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Teachers can differentiate at least four classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or learning profile: Process, content, products, learning environment: When we Differentiate Instruction, we have to look at CONTENT as referring a broader definition than were used to: We know concepts as principles, tasks, and skills that we want students to learn, D.I. strategies address the same content with all students but adjust the path some students have to take in order to learn that content, D. I. also refers to Content as. The vehicles used to give students access to skills and knowledge, such as texts, lectures, demonstrations, hands-on manipulatives, internet, field trips, etc. We can vary these vehicles as well. For example, we might direct a higher functioning student to challenging texts, Web Sites, and interviewing experts, while providing a lower functioning student with reading buddies, videos, demonstrations, and "organizers that break down the same information to make it more accessible Therefore, Content is what we teach, what we want the students to learn, as well as the materials we select to give students access to what we want them to learn. -The first step in differentiating content is to be very clear about what a student should know and be able to do as a result of a lesson. Using the goals for students, the teacher determines lesson content. If the teacher has a clear picture of each lesson's goals, it can be communicated to students and differentiated as appropriate. Some Ways to Differentiate by Content: Allow students to work on curriculum from multiple entry points e.g. the Multiple Intelligences (musical & visual). Use task analysis to teach in smaller concrete steps. Assess and build on background experiences. Use graphic organizers lots and lots!. Provide materials at various reading levels (pre-test to determine levels). Highlight key portions of a text. Pre-teach key vocabulary.

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Re-teach in small, flexible groups while others are working on assignments. Provide taped materials and earphones. Present in visual, tactile, and auditory modes. Model the task; provide examples of what best work looks like Content - what the student needs to learn or how the student will get access to the information/ what the teacher intends to teach; Content Several elements and materials are used to support instructional content. These include acts, concepts, generalizations or principles, attitudes, and skills. The variation seen in a differentiated classroom is most frequently in the manner in which students gain access to important learning. Access to the content is seen as key. Align tasks and objectives to learning goals. Designers of differentiated instruction view the alignment of tasks with instructional goals and objectives as essential. Goals are most frequently assessed by many state-level, high-stakes tests and frequently administered standardized measures. Objectives are frequently written in incremental steps resulting in a continuum of skills-building tasks. An objectives-driven menu makes it easier to find the next instructional step for learners entering at varying levels. Instruction is concept-focused and principle-driven. The instructional concepts should be broad-based, not focused on minute details or unlimited facts. Teachers must focus on the concepts, principles and skills that students should learn. The content of instruction should address the same concepts with all students, but the degree of complexity should be adjusted to suit diverse learners. Content modification: The aim is to remove the ceiling on what is learned, and use the student's abilities to build a richer, more diverse and efficiently organised knowledge base. This building can be facilitated by encouraging: abstractness - with content shifting from facts, definitions and descriptions to concepts, relationships to key concepts, and generalisations, complexity - with content shifting to inter-relationships rather than considering factors separately, variety - with content expanding beyond material presented in the normal program, study of people - including the study of individuals or peoples, and how they have reacted to various opportunities and problems, and study of methods of inquiry - including procedures used by experts working in their fields.

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Content: The instructional concepts should be broad based, and all students should be given access to the same core content. However, the contents complexity should be adapted to students learner profiles. Teachers can vary the presentation of content,( i.e., texts, lecture, demonstrations, taped texts) to best meet students needs. Examples of differentiating content at the elementary level include the following: Using reading materials at varying readability levels; Putting text materials on tape; Using spelling or vocabulary lists at readiness levels of students; Presenting ideas through both auditory and visual means; Using reading buddies; and Meeting with small groups to re-teach an idea or skill for struggling learners, or to extend the thinking or skills of advanced learners