Differentiating Instruction With Menus: Language Arts (Grades 6-8), May/2009

(Grades 6-8)

Differentiating Instruction With Menus: Language Arts for grades 6–8 offers teachers everything needed to create a student-centered learning environment based on choice. This book provides five different types of menus that students can use to select exciting products that they will develop so teachers can assess what has been learned—instead of using a traditional worksheet format. Topics addressed include genres, novels, and writing mechanics.

Differentiating Instruction With Menus: Language Arts contains attractive reproducible menus, each based on the levels of Bloom’s Revised taxonomy, for students to use to guide them in making decisions as to which products they will develop after studying a major concept or unit. Using creative and challenging choices found in Tic-Tac- Toe menus, List menus, 2-5-8 menus, Baseball menus, and Game Show menus, students will look forward to sharing their newfound knowledge throughout the year. Also included are specific guidelines for products, rubrics for assessing student products, and teacher introduction pages for each menu. This is a must-have for any teacher wanting to differentiate for gifted and advanced learners!

About The Author:
After teaching science for more than 15 years, both overseas and in the U.S., Laurie Westphal now works as an independent gifted education and science consultant nationwide. She enjoys developing and presenting staff development on low-stress differentiation strategies and using menus for various districts and conferences, working with teachers to assist them in planning and developing lessons to meet the needs of their advanced students. Laurie currently resides in Houston, TX, and has made it her goal to convert as many teachers as she can to the differentiated lifestyle in the classroom and to share her vision for real-world, product-based lessons that help all students become critical thinkers and effective problem solvers. She is the author of the Differentiating Instruction With Menus series as well as Hands-On Physical Science and Science Dictionary for Kids.