DifferentiationLiteracyPlan

1:Belowgradelevel
2:Atgradelevel
3:Abovegradelevel

Time

Daily
Indepe
ndent
Readin
g

Daily
Indepen
dent
Writing

Reading
:
Reading
Skills

Reading:
Applyin
g

Work
Station:
Poetry

9:00

9:20

9:40

10:00

10:20

11:00

11:20

Writin
g

Skills

and

Work
Station:
Class
room
Library
1

10:40

Teaching

Work
Station
:
Word
Study
3

Strategie
s

11:40

Writin
g

Applying

Skills

and

Strategie
s

12:0
0

First Group: Below grade level.

Work Station:
Classroom Library
9:00-9:20
SOLs: 3.5

Activity: Classroom Library

Teaching Objective: Students will have a chance to practice
reading books that are developmentally appropriate. The
reflection activity at the end of the reading helps students
practice comprehension.
Materials:
-A rug, pillows, possibly a lamp; things to make the station
inviting and comfortable for students.
-Three color-coded baskets with developmentally books for
each of the three learning groups.
-A basket of books that are new, seasonal, or are dealing with a
subject we are covering in class.
-Group 1 Worksheet (only review one chapter of the book
instead of the whole thing).
Procedure:
-Students will choose a book from the correct basket.
-After they are done reading, they will complete the worksheet
in the basket for their group.
Organization:
-Students will arrive at the station and choose a book.
-If it is a longer chapter book, they will only report on one or
two chapters.
-Once they have completed their book review they will place it
back in the appropriate color-coded basket.
*ELLs can read books that are in their native language and
then complete the reflection activity in English. This way they
have a solid understanding of the plot line and their
preferences about the book. Then from that understanding they
can complete the questions on the worksheets in English.

Reading: Teaching
Skills and Strategies
9:20-9:40

Text: Because of Winn-Dixie

Mini-Lesson:
Monitoring
(Clarifying)
Narrative Text

Tell students that good readers monitor themselves when they

are reading to make sure they are effectively comprehending
the reading.
Say to students, Today we are going to read the first chapter
of Because of Winn-Dixie, and learn how to self monitor for
comprehension.

SOLs: 3.5 k

Comment: Lets students know what they will be learning.

Introduction

Tell students, When you are watching a movie and you miss
something what do you do? (Rewind and watch again, accept
student answers) Good. When you realized you missed
something and did not understand, you realized it and went
back. You can do the same thing when you are reading.
Read first page aloud. Stumble upon a word. Write the problem
word on the board.
Comment: This creates a problem situation to demonstrate
monitoring through a think-aloud.

Teacher Modeling

Teacher think-aloud:
I am not sure how to pronounce this word, I also do not know
what it means. I have not read far enough to know if this is an
important word to the story. Since I am reading it by myself I
do not need to know how to exactly pronounce it. I am going
to keep reading and see if I can figure out what the word
means enough to understand.
Direct students to listen to the next few pages. You will stop
after each page and ask a student to raise their hand and thinkaloud to summarize the page. While they are thinking aloud,
prompt them with question. Were there any words you didnt
know? What did you do about it? Was there anything you
would like to reread? Why? Did you have to adjust your
predictions as you read? Why?

Student Modeling
and Guided Practice

Comment: Gives students the job of modeling, but still with the
teacher present to offer support.
Teacher think aloud:
I am understanding the majority of what I am reading. I
understand a lot of the words, and the words I do not know
exactly what they mean, I can use clues from the text to figure
out what is going on. A few of the names confused me, but I

read far enough to figure out that they were names of

characters.
Continue reading and alternate between student modeling and
teacher modeling. Finish reading the chapter in this manner.
Comment: This method of modeling gives support to students.
*This provides extra support for ELLs

Summarizing and
Reflecting

Ask students to summarize the strategy monitoring. Asses if

they are truly grasping the strategy. If there answers need
correcting help them form a more formal definition.
Encourage students to list times this strategy would be useful
to them in their reading.
Comment: This gives students authentic ideas to use this
strategy for reading comprehension.

Reading: Application
of Skills and
Strategies
9:40-10:00
SOLs: 3.5 k & m
Cooperative Reading
Routine
Application of
Monitoring

Split students into groups and hand out class copies of the
novel Because of Winn-Dixie. Have group one get into pairs
to cooperative read.
Explain that they will read chapter two switching readers at
every other page. After they have read two pages they will
collaborate and summarize what is happening in the plot line.
Once they have come to a conclusion, they will write the
summary in two sentences. This will be done on one sheet of
paper with both of the students names on it to save time.
Comment: This gives students extra support in application.
*The collaboration between students is helpful for ELLs. The
ELL can be paired with a native English speaker to help the
student comprehend the story line, even if they cannot read
every word. Also, the native English speaker can define or
clarify words that are confusing for the ELL, without
interrupting the teacher.
Once the time is up the students will turn in their summaries in
a basket specified by the teacher.

Daily Independent
Writing
10:00-10:20
SOLs: 3.9

Students will have a chance to write in their journals about a

topic of their choosing. To offer more student support, there
will be a list of possible topics stapled in the front page of each
students journal.
Possible Topics:
Last weekend/this weekends plans
Dream Career
Rewrite an ending to a favorite story/movie
My favorite memory (and why)
My favorite holiday (and why)
If I won a million dollars
If I were an animal I would be a
Once upon a time
If I ruled a country

Activity: Buddy Reading/Poetry Rewrite

Work Station: Poetry
10:20-10:40
SOLs: 3.5 m & 3.8

Teaching objective: Students have further exposure and

practice with poetry. They have many different options to do at
the station, which helps differentiate the station for different
learners. Also, different poems will be available for each
learning levels to work with.
Materials:
-Familiar pomes printed on laminated cards.
-Lined paper
-Pencils
Procedure:
-Students will arrive at workstation.
-They will either partner read the familiar pomes on the cards.
-They can also rewrite familiar poems on the lined paper.
Organization:
-Poems for each level, along with their materials will be placed
in color-coded baskets.
-Students will know which color is theirs and will remove the
materials from their correct basket.
-They will choose which activity they would like to do first,
and there will be enough materials for this to not create sharing
problems.
-If they finish one activity, they will do the second one until

time is up.
-When they have finished they will put all materials back into
the basket, including rewrites of pomes they did.
Activity: Word Sort
Work Station: Word
Study
10:40-11:00
SOLs: 3.3 & 3.4 b

Teaching Objective: Students will be exposed to and practice

with spelling patters that will not only help them read, but also
write. These patterns will help students in not only their
reading but their spelling as well. The words each of the
learning groups will sort are differentiated by difficulty level.
Materials:
-A worksheet with the words printed on it.
-Safety scissors.
-A small baggie.
Procedure:
-Students will cut out each word and sort them according to
affix patterns.
-After they are done sorting they will put the cut paper into a
baggie and leave it at the station.
Organization:
-Students will arrive at the workstation and take their materials
out of the appropriate color-coded basket.
-Three different baskets will be placed out, each with a list of
developmentally appropriate words.
-If there is time left over in the station, the students will read
over the words they just sorted.
Third Grade Words
Cups
Foxes
Animals
Bushes
Books
Dishes
Sisters
Boxes
Cows
Matches
Nails
Rashes
Trees
Taxes
Pencils
Beaches
Papers
Churches
At this literacy station students are given time to read literature
of their own choosing. They can get these books from the
school library, the public library, or from home as long as they
are appropriate.

Daily Independent
Reading
11:00-11:20
SOLs: 3.5 m

Writing: Learning to
Write
11:20-11:40
Shared Writing
Routine
Mini LessonLearning to Use a
Thesaurus
SOLs: 3.9 b, c & g
Introduction

Teacher Modeling

Tell students, Today we will be writing a story together. Lets

brainstorm some ideas of things we could write about (accept
some student answers. Try to lead student ideas to something
all students can relate to. For example, a field trip or assembly
the school just had.
*This would be an opportunity for ELL students to speak about
their culture. The class could write a story pertaining to a part
of a culture. The ELLs could brief the class on the topic and be
the leader of the shared writing.)
Say, I love all of these suggestions, but I think the best option
for us to write about today is a narrative about Field Day.
Remind students the parts of a story: beginning, middle and
end.
Teacher Think-Aloud:
I think I want to write this story in third person, meaning I am
the narrator. I am going to begin this story with a good topic
sentence
One nice, sunny fall day three best friends, Mike, Juan and
Kathryn, went outside to play on the playground.
In my topic sentence, I stated by narrating, because this is
going to be in third person. Then I described the setting a fall
day on the playground. Next I introduced the main characters.
Now the reader knows the point of view the story is being
written in, the reader knows the setting, and the reader knows
the main characters. When writing a story remember it is
important to remember to make sentences clear, so the reader
can understand the story line.
Comment: Teacher modeling and think-aloud gives students an
exact model to base their thinking on. When the students move
to guided practice, they will know exactly what to do.
Say to students, I would like you to close your eyes for ten
seconds and think of a second sentence for this story.
Comment: Gives students time to think and practice forming
their own sentences before another student gives their
sentence. Everyone has equal time to process task.
Open your eyes and raise your hand if you would like to share

your sentence (accept a student answer, if it is not what you

are looking for support them in their own think aloud process
until they come up with a more fitting sentence).
Continue accepting student sentences and adjusting, if need be.
Lead a final student to a write a strong closing sentence.
Reread the story. Remind these students that this is a shared
activity, so it is okay if they are not completely happy with the
outcome. When these students independently write, they can
remember what they did or did not like about the class story
and write their own text accordingly.
Say to students, We have just written a rough draft of our
shared story. Now can someone raise their hand and tell me
what the next step in the writing process is? (accept student
answers).
Comment: Drawing on students prior knowledge of rough
drafts, editing and revising.
Good. We are going to edit our story. What are some ways to
edit a story? (accept student answers)
Today we are going to learn another way to edit a story. We
are going to go through the story and find boring words or
words that are not very descriptive.
Comment: Indicates to students exactly what they are going to
be learning.
Lets think of some exciting and descriptive words.

Student Modeling
and Guided Practice
Continued Teacher
Modeling

Teacher Think-Aloud:
I am thinking of the word said. I am going to draw on my
vocabulary knowledge and think of a few other words that
mean the same thing as said but a more descriptive. I think
shouted, whispered, boasted, sneered, asked, recommended.
Those are just a few but all of these are more descriptive than
just writing said.
Now let's take a sentence from our story. I am going to choose
One nice, sunny fall day. I want us to think of more
descriptive words that mean the same thing as nice. Can
someone raise their hand and tell me a more descriptive word
for nice. (accept a few student answers.)
These are all great words, but this can be difficult sometimes.

I am going to teach you to use a tool that will make this easier.
We are going to learn to use a thesaurus.
I am going to take the word nice and look it up in the
thesaurus. You look up words in a thesaurus just like you look
up words in a dictionary.
Comment: Drawing on prior knowledge. Students are
comfortable looking up words in a dictionary.

Introduction of
Using Thesaurus
Mini-Lesson

I find nice and I see decent, kind, thoughtful, courteous,

polite, proper These are all synonyms or words that have
similar meanings to nice. I look back at my sentence and I
decided to use decent. Now my sentence reads One decent,
sunny fall day. This gives the reader a more descriptive picture
in their mind.
Invite a student up to the front of the room, ask them to look
up the word nice, pick a word they would like to put in the
sentence, and then read the new sentence.
Have students tell you when it would be helpful to use a
thesaurus. Ask students about specific pieces of writing they
would like to use a thesaurus to help them edit.
Comment: Gives students practical applications of learned
skill.

Have students return to their desks and pull out their

independent writing journals.
Writing:
Developmentally
Appropriate Writing
11:40-12:00
SOLs: 3.9 g

Tell students, We are going to practice using the thesaurus to

edit our writing and make it more descriptive. I want you to
look at your journal entry for today. Group one I want you to
look for four words that you think could be more descriptive.
Underline these four words; look them up in the thesaurus.
Pick a synonym from the list in the thesaurus. Then rewrite the
new sentence under your journal entry from today.
Remind students that journals are not graded and not normally
edited. However, I want them to use their own writing to
practice using this skill. That way they can see the practical
implications of the skill in their own writing.

Second group: On grade level.

Daily Independent
Reading
9:00-9:20
SOLs: 4.5 l

At this literacy station students are given time to read literature

of their own choosing. They can get these books from the
school library, the public library, or from home as long as they
are appropriate
Activity: Word Sort

Work Station: Word

Study
9:20-9:40
SOLs: 4.4 b

Teaching Objective: Students will be exposed to and practice

with spelling patters that will not only help them read, but also
write. These patterns will help students in not only their
reading but their spelling as well. The words each of the
learning groups will sort are differentiated by difficulty level.
Materials:
-A worksheet with the words printed on it.
-Safety scissors.
-A small baggie.
Procedure:
-Students will cut out each word and sort them according to
affix patterns.
-After they are done sorting they will put the cut paper into a
baggie and leave it at the station.
Organization:
-Students will arrive at the workstation and take their materials
out of the appropriate color-coded basket.
-Three different baskets will be placed out, each with a list of
developmentally appropriate words.
-If there is time left over in the station, the students will read
over the words they just sorted.
Fourth Grade Words
Cries
Plays
Ladies
Trays
Babies
Boys
Families Monkeys
Cities
Keys
Hobbies
Days
Lobbies
Bays
Tries
Ways
Carries
Kidneys

Text: Because of Winn-Dixie

Reading: Teaching
Skills and Strategies
9:40-10:00
Mini-Lesson:
Monitoring
(Clarifying)
Narrative Text
SOLs: 4.5 k
Introduction

Tell students that good readers monitor themselves when they

are reading to make sure they are effectively comprehending
the reading.
Say to students, Today we are going to read the first chapter
of Because of Winn-Dixie, and learn how to self monitor for
comprehension.
Comment: Lets students know what they will be learning.
Tell students, When you are watching a movie and you miss
something what do you do? (Rewind and watch again, accept
student answers) Good. When you realized you missed
something and did not understand, you realized it and went
back. You can do the same thing when you are reading.
Tell students some strategies for monitoring when you read.
Share with students sometimes I need to go back and reread a
page, or I will summarize each page or chapter when I am
done reading.
Direct students to read the next few pages. After everyone is
finished reading, ask a student to raise their hand and thinkaloud to summarize the few pages. While they are thinking
aloud, prompt them with question. Were there any words you
didnt know? What did you do about it? Was there anything
you would like to reread? Why? Did you have to adjust your
predictions as you read? Why?

Teacher Modeling

Comment: Gives students the job of modeling, but still with the
teacher present to offer support.
Teacher think aloud:
I am understanding the majority of what I am reading. I
understand a lot of the words, and the words I do not know
exactly what they mean I can use clues from the text to figure

out what is going on. A few of the names confused me, but I
read far enough to figure out that they were names of
characters.
Student Modeling
and Guided Practice

Summarizing and
Reflecting

Continue reading a few pages at a time and then pause. Call on

a different student in the group each time to model think-aloud
monitoring for each page. Give support as needed.
Ask students to summarize the strategy monitoring. Asses if
they are truly grasping the strategy. If there answers need
correcting help them form a more formal definition.
Encourage students to list times this strategy would be useful
to them in their reading.

Reading: Applying
Skills and Strategies
10:00-10:20
SOLs: 4.5 k

Split the group into pairs. Explain to the students that they will
read each page silently to themselves. After they individually
read a page, have them summarize with their partner what
happened on that page. Following a quick collaboration, the
students will silently read the next page and then repeat the
process.
They will continue this until they finish chapter 2.
Comment: The collaboration keeps the students accountable
for each other, making sure they are both grasping the main
points of each page.

Daily Independent
Writing
10:20-10:40
SOLs: 4.7

Students will have a chance to write in their journals about a

topic of their choosing. To offer more student support, there
will be a list of possible topics stapled in the front page of each
students journal.
Possible Topics:
Last weekend/this weekends plans
Dream Career
Rewrite an ending to a favorite story/movie
My favorite memory (and why)
My favorite holiday (and why)
If I won a million dollars
If I were an animal I would be a
Once upon a time
If I ruled a country

Activity: Buddy Reading/Rewriting Poetry

Work Station: Poetry

10:40-11:00
SOLs: 4.5 l

Teaching Objective: Students have further exposure and

practice with poetry. They have many different options to do at
the station, which helps differentiate the station for different
learners. Also, different poems will be available for each
learning levels to work with.
Materials:
-Familiar pomes printed on laminated cards.
-Lined paper
-Pencils
Procedure:
-Students will arrive at workstation.
-They will either partner read the familiar pomes on the cards.
-They can also rewrite familiar poems on the lined paper.
Organization:
-Poems for each level, along with their materials will be placed
in color-coded baskets.
-Students will know which color is theirs and will remove the
materials from their correct basket.
-They will choose which activity they would like to do first,
and there will be enough materials for this to not create sharing
problems.
-If they finish one activity, they will do the second one until
time is up.
-When they have finished they will put all materials back into
the basket, including rewrites of poems they did.
Teaching Objective: Students will have a chance to practice
reading books that are developmentally appropriate. The
reflection activity at the end of the reading helps students
practice comprehension.

Work Station:
Classroom Library
11:00-11:20

Materials:
-A rug, pillows, possibly a lamp; things to make the station
inviting and comfortable for students.
-Three color-coded baskets with developmentally books for
each of the three learning groups.
-A basket of books that are new, seasonal, or are dealing with a
subject we are covering in class.
-Three different worksheets

SOLs: 4.5 k & l

Procedure:
-Students will choose a book from the correct basket.
-After they are done reading, they will complete the worksheet
in the basket for their group.
*ELLs can read books that are in their native language and
then complete the reflection activity in English. This way they
have a solid understanding of the plot line and their
preferences about the book. Then from that understanding they
can complete the questions on the worksheets in English.

**SameasGroup1**

Writing: Learning to
Write
11:20-11:40
Shared Writing
Routine
Mini LessonLearning to Use a
Thesaurus
SOLs: 4.4 c
Writing:
Developmentally
Appropriate Writing
11:40-12:00
SOLs: 4.4 c

Group Three: Above grade level.

Work Station: Word

Activity: Word Sort

Study
9:00-9:20
SOLs: 5.4 c

Teaching Objective: Students will be exposed to and practice

with spelling patters that will not only help them read, but also
write. These patterns will help students in not only their
reading but their spelling as well. The words each of the
learning groups will sort are differentiated by difficulty level.
Materials:
-A worksheet with the words printed on it.
-Safety scissors.
-A small baggie.
Procedure:
-Students will cut out each word and sort them according to
affix patterns.
-After they are done sorting they will put the cut paper into a
baggie and leave it at the station.
Organization:
-Students will arrive at the workstation and take their materials
out of the appropriate color-coded basket.
-Three different baskets will be placed out, each with a list of
developmentally appropriate words.
-If there is time left over in the station, the students will read
over the words they just sorted.
Fifth Grade Words
Unfair
Reuse
Unable
Retrain
Uncover
Return
Unplug
Disagree
Undress
Disorder
Unkind
Disarm
Retell
Disown
Replay
Disappear
Research

Work Station:
Classroom Library
9:20-9:40
SOLs: 5.5

Teaching Objective: Students will have a chance to practice

reading books that are developmentally appropriate. The
reflection activity at the end of the reading helps students
practice comprehension.
Materials:
-A rug, pillows, possibly a lamp; things to make the station
inviting and comfortable for students.
-Three color-coded baskets with developmentally books for
each of the three learning groups.
-A basket of books that are new, seasonal, or are dealing with a

subject we are covering in class.

-5 Grade Reflection Worksheet
th

Procedure:
-Students will choose a book from the correct basket.
-After they are done reading, they will complete the worksheet
in the basket for their group.
*ELLs can read books that are in their native language and
then complete the reflection activity in English. This way they
have a solid understanding of the plot line and their preferences
about the book. Then from that understanding they can
complete the questions on the worksheets in English.

Text: Because of Winn-Dixie

Reading: Teaching
Skills and Strategies
10:00-10:20
SOLs: 5.5 l
Mini-Lesson:
Monitoring
(Clarifying)
Narrative Text

Tell students that good readers monitor themselves when they

are reading to make sure they are effectively comprehending
the reading.
Say to students, Today we are going to read the first chapter
of Because of Winn-Dixie, and learn how to self monitor for
comprehension.
Comment: Lets students know what they will be learning.

Introduction

Tell students, When you are watching a movie and you miss
something what do you do? (Rewind and watch again, accept
student answers) Good. When you realized you missed
something and did not understand, you realized it and went
back. You can do the same thing when you are reading.
Ask students what strategies they use to monitor their own
reading. Prompt students if needed
Comment: the higher group is probably already monitoring
themselves when they read. By asking their strategies, I am
promoting metacognition.
Direct students to read the next few pages. You will stop after
students finish and ask a student to raise their hand and think-

Student Modeling
and Guided Practice

aloud to summarize the page. While they are thinking aloud,

prompt them with question. Were there any words you didnt
know? What did you do about it? Was there anything you
would like to reread? Why? Did you have to adjust your
predictions as you read? Why?
Comment: Gives students the job of modeling, but still with the
teacher present to offer support.
Give each student a blank piece of lined paper. Tell students to
read the story silently to themselves. Suggest to students that
they can jot down a few sentences after each page summarizing
the main points. Observe what they are writing and offer
support as needed.

Summarizing and
Reflecting

Ask students to summarize the strategy monitoring. Asses if

they are truly grasping the strategy. If there answers need
correcting help them form a more formal definition.
Encourage students to list times this strategy would be useful
to them in their reading.
Send students back to their desks to read silently to themselves
and continue to summarize each page to foster self-monitoring.
They will continue this until they finish chapter 2.

Reading:
Application of Skills
and Strategies
10:20-10:40

Formative Assessments: When time is up the students will turn

in their notes in the basket specified by the teacher. This way
you can assess how the students are grasping the strategy,
monitoring.

SOLs: 5.5 l
Application of
Monitoring

Daily Independent
Reading
10:40-11:00

At this literacy station students are given time to read literature

of their own choosing. They can get these books from the
school library, the public library, or from home as long as they
are appropriate
Teaching Objective: Students have further exposure and
practice with poetry. They have many different options to do at
the station, which helps differentiate the station for different
learners. Also, different poems will be available for each

Work Station: Poetry

11:00-11:20
SOLs: 5.5 m

learning levels to work with.

Materials:
-Familiar pomes printed on laminated cards.
-Lined paper
-Pencils
Procedure:
-Students will arrive at workstation.
-They will either partner read the familiar pomes on the cards.
-They can also rewrite familiar poems on the lined paper.
Organization:
-Poems for each level, along with their materials will be placed
in color-coded baskets.
-Students will know which color is theirs and will remove the
materials from their correct basket.
-They will choose which activity they would like to do first,
and there will be enough materials for this to not create sharing
problems.
-If they finish one activity, they will do the second one until
time is up.
-When they have finished they will put all materials back into
the basket, including rewrites of pomes they did.
**SameasGroup1**

Writing: Learning to
Write
11:20-11:40
Shared Writing
Routine
Mini LessonLearning to Use a
Thesaurus
SOLs: 5.4 e
Writing:
Developmentally
Appropriate Writing
11:40-12:00

SOLs: 5.7 f