Differentiating Instruction for At-Risk Students: What to Do and How to Do It

No single approach to teaching is effective with all children; each helps those with identified learning-style strengths to increase their knowledge base within the first three or four months of classroom use. Some learners will want to continue using a single method; others will prefer a variety of approaches. When the activities described herein are introduced to students whose learning styles they match, most will demonstrate strong abilities to learn and remember new and difficult content within the first four months of beginning_if not earlier. This book is written to prevent more children from becoming at risk and to help those who already have fallen behind their classmates and do not enjoy school. Each chapter describes different instructional strategies, a summary chart shows how to match at-risk learners with the specific approach most likely to substantially increase their academic achievement. These instructional approaches are designed to engage youngsters in action-oriented activities that gradually increase cognition and help children to internalize and retain what they are taught. Applications of these instructional strategies are suggested for increasing performance in literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies.