Tiered and Anchor Activities

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Tiered and Anchor Activities

• Rebecca Mann
• rlmann_at_purdue.edu

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Tiered Activities

• Tiered Instruction features
• Whole group introduction and initial instruction
• Identification of developmental differences
• Increase or Decrease the
• Abstraction
• Extent of Support
• Sophistication
• Complexity of goals,
• resources, activities
• products

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What constitutes a tiered activity?

• A focus on a key concept
• Adjustment of the task to the students
  achievement level
• Adjustment of the number of steps to the
  students productivity level
• Students working with appropriately challenging
  tasks
• Result Respectable work for everyone

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The Equalizer

• Foundational Transformational
• Concrete Abstract
• Simple Complex
• Single Facet Multiple Facets
• Small Leap Great Leap
• More Structured More Open
• Less Independence Greater Independence
• Slow Quick

Information, Ideas, Materials, Applications Rep
resentations, Ideas, Applications,
Materials Resources, Research, Issues,
Problems, Skills, Goals Directions, Problems,
Application, Solutions, Approaches, Disciplinary
Connections Application, Insight,
Transfer Solutions, Decisions,
Approaches Planning, Designing,
Monitoring Pace of Study, Pace of Thought
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The Planets

• Average students Write a sentence, giving an
  important fact, about Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
  Uranus, Neptune, Pluto as you pass on your way.
• Above average students Research the planets that
  you will pass and fill out the Solar System
  Comparison Graphic Organizer.
• High End Learners Research the planets that you
  will pass and create a visual product that shows
  the earth in relation to the other planets.

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Beginning Probability

• Task 1 Its early Monday morning and your
  mother has laid out the following clothing items
  for you to choose from a red shirt, a blue
  shirt, a white shirt, blue jeans, and khaki
  pants. How many different outfits can you make
  with the clothes your mother has provided?
• Task 2 You are making cupcakes for a class
  celebration. Your classmates have indicated that
  they would like a choice of different cupcakes.
  You have chocolate and yellow cake batter
  strawberry, white, and caramel icing and green
  and blue sprinkles. How many different types of
  cupcakes can you offer your classmates?
• Task 3 You are trying to determine your
  schedule for next year at Leonard Middle School.
  First period, you can take art, chorus, or band.
  Second period, you can take technology or
  creative writing or be an office assistant.
  Third period, you can take a foreign language
  German, Spanish, French, or Latin. Figure out
  how many different schedules are possible based
  on these options.

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More work or No work for you?

• How could you change the probability lesson
  for the high end students so that you will have
  as little prep as possible?

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Tiered Activity Biographies
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Anchor Activities

• Self-paced, purposeful, content-driven
  activities that students can work on
  independently during a unit or grading period
• Meaningful ongoing activities related to the
  curriculum
• A list of activities that a student can do at any
  time
• A long-term project
• An activity center/learning station located in
  the room
• These activities must be worthy of a students
  time and appropriate to their learning needs

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Management Suggestions

• Explain the activity and the procedures
• with the whole class
• Make expectations clear develop ground rules
  for
• Behavior
• Performance
• Use tasks that require time and thinking this
  is not an extension of the seat-work concept
• Provide clear instructions, materials,
  responsibilities, check points, and expectations
  (rubrics)

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Natural Resources Anchor Activity
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Vacation Time!
Calculate approximate cost of gas

• Family plans to average 50 miles per hour and
  travel 6 hours per day stopping twice to eat for
  an hour each time.

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Differentiation Quiz

• Should every student do it?
• Would every student want to do it?
• Could every student do it?

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Time to get to work!

• Select a topic
• Identify your learning goal
• Develop the activity
• Start with grade level group
• Modify for other two groups
• Write up one to share with the entire group

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Teachers who differentiate find

• Greater understanding of the concepts
• All students experience challenge
• Ability to apply concepts/skills to new
  situations and daily life
• Students are excited
• Students have ownership
• Students are more independent learners
• Students have more metacognitive skills
• Students have greater mastery of content
• Students have problem solving skills
• Students are able to initiate their own projects.

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Summers over kids! Now, all you round pegs
get back into your square holes!
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• Remember
• Start small
• Make friends and share
• Your mantra Different, not more
• Make memories for your students?