Tiered+Instruction

=What are Tiered Lessons and Units? From "Pieces of Learning" Standards-Based Activities and Assessments for the Differentiated Classroom by Carolyn Coil= Tiered assignments provide for differentiation by allowing students of varying abilities or levels of readiness to work on the same basic content. Tiered lessons are best used with mixed-ability classes. They are an excellent way to provide diverse levels of activities for students, all of which are centered on the same key concepts, knowledge, standards or objectives. Tiered lessons encourage achievement in all students. Having different levels of activities promotes success in learning the standards without being too easy and boring for some or too difficult and anxiety-producing for others. In a typical one-size-fits-all classroom, students who see schoolwork as something that is almost always over their heads worry about being failures or not being able to successfully complete the assignment. Their brains shut down, and they may become defensive about why they won't do a certain task. Tiering activities and assignments addresses the needs of both lower and higher-ability students and helps teachers target students at their individual levels of readiness. Learning is most successful when the required activity is just a bit more difficult that a student's comfort level. A good level is where a student understands what he or she is supposed to do but needs some help with the steps or the process for doing it. Tiered lessons provide a planning format for teachers for students of varying abilities. The Tiered Lesson/Unit format includes both whole class activities and leveled activities. The whole classs activities usually function to introduce a topic or to motivate and interest the entire class in a particular aspect of the subject. Guest speakers, audio-visual presentations, and many class discussions or hands-on activities are included. The leveled activities are designed specifically to challenge students at their appropriate levels. Make all levels equally inviting and more or less parallel in terms of the type of activity and the amount of time it is likely to take.