranging them this way. What do I do when students finish the stations at different times? There are several solutions to this. You can set a timer and have students complete as many stations as they can in 20 minutes. If there are a small number of stations or if the questions/tasks are relatively quick to get through, you can start a five-minute timer after the first five students finish; then announce that everyone needs to be done in less than five minutes. You can have students begin their homework or an individual class assignment at their seats. They can read a book. I’ve tried all of these methods in my class and switched it up depending on the student or lesson needs. What stations do you use in your own classroom? I'm so glad you asked. :) In my Teachers Pay Teachers store you can find many of the stations I have used in my seventh grade science classroom. Currently, these are the stations in my store: Scientific Method Stations: These can be used in a variety of ways. Most often my students used these stations to identify independent and dependent variables and write hypotheses. Changes in States of Matter Stations: These stations give students practice with the key points of melting, freezing, vaporization, condensation, and sublimation. Genetics and Heredity Stations: These stations give students practice with a variety of genetics topics. They are great to see what students know or to review key concepts. Human Body Organ System Stations: Students practice the important characteristics of the skeletal system, circulatory system, respiratory system, muscular system, digestive system, and nervous system. Properties of Matter/Physical Science Review Stations: I use these stations to review physical science concepts before the unit test. They go over atoms, states of matter, changes in states, physical and chemical changes, law of conservation of mass/matter, homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures, elements, and compounds. Measurement in Science Stations: These stations are all about the tools and units used to measure metric length, volume, mass, and density. Density Stations: My students always need extra practice with density before things really sink in. These stations help them understand. Volume Stations: These stations focus on finding the volume of solids and liquids and measuring correctly. Mass and Weight Stations: Students get practice with the difference between mass and weight with these stations. If you haven’t already, try using stations in your classroom. With the correct implementation, they can really benefit your students. Plus, you don’t have to make a bazillion copies ;) Are you a middle school science teacher? You might be interested in my newsletter. Sign up for my newsletter here. Just for signing up you'll receive an exclusive freebie that you can't get anywhere else.

When trying to differentiate instruction for our students, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Here are 6 Easy Ways to Differentiate Instruction

Students come to us on all different levels, which can be a challenge- 3 great ideas on how to teach a mutli-level class.

Teaching essay writing to students can be tricky, especially for reluctant learners. Read 10 Ways to Make Essay Writing Less Stressful and More Successful

Have you been introduced to Math Stations? Do you use independent math activities with your students? Are your students in need of independent and group math work? {Click HERE to download} When I first heard about these I was hesitant to start using them in my classroom because I thought it would be time consuming making all these station activities. I have great news, I've created a NO PREP set and would love to share it with you! Math Stations (also called Math Workshops) is a system of different types of activities in the classroom for the students to complete based on the same topic. I have created the 8th Grade Math Stations BUNDLE to cover all of the Math topics related to grade eight and also cover all of the eighth grade common core standards. These Math Stations activities are helpful to students in that they review concepts, practice Math, apply Math, and read about the Math in the real world. There are many different ways you can use these stations as they are versatile for the teacher to pick and choose which ones you want to use on any given day. If you already use Math stations in your classroom these can complement your set with additional practice and applications for students to review Common Core Standards. This Middle School Math Station Bundle is a COMPLETED BUNDLE covering ALL 8th grade Common Core Standards! {Click HERE to download} Included are the following Math Stations: Math Stations: Real Numbers Math Stations: Exponents & Scientific Notation Math Stations: Proportional Relationships Math Stations: Non-Proportional Relationships Math Stations: Writing Linear Equations Math Stations: Functions Math Stations: Linear Equations Math Stations: Solving Systems of Linear Equations Math Stations: Transformations & Congruence Math Stations: Transformations & Similarity Math Stations: Angle Relationships in Parallel Lines & Triangles Math Stations: The Pythagorean Theorem Math Stations: Volume Math Stations: Scatter Plots Math Stations: Two-Way Tables This resource is a means of practice and review for all the 8th grade standards. Students' scores excel and they enjoy independently working with their classmates on the different tasks. This can be a great activity for your students to be engaged in the learning process. Students gain self-confidence and own their learning process when they are given the chance to work independently on Math Stations. See what teachers are saying about math stations, "The 7th grade teacher at my school has the 7th grade bundle, and LOVES it! So I had to get the 8th grade bundle for my class! I cannot wait to use these resources!" -Andrea "Had bought the first unit and loved it. Can't wait to use these throughout the year." -Gwen "Love this for a review!" -Riki There are many different ways to incorporate the math stations in your classroom. I have used book bins (from Lakeshore Learning) to keep them organized and easily accessible for the students. I also have a FREE math stations bin labels HERE for download. Happy Teaching!

Order of Operations A student asked me today what my favorite subject to teach is and I said, “Math, of course!”. To which, he replied, “What’s your favorite math topic to teach….[paused]…Nevermind, I know it has to be order of operations.” :) He’s not wrong. Room Transformations One of the reas

Beat the overwhelm of teaching an absolute beginner with this downloadable checklist

Upper Elementary & Middle School Math Games Math Teachers, Look No Further! 42 printable math games for upper elementary and middles school students, easy-to-setup for any math class // Buy it …

I am incorporating many of the amazing ideas that I have come across on Pinterest and this is one of them. It's a missing assignment form, which you have students turn in when they do not have an assignment. I thought it would make it much easier to keep track of those who did not do something versus those who are absent. So here it is!

Activities, free resources, and ideas to teach how to write a thesis statement in middle school and high school English Language Arts!

These life skills activities will give your special education students practice with basic skills they need for independence in their community. Put these no prep tasks in your independent work stations before a community trip to a fast food restaurant to practice skills like dollar up, more or less, recognizing signs, reading a receipt, and much more.Includes 41 pages and each topic is differentiated to two levels. These worksheets are part of a larger resource to take a community trip to a fast food restaurant.  Grab both here. Here’s how some teachers are using these life skills worksheets: Independent work Life skills unit Prepare for community based instruction (CBI) trip Early finishers Morning work Functional academics This life skills resource includes: 41 worksheets Two levels Level 1 - visual cues Level 2 - independent completion Basic Skills and Life Skills Topics Vocabulary matching Food or drink sorting Small or large sorting Following directions Counting 1-5, 6-10 Patterning Sequencing Environmental print – signs Finding restaurant information Do you have enough? Dollar up More or less Adding total cost Reading a receipt Fine motor and visual discrimination BONUS: Fast food vocabulary cards to create a bulletin board or word wall. Grab more life skills worksheets here - Grocery Shopping Please note: This is a digital download.  You will download, print, and prep as needed. No physical items will be sent to you.

TED Talks are informative, engaging, and often leave me thinking. Here are some of my favorite TED Talks for students in middle and high school.

Teaching the writing process? Try involving students kinesthetically. Play Doh can work for big kids, too! My high school students absolutely love this writing analogy that walks them through each stage of the writing process as if they were sculptors crafting a masterpiece. Differentiate your instr

Differentiation made easy. Use some of these resources with your gifted students in middle school ELA to keep everyone in the class learning!

Hey Friends!! It's been a minute!Let me just start by saying that I've had such a great summer. I had intended to do a lot of work, but I just couldn't. I needed a little

Learn five great reasons to use versatile reading logs in upper elementary or middle school grades and discover the multiple benefits to your classroom.

Ease your rising middle schoolers' worries about the middle school transition with an engaging collaborative learning activity escape room complete with five challenges during your classroom counseling lessons! Build excitement by reading the opening challenge and instructions in a letter from middle school students. Two of the puzzles include differentiated versions! Your students will work collaboratively in four groups to solve five challenges to prove they're ready for middle school. At each challenge, students will unlock code words and phrases to earn a tile for their middle school map. Finish the escape room with a letter from middle schoolers, printable prizes, and photo props for taking fun "We escaped!" pictures! Teams will race to solve 5 challenges: Challenge #1: "Middle School Myths" - Groups will sort statements onto the mats and piece together the puzzle to find the code word. Challenge #2: "Finding My Classes" - Students will practice reading a middle school schedule and school map to find the code word. Challenge #3: "Opening My Locker" - Groups will use the combination lock to crack the code. Challenge #4: "Dodging Drama" - Groups will work their way through the maze, responding to scenario task cards along the way. Challenge #5: "Healthy Friendships" - Groups will read the clues to fill in characteristics of a good friend in the puzzle. Choose from 2 ways to do the escape room: Option 1: Students will rotate through the 5 stations at the same time, moving at your signal. Assign each group to one of the stations (one will be empty). Groups who finish early at a station can start on a bonus activity to redeem for a hint if needed later. Option 2: Each group will work through the 5 activities at their own pace. This option requires prepping a compete set of all 5 challenges for each group but will likely require less classroom time. Together, teams will glue each tile to their middle school map as they race to escape. Printable prizes for all finishers include bookmarks with instructions for opening a combination lock! Close the lesson by reading a finisher script from middle schoolers and posing for fun "We escaped!" photo ops. Three bonus activities are included for early finishers to solve in exchange for hints along the way! Hint cards and "We Need Help!" cards are also included. Two of the challenges include differentiated versions of the puzzles. The table of contents includes page numbers, and both PDF versions are paginated for easy prep! Your zip file download includes 2 PDFs for easy printing: A color version of all pages (printable 67-page PDF) A blackline version of all pages (printable 67-page PDF) The Escape Room includes: Binder cover Let’s Connect! Table of Contents (2 pages) Spine labels if you're storing in a binder for easy organization Lesson Plan with ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors Standards (2021) Instructor Notes for Printing Challenge letter from middle schoolers Center Labels Challenge Overview Challenge Map Escape Room Key Challenge Tiles Challenge #1: Middle School Myths Challenge Instructions Student Answer Page Puzzle Pieces Puzzle Mats Challenge #2: Finding My Classes Challenge Instructions Class Schedule Middle School Map Challenge #3: Opening My Locker Student Answer Page Combination Lock Spinner Differentiated Versions Instructions for Opening a Combination Lock Challenge #4: Dodging Drama Challenge Instructions Dodging Drama Maze Scenario task cards for teams to discuss Challenge # 5: Healthy Friendships Friendship Characteristics Puzzle (differentiated versions) Bonus Hint Cards: Common Worries, Middle School Maze, Opening a Combination Lock Finisher letter from middle schoolers Printable bookmark prizes Printable photo props for groups who finish Answer keys for all challenges Related resource links, Terms of Use, Credits - 67 pages in color, 67 pages in blackline - Intended for rising middle schoolers (4th, 5th, or 6th) PDFs are flattened and not editable per the font artists' and clip artists' Terms of Use Prepare your students for the transition to middle school with these activities! Middle School Transition digital lesson Middle School Scoot Game Cruising into Middle School - Questions Commonly Asked by 5th Graders Writing Prompt - Advice for the Student Who Will Sit at this Desk Next Year Opening a Combination Lock 5th Grader Exit Interview Survey Venn Diagram Transition Activities - Preparing for Middle School Writing Prompt - Middle School Transition Follow Counselor Station on TPT! Leave a review to earn credits toward future TPT purchases! Counselor Station Terms of Use

Sketchnoting Templates for All Curriculum Areas: Visual Note-Taking Through Illustrations, Symbols, Structures, & Text More About This Product:☰ This product can be used for small groups, differentiated instructional purposes, for 1:1 targeted instructional tutorials, or as a whole class learnin...

Math intervention with your students can be an overwhelming task. Here's how to simplify the process and do it in a meaningful way.

Ready to make math centers work in shorter middle school class periods? Get the details - structure, scheduling, activities, and more!

Engage your middle school math students with this hands-on surface area and volume project! Great for back-to-school or end-of-unit review!

Help your students become successful with these 6 Tips (and free samples) for Making Math Intervention Work in the Middle Grades.