Blog #8

Which of one of the "differentiate-able" strategies shared in class this past week will you be most likely to try out, not including the one you presented? What about this strategy appeals to you? What do you understand about differentiating it rather than applying it in a general way?

I really liked the Journal ideas that were presented in class because I can really see myself wanting to have my students spill their hearts out to me, but not having it happen. Even though the journal won't make this happen for every student every day. I feel like if I focus on the student's needs enough and scaffold them in how to do it I may just strike the gold (that every child posses) at some point. I like the different ways of doing journals and I think that the way that they would do it for a book that we read as a class will not only be helpful for me to understand their thinking but also for them to begin to analyze and make connections to the text. Through the journal they will be able to express ideas that they may not even realize that they had.

I think that most people have experienced journal entries in many ways that were not differentiated but it can be differentiated instead of generalized by carefully planning the prompts, and by making the prompts meaningful and personal. I am excited to use this to help to differentiate learning in my classroom.