This document provides information and strategies for differentiating instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners while teaching Common Core standards. It discusses the differences among students, including learning styles, readiness, language skills, and special needs. The concept of universal design for instruction is introduced, which aims to make learning accessible for all students. Differentiated instruction is defined as adapting the content, process, and product of instruction based on students' readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Specific strategies are presented for increasing reading comprehension, developing writing skills, and analyzing visual and auditory sources. The document offers a variety of activities, tools, and resources teachers can use to differentiate instruction and help students meet Common Core standards.

1. Differentiated
Instruction: A
Gateway to
Success with the
Common Core
Dr. Susan Santoli
Dr. Susan Martin
University of South
Alabama
NCSS 2013
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2. Differences Among
Students
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•
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Learning styles and preferences
Readiness and skills
Students for whom English is not their first language
Students with special learning needs (per law)
– Learning disabled
– Emotionally disturbed
– Speech impaired
– Mentally retarded
– Physically disabled
– Gifted
2

3. Universal Design
First used in architecture to describe
buildings that were accessible to
everyone and were designed that waypreplanned-not just added on
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4. In education…
• In education, goal is that instructional
materials and activities allow learning
objectives to be achievable by
individuals with wide differences in
learning styles, preferences, challenges.
• Apply different instructional strategies
so that diversity is not a hindrance to
common learning.
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5. Differentiated Instruction
• Students have multiple options for taking in
information and making sense of ideas.
• Teachers adjust the curriculum, presentation
of information and assessment to learners
rather than asking learners to modify
themselves for the curriculum.
• Classroom teaching is a blend of wholeclass and individual instruction.
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6. Elements of Differentiation
Teacher adapts:
–Content
–Process
–Product
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7. According to Students’
• Readiness
• Interest
• Learning Profiles
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8. What DI is:
• Having a vision of success for students
• Realizing that not all students learn the same way
• Allowing students some choice in their routes to
learning
• Providing opportunities for students to demonstrate
knowledge they know and move forward
• Offering lessons of varying degrees of difficulty to
meet the same standard
• Combining whole class instruction with individual
and/or group work
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9. What DI is NOT:
• A different lesson plan for each student
each day
• Assuming that all students learn by
listening and writing
• Assigning more work to students who
have demonstrated mastery
• Only for students who need acceleration
• Giving all students the same
work/assignments all of the time
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10. Just imagine…
• Shoe store……
• Dr.’s office……
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11. Common Core
• Read closely
• Compare and
contrast
• Analyze
• Comprehend
• Question
• Summarize
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•
•
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•
Source Information
Perspective
Make Connections
Cause and effect
Write effectively
Determine
Reliability
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12. Increasing Reading
Comprehension and
Encouraging Close
Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
SQ& ID (Super question & ID)
One pagers
Cornell notes
Primary Document Dissection Tool
Noteworthy Resources
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13. SQ&ID
• SQ&IDs process
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14. SQ&ID Extension
• Explore the relationship between John Smith and two hardships
of Jamestown.
• Student response: John Smith experienced several hardships in
Jamestown. Once the colonists disembarked in Jamestown, John
Smith took charge, enforcing strict rule. In 16061607, Jamestown’s people died from malnutrition and starvation.
The colonists were more concerned with finding gold, and they
were unaccustomed to work. John Smith forced all colonists to
work. If they did not work they did not eat. John was also
subjected to a mock execution by Indian chief, Powhatan. His
mock execution was meant to show peace between the Indians
and the European settlers. Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas
saved John from his ―execution‖. She then became an
intermediary between the Indians and settlers. Although John
Smith encountered several hardships in Jamestown, he
persevered and helped make Jamestown a more prosperous
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place.

15. One-Pagers
• Excellent tool for making connections
and synthesizing information
• Use for summarizing and condensing
info
• Assign for textbook reading
• Use Smart Art, One-Note, Word or
paper and pencil
• Summer reading assignment
for AP class
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16. Cornell Notes
• Excellent tool when notes require more
detailed content
• Requires focus questions
• Modeling… ―I do it…we do it…you do
it.‖
Example
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17. Primary Documents
Dissection Tool
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CONSTITUTION
THE BEDROCK DOCUMENT
DISSECTION
Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to intensely dissect
the nation’s bedrock document, the Constitution. The
information you analyze and internalize will be used
throughout this year, and hopefully, all your life.
Remember! You must bear your portion of this
democracy on your shoulders and substantial and
comprehensive ingestion of this material is essential
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for this task.

18. Primary Documents
Dissection Tool
• Install PDF Viewer, Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat Pro or just use a hard
copy
• Answer the questions using highlighting
and notes tools
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19. Primary Documents
Dissection Tool
• Answer questions using highlighting
and typewriter tool in the PDF Viewer –
initial dissection after reading for
homework
• LD to AP
• Independent - In class; smaller numbers of questions
to highlight in one day
• Regular – In class; two days with parts due at the end
of each class
• AP – at home - independently
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20. Primary Documents
Dissection Tool
• Tie key components of Constitution to
founding father philosophy and current
events
• Blue sticky – tie to founding father
philosophy
• Green sticky – tie to current events
• Purple sticky – definition
• Constitution PDF Example
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21. Noteworthy Resources
• Read/Write/Think: International
Reading Association, NCTE,
Thinkfinity
• Reading Quest: Making Sense in Social
Studies
• Reading Like a Historian: Stanford,
Historical Reading Skills and Inquiry
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22. Questions and Comments
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23. Next…
Applying that reading
knowledge through
analysis, evaluation, synt
hesis
Think color!
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24. Analysis, Evaluation,
Synthesis (all ready for use)
1. Reading Like a Historian
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Historical Scenes Investigation
Historical Thinking Matters
The History Lab
Beyond the Bubble
Library of Congress
National Archives and Records
Administration
8. National American History Museum
9. Noteworthy Links
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25. Reading Like a Historian:
• Each lesson revolves around a central
historical question and features sets of
primary documents designed for groups
of students with diverse reading skills
and abilities.
Japanese Segregation Example
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26. Historical Scenes
Investigation
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27. When Elvis Met Nixon
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28. Historical Thinking
Matters
STUDENT INVESTIGATIONS focuses on five central topics from the post-Civil
War U.S. history curriculum. Each investigation includes:
•An introductory movie framing a question of historical debate;
•Ten historical sources;
•Guided questioning that fosters historical thinking skills such as sourcing,
contextualization, close reading, and corroboration;
•Text annotations and audio and video clips that provide additional commentary;
•An assignment that asks students to respond to the investigative question by
drawing on their previous engagement with the sources;
•Directed explorations of virtual archives.
TEACHER MATERIALS offers instructors, pre-service teachers and teachereducators classroom materials and strategies, examples of student and teacher
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work, and supplementary resources

29. 29

30. The History Lab
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31. 31

32. Beyond the Bubble
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33. Edison and the Kansas
Housewife
• Students read a letter to Thomas
Edison, then with the addition of several
extra facts, determine whether the writer
was typical of Americans in the 1920s.
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34. Additional facts related to Mrs. Lathrop’s letter:
• 1. George Westinghouse invented the electric
range, not Thomas Edison.
• 2. Before the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, less
than 10% of rural America had electricity.
• 3. The 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women
the right to vote, was passed only one year before this
letter was written.
• 4. At the time of Mrs. Lathrop’s letter, less than 5% of
American women were college graduates.
Question: Which 2 of the 4 facts above help you
determine whether Mrs. Lathrop was typical or atypical
of American women in the 1920s?
Explain your reasoning.
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35. Impossible to think about
primary sources without:
• Library of Congress
– American Memory Lesson Plans
• pdf
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Primary Source Sets
Themed Resources
Teaching with Primary Sources journal
Professional development videos
Classroom video conferencing AND
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36. • National Archives and Records
Administration
– Suggested Methods for Integrating PS into
Classroom Instruction (pdf)
– Digital Vaults-Build your own collection
– 100 Milestone Documents of American
History
– Google Maps tours to ―visit the past‖
– Primary Source Analysis Worksheets
– Docs Teach: Examples next page
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37. AND…
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38. • National Museum of American History
(Smithsonian
– Engaging Students with Primary Sources
– Podcasts
– Featured Artifact
– Lesson Plans
ALL SI museums have educator sites
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39. Noteworthy Links
• Internet History Sourcebook (all time
periods and locations)
• Avalon Project (world history)
• EuroDocs (European History)
• Digital Public Library of America
• Navigating Primary Source Material on
the Internet
• Social Studies Central Primary Source
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Links

40. Other Activities to Increase
Writing Effectiveness
1. Persuasive Writing
– RAFT
– Colonial Advertising Pitch
2. Mechanics
– PPT on nation building issue
– Color coded sources
3. Options
– Think-Tac-Toe
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41. RAFT
R—Role
A—Audience
F—Format
T—Topic
General SS examples
Internment camp examples
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42. Colonial Advertising Pitch
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43. Color Coded Writing
Rubric
• Differentiate Structure of Essay
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44. PPT on National Building:
Aiding Students in Citing
Sources
TYPE OF SOURCE
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•
•
•
Textbook
American History Database
AVL
Google open search
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45. Lewis and
Clark
Expedition
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46. Think Tac Toe
Idea behind concept is to give students
choices in products. Same concept as
game-3 in a row. Can include writing
and non-writing assignments.
East Asia Think Tac Toe
Presidential Think Tac Toe
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47. Questions and Comments
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48. Increasing the Ability to
Analyze and Use Visual and
Auditory Sources
1. Visual Literacy
2. Before, During and After
3. Other Ways to Use Art in Social
Studies
4. ABC Books
5. Westward Expansion
6. Great Depression
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49. 8. French Revolution You Tube
9. Hamilton Rap
10.Too Late to Apologize
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50. What is visual literacy?
• Research shows that visual literacy, ―a
person’s ability to interpret and create
visual information—to understand
images of all kinds and use them to
communicate more effectively,‖ is a
successful strategy for all learners
(Burmark, 2002, p. v).
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51. Studies done by Lynn O’Brien of Specific
Diagnostic Studies – ―students whose
strongest learning channel is auditory
comprise less than 15% of the population. On
the other hand, students who comprise a visual
learning style are about 40% of the
population…kinesthetic students form around 45%
of the population.‖
Dickinson, D. (2002). Learning through the arts. Seattle, WA: New
Horizons for Learning. Retrieved from Http://www.newhorizons.org
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52. Before, During and After
• ~If this artwork is
the beginning of a
story, what might happen
next?
• ~If it this artwork is
the middle of a
story, what might have
happened before? What
might be about to
happen?
• ~If this artwork is
the end of a story, what
might the story be?
• ~Use your imagination
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53. Using Art to Inspire
Writing in Social Studies
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•
Look at a painting or poster, and then invent a history. Write something
about how the artist was feeling when it was painted, why the curator
purchased this painting, or something about the subject.
Write about three works of art you would purchase if price were no
object. This is the beginning of a personal art collection. Write about the
choices.
Give a title to a work of art.
Write a conversation that might be taking place in the work of art.
What sounds or smells do you detect in a work of art.
Write a press release for the opening of an artists’ show.
If the artist were in the room, what would you like to ask him/her?
Students find several works of art that are based on a myth, historical
event, or person, and then write about the events or people that inspired
the works of art.
Compare an artistic work to a historical account of the event.
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54. ABC Books
• Creation of ABC books offer good opportunity
for collaboration and differentiationBased on
British ABC for Baby Patriots promoting
Imperialism
• AP students create an entire book
or…students assigned to work in groups
• Books may be digital or hard copy
• Options for rhyming, original art, multi-media
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55. Westward Expansion-Visuals and
Written Sources
• Students are in pairs or threes
• Each group receives a primary source which is
numbered
• Each group answers these basic questions regarding
the source:
• What are you viewing?
• What message does it contain about western
expansion in the 1800s?
• At end of 5 minutes, each group passes its primary
source to another group, receives another source and
answers the same questions for the new source
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56. Excerpts from letters and diaries
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57. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/homestead-act/images/
homesteading-family.gif
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58. Library of Congress
Call number Portfolio 134,
Folder 13
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59. John McCarthy, photographer. John Bakken Sod House, Milton, ND, c 1895. NDSU Institute for
Regional Studies. Reproduction Number 120mm-0144 copy neg. 2029.061
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60. http://www.loc.gov, ppmsca 09855
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61. Follow-up
• After all items are viewed, students are asked to
complete the following questions:
• What conflicting messages did you find?
• Why do you think these occurred?
• If you were summarizing, in one sentence, what
westward expansion was like, what would you say?
• Extend assignment by having students read the
Homestead Act, examine homestead applications,
design their own ad encouraging or discouraging
settlers from moving west.
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62. Great Depression Tiered Lesson
Plan-Library of Congress
(Visuals, Auditory, Text)
http://web.archive.org/web/20070316174958/http://www.primarysourcelearning.org/
teach/best_practices/diff_instruct_bulletin_sec.pdf
Standard for lesson plan: The student will demonstrate
knowledge of the social, economic, and technological
changes of the early twentieth century by identifying the
causes of the Great Depression, its impact on Americans,
and the major features of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New
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Deal.

63. Same learning
content, different process
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64. Everyone will answer these questions:
• Describe what you see in the photograph. Include as
much detail as possible.
• Compare and contrast your home to the home you see
in the photograph. What is similar and what is
different?
In addition to the first two questions, student pairs will
each receive one of the following questions based on
academic readiness level.
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65. Tier 1: If we could hear the people talking about
their life, what would they be saying?
Tier 2: From what you see in the photograph,
explain how you think this room might be used
by the family and why.
Tier 3: Assess the Great Depression’s
social and economic impact on this family from
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the evidence in the photo.

66. Same content information, same analysis
process, different PRODUCTS
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67. Tier 1: Create a timeline of the Dust Bowl and
Great Depression era. Include the following 10 events
with accompanying visuals and written description.
Tier 2: Create a scrapbook depicting the life of a child
affected by the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.
Include information about where the child lives, his/her
family’s economic and social
situation, recreation, education, and prospects for the
future.
Tier 3: In the role of a political candidate, create a
persuasive speech proposing actions to address the
concerns of the Dust Bowl farmers during the Great
Depression. Incorporate information about the farmers’
economic, social and political problems and propose 67
how the government can and cannot assist them.

68. Same task, 3 different SOURCES OF
INFORMATION
Choose one of the following primary sources below.
Examine both the information about the item and the
item itself. Take notes of important details that will help
you answer the following question:
• WHAT WERE SOME OF THE ECONOMIC,
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL EFFECTS OF THE
GREAT DEPRESSION ON PEOPLE?
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69. Dorothea Lange Photograph
of the Migrant Mother, 1936
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70. American Life Histories, Manuscript from
the Federal Writer’s Project, North
Carolina, 1938
Nina Boone-North Carolina
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71. Mrs. Mary Sullivan-August, 1940
A Traveler’s Line
This is a song written and sung by a woman who lived
during the Depression.
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72. Auditory Literacy
• 21st Century options such as podcasts and
You-Tube videos help students make
authentic connections to historical events.
• Student created videos are opportunities for
collaboration and creativity
• History Teachers video site
• Lady Gaga…French Revolution (pdf)
• Rock music tells the story (pdf)
• Rap is everywhere…even the White House
(pdf)
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73. Noteworthy
Art, Writing, SS Sites
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Picturing America
Art at the Heart wiki
Posters to Go
Project Zero Visible Thinking site
Learning to Look
Seeing Art in a Historical Context
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74. Questions and Comments
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75. • The powerpoint and resources used for
this presentation will be posted at:
www.differentiatedcurriculum.wikispaces.com.
On the left hand side, you’ll find a link to
2013 NCSS
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76. • Please feel free to contact us with
questions/suggestions you may have.
Susan Santoli:
ssantoli@southalabama.edu
Twitter: @spsantoli
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/socialstudieseducation
Susan Martin
ferguson@southalabama.edu
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