​The reality of modern teaching is that within your class there will be a range of learning needs. Differentiating the lesson to make it accessible to all students is key to positive student engagement and success. It also saves you some serious stress having to manage behaviour! The other reality is that your time is a rare and valuable commodity, and we need to be savvy on our differentiation styles to save as much of it as we can. We are going to look at 2 main areas; ‘Differentiating by Task’ and ‘Differentiating by Outcome’.

Classrooms need to incorporate a range of methods to teach students a variety of skills. I'd like to point out that yes, hands-on and active learning experiences are still by far some of the best teaching strategies! However, there doesn't need to be a total ban (like I am seeing in some schools) on the traditional worksheet either. This post will outline the various reasons why balance is key and worksheets are not a total enemy!

​We use division daily and probably don’t even realize it. When baking cupcakes, we divide the mixture into the cups, when we share a bar of chocolate with our children, we divide the squares equally and finally, when we put leftover change into a selection of charity boxes at the store, we try to ensure that each charity is getting the same amount. Division is a lifelong skill, regardless if we recognize its value.