So today as I reviewed the planned lesson, I realized that we needed an interim step--a chance to review measurements with repetition and content creation.
So today students will work with mixed ability, but similar work speed groups to review landmark measurements with lots of repetition and a chance to create content. The repetition will be a bit laborious but will prompt students to think of each measurement with fractions and whole numbers which relates well to the fifth grade math standards' theme: proportional reasoning. The content creation portion will give students choice, and that choice typically leads to positive differentiation as students who want greater enrichment usually choose to build that enrichment into their choice while children who just want a simple review of the material will create content that matches that choice.
This teamwork that's not too challenging and provides opportunity for creativity will give me a lot of time to check-in with students and coach. It's also a great day for this since I have a double teaching period for both groups so there's no time crunch.
Making the time to teach with depth and care and not rushing the curriculum helps your most challenged students while also providing time for enrichment and creativity for all students. I'm looking forward to seeing how this learning experience goes. Let me know if you have suggestions.
