In part 1 of this article, I talked about the challenges teachers face when teaching a multi-ability class, where some students may be working at the honors level and other students are struggling. Then I shared the first nine of 15 great strategies.
In response to a survey I sent out, several teachers who have found ways to overcome these challenges shared strategies that they use in their own classrooms for grouping students and providing enrichment activities.
Here are six more excellent enrichment ideas from some of the great teachers in my network!
10. Reading Comprehension Acceleration Activity for Language Arts, English, and Reading in the Content area: Choose books slightly above their reading level that will challenge student thinking on point of view or a historical issue. Instruct students to meet “book club style” to discuss the text. Encourage students to make connections to past instruction and suggest points to discuss in the upcoming lesson(s). For example, choose several books from a specific time period such as Sadako and The 1000 Paper Cranes, I Survived Pearl Harbor, How Baseball Saved Us, I survived the Nazi Invasion of 1944, and Number the Stars. These all give a different child’s point of view about World War II. Students get a 360-degree view of events during that time and draw their own conclusions based on their reading and discussion. Contributed by Chrystal Williams, Clara Love Elementary, Justin, TX
11. Vocabulary and Content Specific Terminology: Choose a key term discussed in your lesson and have students research the term to gain more detail. For example, when Felicia Thomas was teaching pre Civil War events through to Civil War there was minimal time in the lesson to thoroughly discuss the role of an abolitionist. So, the acceleration group researched the term to identify and respond to the who, what, when, where, why. Contributed by Felicia Thomas, Joseph Martin Elementary, Hinesville, GA Twitter: @fthomas_jme
12. Background Knowledge for Current Topic: Have students read informational articles and create questions for a classmate or parent based on their reading. Also contributed by Felicia Thomas, Joseph Martin Elementary, Hinesville, GA Twitter: @fthomas_jme
12. Computer Classes – Application, Problem-solving, Analysis, and Synthesis: After providing an overview of the key components of high-end computer systems via teacher presentations and video tutorials, Lawani, uses a “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” style quiz to reinforce learning for about 5 minutes. Then he splits the class into groups of 3 or so and give each group a different kind of computer system, for which they must research and identify the key components they would use, depending on the purpose for which their computer will be used. He allows five minutes for the research and then facilitates a Q&A to monitor and evaluate their understanding. Contributed by Lawani, Lewisham Southwark College
13. Create Game Questions to Reinforce Learning and Peer Review With the Class: Instruct students to create questions (about 5) to be used for a study guide, quiz, or test, or to play (my favorite) Kahoot @ Kahoot.it. Students create questions that are relevant to what has been taught and must include an answer key. This can be done individually or as a group. Contributed by Janna Ramirez, Lyman Hall Elementary, Hinesville, GA Twitter: @JhalesRamirez
14. Go Deeper Through Creating Models that Teach: Have students use apps like Wixie, ExplainEverything, or Educreations to”go deeper” into a standard and/or learning target. Challenge them to create video learning models for students that need extra practice. Contributed by Janice Brennan, Taylors Creek Elementary School, Hinesville, GA Twitter: @jbrennan_tce
15. Offer Students Choices for Enrichment: Janice Brennan offers her students choices that accelerate learning. Examples of Acceleration Center™ she’s provided include Boggle Your Mind, a figurative language matching game, a vocabulary-independent word study for a novel the class is reading. 10 minutes is the ideal time limit and Janice’s students love the timed aspect. Also contributed by Janice Brennan, Taylors Creek Elementary School, Hinesville, GA Twitter: @jbrennan_tce
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