“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.” -Flora Whittemore

“My basic principle is that you don’t make decisions because they are easy; you don’t make them because they are cheap; you don’t make them because they’re popular; you make them because they’re right.” -Theodore Hesburgh

“This framework doesn’t really meet the needs of all my learners. Just sending them to stations isn’t going to cut it!”

My blog post today is about engagement of students during readiness grouping on Days 4 & 5 of a week of Tabor Rotation using Application Menus. However, the concern above is typically expressed by at least one member of a faculty who has the required opportunity of using the Tabor Rotation Framework.

Let’s address this first concern. My response will always be, “You’re right! Just sending them to stations a couple of days a week isn’t going to meet all their needs. But, it’s a great place to begin differentiating instruction in mathematics and is so much better than whole-group instruction every day of the week.” Now that you’ve begun to use stations and vary the modality through which you students learn mathematical concepts, then you’re ready to layer on Readiness Grouping.

Take a look at some of my blog posts concerned with Clipboard Cruising. You also might want to look at the clip below from the new Tabor Rotation Training Series.

Clipboard Cruising, and other on-going assessment techniques, helps the teacher determine the varied levels of mastery of the week’s concepts and form readiness groups. Now, we’re ready for the next set of questions…

“What do you mean by Application of Concepts on Day 4 of Tabor Rotation?”

“What do I do with the rest of the class when I’m working with my differentiated, readiness groups on Thursday and Friday?”

These are some of the most frequently asked questions about Tabor Rotation, especially when the participants have only had one session at a conference. I’m glad teachers ask it—that means they are differentiating the instruction of the mathematical concepts that week based on pre-assessments, on-going assessments, and observation while “clipboard cruising.”

After Vivid Vocabulary Instruction and the Whole-Group Mini-Lesson on Thursday and Friday, there are several options for the independent or partner work for the entire class. This is the chance for task to become its own reward and for the student to do most of the learning because they are doing most of the work.

Some teachers assign pages from a text, have students work on an individualized dictionary of math vocabulary, play one of the games from the Games Station, complete a list of assignments, or select a tiered assignment from the Application Menu of Options.

This type of menu provides students with a choice of which options to select and in which order. It can also be tiered at novice, pro, and master levels. The following Application Menu Templates and Application Menu Example might be helpful as you begin to create your Application Menu of Options for Days 4 & 5 of Tabor Rotation.

Tabor Rotation Application Menu, Elementary Level

Tabor Rotation Application Menu, Secondary Level

Sample Tabor Rotation Application Menu

Why would you put so much time and effort into something like this? Because your composition, your work, and your masterpiece are the students whom you teach. Maybe because we should hold ourselves under the ancient Roman standards…

“The ancient Romans had a tradition: whenever one of their engineers constructed an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, the engineer assumed accountability for his work in the most profound way possible: he stood under the arch.” -Michael Armstrong