Differentiate With Supported Writing Tasks - Free Templates

I teach a multi-age class. This means that some of my students are working at a kindergarten level, and others are reading at a grade 3 level - and everywhere in between. This is a challenge for any teacher, and as the year begins even parents are skeptical of how I manage to meet their child's needs. 

At our first parent meeting (usually an open house format) I take some time to explain differentiation and how it works. 

Here is one of the most simple examples that I often use to illustrate to parents that one activity can be differentiated to meet the needs of many different students. It's called Sentence Stretchers, and you can grab a free sample at the bottom of this post.  


First, I show the parents this paper. 

I explain that all students can use this one template, but I will expect different outcomes based on their writing ability.

Here are the tasks, listed from easiest (Kindergarten/Second Language) to hardest (Grade 5):

1. TRACE -  Slide the  pictures under blank paper (or journal). The thick black lines will be easily seen. Students should trace the picture to make their own copy, and color it. 

For young or physically challenged students, this will be the entire job.

2. LABEL – Use the words in the word bank box to label the parts of the picture. 

Print the word and draw line to join them. This practices reading, printing, and deductive reasoning. (If this is too advanced, simply draw a line from the words to the correct part. 

3. READ – Read the simple sentences below the picture, and if able, copy them into a journal or recording sheet.

This simple job will focus on neatness, letter formation, capitalization, eliminating random capitals, and punctuation. 

4. EXPAND – For each simple sentence, expand it into a more descriptive sentence.

Example: The sheep sat. ------> The wooly white sheep sat lazily in the tall green grass all afternoon. Provide examples and discuss as a class. 

Students love coming up with interesting details to add! 

Give them prompts of “What do they do?” (verbs) “When?”, “Where does it happen?” and “How does it look?” or “What kind? What color?” (adjectives)

5. CREATE –Creative writing! 

Once all three sentences are expanded, they have made the beginning of a story! Students are often shocked to realize this!  I ask them to copy the word "Suddenly..." as a bridge to the rest of their story. The word suddenly will lead them to the conflict or problem in their story.

**Note - this is a fun time to share with the class as a group so that students can predict the ending of their peers' stories. The ideas are flying in this group discussion! 

6. Advanced students will be expected to write more elaborate details. Focus on:
*Editing
*Peer editing
*Developing the story with more complexity
*Descriptive vocabulary
*Multiple revisions
*Presenting to the class for feedback

*Writing alternate version using different tense, settings, voice, genre or format
*Turn the story into a script or screenplay
*Switch the perspective of the characters

Once I walk parents through all of the steps, I can identify for them roughly which level their child is working on, and they can assist in their child's progress because they know the next steps. 

This sort of differentiation has worked well for me... I hope it can help you!

If you'd like to try this activity with your class, you can grab my FREE templates HERE.