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Differentiation TechniqueChange, Then Explain!

Read The Overview: Synthesize: Make A Change, Explain The Effect

I love the term "Synthesize" from the classic Bloom's Taxonomy, but it can be hard to know exactly what it looks like. My favorite "Synthesize Recipe" is to ask students to make a change to existing content and then explain the effects of that change to me.

Specific Examples of “Change, Then Explain!”

Graphic Organizers Are Not Final Products

Graphic Organizers Are Not Final Products

Ending with a Venn Diagram is like comparing two vacation spots… but never actually going on the vacation!

Don’t Just Paraphrase A Poem!

Don’t Just Paraphrase A Poem!

What if, instead, we re-wrote the poem in the style of a different poet?

Rewriting a Sentence With Different Coordinating Conjunctions

Rewriting a Sentence With Different Coordinating Conjunctions

The first unit in our writing program was always teaching the coordinating conjunctions. It always felt goofy teaching this to 6th graders - especially a gifted magnet class. I mean... do they really not know the difference between "and" and "but"?

Going Beyond “Identify a Story’s Problem”

Going Beyond “Identify a Story’s Problem”

My students were stuck telling me a story's problem and solution. Let's get thinking!

Remix the Song “Help!”

Remix the Song “Help!”

Students took the classic song, Help!, and rewrote it to be about their collective summers.

Upgrading A Research Report

Upgrading A Research Report

So many "research reports" are really just "regurgitation re-writes." Here's one way to take a research report to a much more interesting level.

Create A Holiday

Take students beyond the decorations and ask them to identify what a holiday reveals about a culture's values. Then, push them further as they develop their own holidays.

Remixing Stories With Gifted Students

One of my favorite ways to differentiate for gifted students is to create "remixes" of an existing idea. Students take an existing story, reshape it, and create a new product. It encourages them to explore the stories behind existing stories, helps them to understand how real writers work, and gives them a creative way to explore literature.

Don’t Jump Straight to “Create”!

When we jump from "this kid likes board games" straight to "I'll have them create a new board game", we leave out important steps in the creative process and set kids up for disappointment (and end up with a lot of unfinished projects). Here's how to scaffold a truly creative task.