“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” -Leonardo da Vinci

A group of teachers once told me that using small groups in mathematics didn’t meet the needs of all their students. How true!!! It depends on how a teacher effectively uses differentiated strategies throughout a unit of study and throughout a week. Being willing to use small groups in mathematics, at stations or centers, is a brave first step for many teachers. This should be applauded and encouraged!

Once teachers and schools have begun to release themselves from strictly using whole-group instruction, they are ready to sophisticate their readiness small groups. A math specialist, who is trying to help her district better understand Tabor Rotation, asked me what Days 4 & 5 of Tabor Rotation might look like.
Day 4 of Tabor Rotation begins the same as any other day. The teacher guides the students in a constructivist manner in a Vocabulary Review for 5-10 minutes. The emphasis is on the words the students need to attach meaning to and place into long-term memory. Next is the whole-group mini-lesson when the students are working with partners in an interactive way on one of the mathematical concepts for the week.

The math block continues with a brief explanation of The Application Menu of Options. Using The Application Menu of Options is a great way to tier assignments and empower the students in making choices about which task most interest them. After the brief explanation, the teacher gives out the menu and has the students place it in their Tabor Rotation Folder. The students may be working independently or with a partner.
Some teachers find it more convenient to use a standardized formula for creating The Application Menu. An example of this was created by a specialist and is being used by a primary school in south Texas. If you’re interested in a copy, let me know and I’ll upload it to the Free Resources Page of glennatabor.com.

Other teachers use a menu that is based on the concepts being learned but may vary in assignment type. The top row is simplest, middle is average, and the bottom row of assignments is challenging.

While the students are working on their menus, the teacher calls the readiness groups–beginning with the Above-Level students. Remember that the readiness groups were based on the information gathered by the teacher during pre-assessment and via clipboard cruising throughout the first part of the week. You may want to use a simple sheet like the Tabor Rotation: Differentiated Readiness Grouping Sheet when you’re clipboard cruising.

All of this on-going assessment is based on what the students do and don’t know about the concepts being studied that week (not on results from a placement test given at the beginning of the year). The above-level students will receive qualitatively different and challenging instruction. They will not be given quantitatively more work with the skills and concepts they have proven to have mastered. The teacher will give the students work to respectfully challenge them but will not grade the work. Instead there will be sharing with each other and in the Mathematician’s Circle on Friday.

After meeting with the above-level group for approximately 10 minutes, the teacher sends the students back to work on the Application Menu. Then the teacher calls 1/2 of the on-level students to her whisper readiness grouping. This is the group of students who is rarely worked with in a classroom setting in mathematics. If the teacher builds on their interest and learning styles, while sophisticating the socratic dialogue, the students will become the highly able–EVERY TIME!!!

The next readiness group who is called is 1/2 of the at-promise students (again, just for the skills and concepts for the week). These students receive instruction that is engaging and “hands-on.” It needs to be different from what was previously done in the week, because those activities didn’t develop mastery.

“Advancement only comes with habitually doing more than you are asked.” -Gary Ryan Blair

The last group of students to be called on Day 4 is the group of students who may need to have “pieces of the puzzle completed for them.” Maybe this is the group of 4th grade students who need 3rd grade skill instruction. It doesn’t make sense to reteach these skills to the entire class, so the teacher teaches them to the group of students who need it.

“When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” – George Washington Carver

Note that some of the students in the first at-promise group may also be in this one. It is not necessary for these students to complete all of the Application Menu of Options since it’s more important for them to have small-group time with the teacher.

Now, for Day 5:

The day begins the same way as Day 4 with vocabulary instruction and WGML (Whole-Group Mini-Lesson) with a different partner. Next, the students take their Application Menu of Options out of their Tabor Rotation Folder and begin to work. The teacher calls the first readiness group of the day that is comprised of the other 1/2 of the on-level students. She meets with them for 10 minutes. She might play one of the games from the Games Station that the students really liked and make parts of it more challenging.

The second group the teacher meets with on Fridays is the other half of the at-promise learners. Again, making the instruction different on the skills and concepts for the week.

The last group met with on Friday is the group of students who need what is called “front-loading.” If you have studied Accelerated Learning and the work of Max Thompson, you are familiar with this incredible tool for changing the lives of students. The tendency for the at-promise learner is to remediate and “fix” their problems. Instead, the teacher should be looking for the opportunity to teach them the concepts that will be taught the next week.

This provides the students with the chance to be a step ahead instead of trying to catch up. It builds confidence and positive efficacy for the students. And, as research as shown, it WORKS!!!

More information about Clipboard Cruising, Anchoring Activities, and grouping can be found in some of my previous blog posts.

I probably answered more than you thought you needed, but readiness grouping in mathematics cannot be skipped or skimped. Teachers who are doing what is best for all of their students, do it all the time and find ways to use differentiated, small-group guided instruction in mathematics. They aren’t just trying…

“Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’.” -Yoda (‘The Empire Strikes Back’)

Hopefully, the information contained in this blog and on this website will help all of you on your journey deeper into differentiating instruction in mathematics!

“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” -Plato