Question

1. 10 Instructional Strategies

Differentiated instruction is dependent on a plethora of eclectic learning experiences that are designed to engage learners. Having a collection of instructional strategies is the foundation for success in all classrooms. Highly effective teachers do not solely rely on a lecture. For the10 Instructional Strategies assignment, you will create a list of 10 strategies you can USE with YOUR students and organize the strategies by themes.

1 - Games

2 - Collaboration

Use a variety of resources to compile your list.   You are encouraged to implement at least two of the new strategies each week. Each of the entries will include the title and five bullet points describing the activity in detail. For example:

• Mind-mapping (The title of the strategy is to be numbered and in bold font. The bullets below give the procedure/directions for the strategy.)
  • As a class, students will silently create a web of ideas
  • First, I will place the topic in a circle at the center of the board
  • Students will stand at the board and add ideas using dry erase markers
  • There is no talking during the creating of the web; students collaborate cognitively as their thoughts inspire other's thoughts
  • The discussion takes place after an appropriate amount of ideas have been written on the board

Answer 1

1.GAMES

Charades

• Resources: a list of people, actions or concepts related to the subject you are teaching.
• Game: Select a student to stand at the front of the room and act out a word from your list (no speaking allowed).
• The rest of the class must then guess what the student is attempting to portray.
• Other students can shout out their guesses or put their hands up – depending on your teaching preference!
• Whoever guesses correctly can act out the next word.

Hangman

• Divide your class into two teams then select a student to stand at the front of the class and think of a word related to the lesson (or you could give them a suitable word).
• The student must then draw spaces on the whiteboard to represent each letter in their word.
• The rest of the class then guesses the word, one letter at a time (allow one student from each team to guess alternately).
• Incorrect guesses result in a hangman being drawn (one line at a time). The first team to guess the word wins, unless the hangman is completed.
• The game then repeats with another student thinking of a relevant word.

Scatter-gories

• Split students into small groups and ask them to note down the categories on their pieces of paper.
• Choose a letter (A-Z) at random and give students 1-2 minutes (depending on how many categories) to think of a word for each category, beginning with that letter.
• Once the time is up, allocate points for unique answers, i.e. if two teams write down the same word for a category then neither get any points.
• Repeat the game with different letters.

Bingo

• Ask students to draw a 6 x 6 grid on their whiteboards or pieces of paper then select 6 words or images from the given list to draw/write in their grid.
• You must then randomly select a word from the list to describe, and students must guess the word in order to cross it off on their grid (if present).
• Continue describing different words until one student successfully completes their grid and shouts ‘bingo!’
• youcan also award a prize to the first student who gets 3 in a row.

Draw swords

• Split your class into small groups and choose a student from each group to start.
• The nominated student then places the dictionary or textbook under their arm.
• You then say a word or image which the students must then race to find in their book (like drawing a sword from under their arm!).
• The first student to find the word/image is the winner.
• The game continues with different words/images until every student has had a turn.

Thumbs up or Thumbs down

• 3 – 4 students are chosen to stand at the front of the room.
• The rest of the class then put their heads on the table and hold their thumbs in the air.
• The 3 – 4 students at the front then carefully tip-toe around the classroom and gently pinch one thumb each, from the students with their heads down.
• The 3-4 students return to the front of the room, once they have pinched a thumb, and the class raise their heads.
• The students whose thumbs were pinched then stand and have to guess who pinched them. If they guess correctly then they swap with the student at the front, and the game continues.

2.COLLABORATION

Stumb your partner

• Students take a minute to create a challenging question based on the lecture content up to that point.
• Students pose the question to the person sitting next to them.
• To take this activity a step further, ask students to write down their questions and hand them in.
• These questions can be used to create tests or exams.
• They can also be reviewed to gauge student understanding.

Case study

• Create four to five case studies of similar difficulty.
• Have students work in groups of four or five to work through and analyze their case study.
• Provide 10-15 minutes (or adequate time) to work through the cases.
• Walk around and address any questions.
• Call on groups randomly and ask that students share their analysis. Continue until each case study has been addressed.

Think pair share/Write pair share

• The instructor poses a question that demands analysis, evaluation, or synthesis.
• Students take a few minutes to think through an appropriate response.
• Students turn to a partner (or small groups) and share their responses. Take this a step further by asking students to find someone who arrived at an answer different from their own and convince their partner to change their mind.
• Student responses are shared within larger teams or with the entire class during a follow-up discussion.

Jigsaw

• Each student on the team becomes an “expert” on one topic
• “Experts” group with members from other teams assigned the corresponding expert topic.
• Upon returning to their teams, each one, in turn, teaches the group.
• Students are all assessed on all aspects of the topic.