Differentiated Lesson Plan Template

Pre-Planning:
OBJECTIVE CONNECTION TO ACHIEVEMENT GOAL
What will your students be able to do? How does the objective connect to your
achievement goal?
1. SWBAT solve for missing sides and angles of non- 1. 80+% Mastery: Students must understand how to use
right triangles using the Law of Cosines the Law of Cosines and conceptually understand what
2. SWBAT make connections to prior lessons (Law of it is and where it comes from in order to know how and
Sines and Trig functions). Students will compare these when to solve problems using it. This lesson will help
methods in order to build a stronger conceptual guide students towards this goal of mastery.
understanding. 2. Classroom Big Goal (critical thinking and problem
solving skills) students will practice their Habits of
Mind as they grapple with some of these challenging
skills and problems.
PREREQUISITE SKILLS DIAGNOSTIC
What will your students need to know to How will you assess students mastery of
master the grade-level objective? these foundational skills

Pythagorean Theorem; features of right triangles; angle 1. Students completed a Brain Dump that focused on
sum theorem (all angles in a triangle add to equal 180 each of the pre-requisite skills. Students and teacher
degrees); Trig ratios (sin, cos, and tan); Calculator then had a discussion around What we know, What
proficiency (using sin, cos, and tan and making sure we need to learn, and How can we get there.
their calculator is in the proper degree mode); inverse Students had time to reflect on these questions
trig ratios; labeling sides (opposite, adjacent, and independently, with a partner, and whole-group. I used
hypotenuse); understanding how to create ratios using this formative information to help me better understand
corresponding sides/angles how to differentiate for this lesson.
2. At the start of this lesson (warm up) we will
participate in another mini brain dump to review the
skills students have learned over the past week. Since
we are coming back from a weekend and midterm
testing, students will need a refresher in order to feel
confident in todays lesson. I will use this data to
assess student readiness and form groups for todays
activity.
Reflection: I chose to do a Brain Dump for
this assignment to encourage students to
express their own knowledge. Often times,
students regurgitate what teachers or other
students have told them and rarely get time to
think freely, without consequence. As
Tomlinson notes, Differentiation asks
teachers to look beyond groupthink and to
study the evolving profiles of students as
individuals (p. 33). This activity was really
successful, and I hope to use it in all units to
come. The information from both brain
dumps provided meaningful insight into the
individual needs of my students, and because
we did these activities, I was able to better
understand my students learning needs.

PREPLANNING
Assessment
- Students will be assessed based on their mastery of problems at each station. They must get problems correct
at each station in order to reach mastery. Students will have check points where they must check in with me, so I
can track their progress and give them academic feedback. We have done this activity (station style practice)
numerous times in class, and students know the routines and procedures.
- The specific questions for this lessons assessment will scaffold in difficulty. Students will start with problems
that require them to use the Pythagorean Theorem, draw and label triangles correctly, and use SOH-CAH-TOA,
then they will move to problems where the instructions clearly tell them to use Law of Sines/Cosines, and lastly,
they will have to draw and label their own triangles and then determine/justify how they would solve for missing
parts. All of this will be done during independent practice, and students will reflect on their learning for the
closing exit ticket.
Reflection: Overall, this assessment was very successful. Students were challenged to keep up with a
quick pace and reflect on their learning. However, one area I would like to show growth in for my next
differentiated lesson is my ability to accommodate for slower learners/workers. It is difficult to do a
timed, rigorous classwork activity like this that pushes learners but also gives them enough time to feel
accomplished. This balance is something that will take time and practice, and I am excited to see the
results once I have been working on it.
LEARNER VARIANCE
What are your students strengths, needs, and preferences? How will you differentiate for
readiness, interest, and/ or learning profile?
- In our first Brain Dump for the unit, I was excited to see 100% of students expressing at least one thing they
understood. 100% of students also stated a topic they were interested in and curious about. The high student
responses let me know that students were engaged in the topic and ready to learn. Based on their individualized
responses, I began to design my lesson plans that involved practice problems regarding basketball, the Carolina
Panthers, and Lil Boosie. Immediately, students felt more at ease and more comfortable with the material.
-From some of our previous activities, there has been a need to incorporate more real world connections so
students feel more invested in the material. Many students do not feel the work they are doing will help them in
their futures. Since most of them are not college bound, I know they need more hands-on connections. In order to
do this, I will place them in groups for their stations activity based on common learning needs and struggles.
While I do traditionally believe it is important to vary the groups, for this activity, I want students to ask questions
if they are confused. Too often I have noticed in my room, if students are grouped with a student who does all of
the work correctly, they will just copy their answers instead of learning the material to be a better Math 4 learner.
- Grouping: Students will be grouped for this activity based on their learning needs from the first and second brain
dump. Students are already grouped from the first Brain Dump and will probably stay in these same groups, unless
there are vastly different needs this time. Students will be in groups of three, but they will all be required to
complete their own work and turn it in for a grade.
Reflection: The grouping for this activity worked really well. I was nervous at first about the
homogenous groups, but they turned out to be extremely successful for this activity. Students who needed
extra guidance (due to absences or lack of understanding) were grouped together, so I could reach them
more efficiently. Students who were more advanced and self-paced were able to check their own work
and move on to the next problems. I could ask them more thought-provoking and metacognitive
questions. Overall, students felt more confident for this activity and expressed this in their surveys. I had
a lot less copying and domination of more advanced learners. While this grouping style worked for this
activity, I will not always use a homogeneous grouping system because it is important for students to be
around other learners at different levels so they can continue to think independently in order to avoid
group think.
Preplanning
KEY POINTS
What three to five key points will you emphasize?
1. We use Law of Sines or Law of Cosines when we DO NOT have a right triangle.
2. Because Law of Sines is easier, we only use Law of Cosines if Law of Sines cannot work.
3. We use Law of Cosines for: calculating one side of a triangle when the angle opposite and the
other 2 sides are known!
4. Be very careful when plugging your work into your calculator BE SURE TO FOLLOW order of
operations (PEMDAS)!
5. Angle and sides have to correspond (If we are using cosB, we have to use side b)
Lesson Cycle MATERIALS
WARM UP (5 min)

- Students will complete their lesson Brain Dump solving problems - Warm Up Sheet
and reviewing skills we learned the previous week. - Graphing Calculator
Rationale: Students took their midterm exams last week, so it has been - Pencil/Pen
a few days since we have looked at this material. Because of this, we - Folder with notes for
reference
need an introduction that is going to help build their confidence and
invest them in the material.
-See Appendix below for a copy of the warm up.
OPENING/ WARM UP (5 min) MATERIALS
How will you communicate what is about to happen?
How will you communicate how it will happen?
How will you communicate its importance?
How will you communicate connections to previous lessons?
How will you engage students and capture their interest?
**Students will volunteer to come to the board to show their work and - Warm Up Sheet
explain their reasoning. While students are working on their Brain - Graphing Calculator
Dump, I will be circulating the classroom checking for understanding and - Pencil/Pen
gathering formative data about their performance. Based on this data, I - Folder with notes for
reference
will differentiate our groupings for Independent Practice. Attendance is a
major roadblock at our school, so there will be many gaps and a high
need for differentiation between students who have been present and
those who are behind.
- How will you communicate WHAT is about to happen? I will use MVP
directions to get students attention. I will say Voice level 0, all eyes on
me3, 2, 1 If students are off task or need re-direction, I will say, At
PLA we and students will respond Work all day! Once I have
students attention, I will say, It is important for you to understand the
skills in this warm up in order to be successful in todays lesson. [Cold
Call] can you explain to me what skills were needed to solve number
one? I will repeat this process until the warm up review is complete.
- How will you communicate HOW it will happen? I will cold call
students and students will come to the board to demonstrate their work.
I will use MVP directions to let students know where they should be
looking and what their voice level should be. Students will have written
instructions for the warm up and there will be a timer to keep them on
task and provide a sense of urgency.
- How will you communicate its IMPORTANCE? I will clearly state
that students must understand and master these skills in order to be
successful in todays lesson.
- How will you communicate connections to previous lessons? - The
brain dump will focus on previous skills learned. Students will be asked
to answer questions and reflect on their thinking (metacognition) from
the previous week.
- How will you engage students and capture their interests? - Students
will have a sense of urgency with the warm up timer. Also, I always
stamp students warm up in order to hold them accountable. This
motivates them to complete the assignment thoroughly. In the brain
dump students will be asked to make real-world connections which will
further engage and interest them in the material. By having classmates
come to the board and explain their reasoning, students will be more
invested in the material and their classmates explanations.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MATERIAL (5 min.) MATERIALS
What key points will you emphasize and reiterate?
How will you ensure that students actively take in information?
How will you vary your approach to make information accessible to all students?
Which potential misunderstandings will you anticipate?
Why will students be engaged/interested?
As we transition to new material - Pencil/pen
- What key points will you emphasize and reiterate? I will first have - Calculator
students write down the daily objective and we will briefly discuss the - Notes for todays
lessons big picture. We will discuss when and why we use Law of Sines lesson
- Warm Up sheet
and analyze a triangle that students will eventually conclude is
impossible to solve with Law of Sines because it is missing crucial
information. Students will then be introduced to Law of Cosines. We will
write down the formula before we move to the Guided Practice examples
and definitions
- How will you ensure that students actively take in information? - All
student notes and classwork goes into their folder and is graded.
Students are held accountable throughout the lesson because I am
constantly redirecting off-task behavior and circulating the room. All
students know our classroom expectations and know they should be
taking notes at all times.
- How will you vary your approach to make information accessible to all
students? I will incorporate multiple checks for understanding
throughout this process. For the first check for understanding, I will cold
call on one of my more confident students to answer a particular
question. This will serve as a model for the rest of the class as I provide
academic feedback. Then, I will pose another check for understanding,
and I will pose this as a think-pair-share in order to encourage and
motivate some of the less-confident learners. Then, I will cold call one of
these groups to share their reasoning. This ensures that all students are
involved in ways they are comfortable with and can feel like their best
work is being showcased.
- Which potential misunderstandings will you anticipate? - Previously,
students have struggled to label the sides of their triangle correctly.
Conceptually, they do not all understand the differences between sides
and angles and can get easily confused at first. To address this, I will be
looking specifically for this in their responses and will provide academic
feedback accordingly. I also anticipate students getting overwhelmed
with the length of the formula for Law of Cosines. To address this, we
will break it down step by step, and I will be sure to check in one- on-
one with students who appear to be overwhelmed/struggling with the
formula.
- Why will students be engaged/interested? - Students are invested in
our big goal, Learning to Think, and should be excited to learn new
ideas. This lesson will be engaging because we will be using triangles
to model real-world scenarios. In our example problems, I have created
them to grab their attention. For instance, in the first triangle we look at,
I have used some of their favorite artists in the example. This will give
students of all learning levels a topic they feel interested in and will help
build their confidence in the math skills within the problem.
GUIDED PRACTICE (15 min.) MATERIALS
How will you clearly state and model behavioral expectations?
How will you ensure that all students have multiple opportunities to practice?
How will you scaffold practice exercises from easy to hard?
How will you monitor and correct student performance?
Why will students be engaged/interested?
- How will you clearly state and model behavioral expectations? Students will - Notes Sheet
have written (and oral) MVP directions on the PowerPoint Presentation, and I - Calculator
will model expectations through classroom instruction. (Example: When I say - Pencil/Pen
go, you should be at a voice level one, discussing part 1 with your shoulder - Overhead projector
partner. Go). I will also constantly be circulating throughout the room monitoring - Technology (if
students progress and observing student behavior. needed)
Response: A key to differentiation, as Tomlinson (2010) notes, is
flexibility. She says, In other words, teachers who are uncomfortable
with flexible classroom management will not differentiate instruction,
even if they understand it, accept the need for it, and can plan for it (p.
72). I planned for this flexibility by circulating the room and monitoring
student progress. However, I still think I have room to grow in terms of
finding the balance between flexibility and structure. Sometimes I feel
I swing too harshly to one side or the other. I am still looking for that
comfortable balance Tomlinson emphasizes.
- How will you ensure that all students have multiple opportunities to practice? -
For the portion where I am modeling, students will have an opportunity to work
through one problem with me, then they will work on their own in their groups.
This will be an introduction to the station activity. Problems one and two will
align to station one. I will use a timer for each problem so students are held
accountable to the problems they should be completing. (A timer will also be
used during independent work). Students will have answer keys for each of the
stations so they can quickly self-assess and check each others work. At the
end of class, students will have time to respond to the activity and give their
feedback. As they turn in their work for the activity, I will be able to assess their
mastery and better assess the type of differentiation and scaffolding that should
take place in future lessons.
- How will you scaffold practice exercises from easy to hard? At each station,
the problems will start with easier/skill drill problems and then lead to more
complex problems. At several stations, students may only have one or two
problems that are scaffold from within so students can build confidence and
know they can earn at least partial credit and mastery. This encourages them
to continue trying on the rest of the problem. For instance, students may be
given a word problem involving three light posts, and they have to sketch a
triangle, correctly label the sides/angles, and solve for missing parts. A
question like this will be broken down for students. Part A might say: Sketch the
triangle and label the sides, and Part B might say, label the angles and find
angle C, etc. This will give students some important practice in breaking down
these problems and solving them step by step.
Response: As a third year teacher, I feel I am gaining confidence in my
management style, and I feel my classroom becoming more flexible.
However, at times I do worry I am altering my lessons because of my
fear of chaos. Tomlinson (2010) notes, When teachers are afraid of
what might happen when students work independently, in small groups,
with inquiry oriented tasks, or at varied paces, they often opt to use
more passive approaches to learning that effectually dumb down the
curriculum (p. 76). I really felt like this station activity pushed students
to work independently and in groups. They were working quickly
because of the timer and students felt confidence in what they knew
due to the way the stations were planned. Next time, I would like to
incorporate a space for more remediation. I found myself gravitating
towards the same stations because several students were stuck.
Therefore, I would like to plan a space for them to refer back to
(technology or quick cheat sheet notes they create before the activity
 to remediate learning gaps). Because so many students are
consistently absent at my school, I need to work on planning more
differentiation around their needs. My students could have also
benefited from a re-teaching station where they work with me, other
students, or online modules.
- How will you monitor and correct student performance? Students will be
required to check in with me before they can move on to the next station. They
must quickly show me their results, get a completion check, and move on to the
next station. With the answers provided at each station, students are able to
self-check and this will eliminate many of the questions asking whether or not
their answers are right. Instead, I will be able to focus on academic feedback.
One of my strengths as a teacher is my ability to build strong
relationships with my students. Getting to know students, as Tomlinson
(2010) notes, helps the teacher accept responsibility for the students
success. We invest most deeply in the people we really know those
with whom we have a relationship and those who are three
dimensional to us. Its difficult to let those individuals down (p. 79).
Because I know my students so well and they are invested in our
shared classroom vision, I feel I am able to monitor and understand
student performance fairly easily. However, in this lesson I did not do a
great job of tracking this progress by writing it down or expressing my
thoughts out loud. I have room to grow in terms of communicating
progress to students. I found myself saying things like, Great work! I
really like what you did there! Perfect work! etc. However, I would
like to practice giving more real-time meaningful academic feedback so
students really feel like their work is individually noticed and
differentiated. Tomlinson reiterates this, saying, When you have
insights about a students work, be sure to share it with the student in a
way that helps that individual work smarter and learn better (p. 82).
- Why will students be engaged/interested? - Students are invested in the
Habits of Mind in our classroom and understand the importance of learning to
think. Therefore, students understand the importance of this unit and the
activity. However, they also know every assignment they complete in class is
for a grade, and if they fall behind, I will call their parents. Students are
motivated by the high culture of achievement and accountability in my
classroom. Many of the stations will also have word problems and real-world
connections for students. The pace and timing of this exercise will also
encourage students to stay on task.
At the beginning of the year students took a student needs assessment,
and I have consistently communicated these results with students.
Tomlinson reiterates the power of this saying, Make sure students
recognize that when you learn useful things about their interests,
preferred ways of learning, and academic strengths and needs, you
then use that information as you plan for the class (p. 82). By asking
students this information and referencing it one-on-one, students know
their work is meaningful and their voices are being heard. Because of
this, students are more invested in the material. I saw this with about
80% of my students during this activity. However, there was still a
portion of students that are still overwhelmed, frustrated, or not
interested in the content. I did not do the best job at engaging them in
the material. Next time, I think I would like to give an expectations
assessment along with the brain dump at the beginning of the lesson
so I can quickly reference students responses as I notice them
struggling to be engaged. Opening the lesson with a conversation
about their expectations and needs from me will help those who might
be feeling left out.
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE (20 min.) MATERIALS
How will you clearly state and model behavioral expectations?
In what ways will students attempt to demonstrate independent mastery of the
objective?
How will you provide opportunities for extension?
Why will students be engaged/interested?
- How will you clearly state and model behavioral expectations? - Students will - Notes Sheet (as a
have written (and oral) MVP directions on the PowerPoint Presentation, and I reference)
will model expectations through classroom instruction. (Example: When I say - Calculator
go, you should be at a voice level one, in your seats, working on Station 1 with - Pencil/Pen
your teams. You have until the timer buzzes. Go). I will also constantly be - Overhead projector
circulating throughout the room monitoring students progress and observing - Technology (if
student behavior. needed)
- In what ways will students attempt to demonstrate independent mastery of the - Station Folders
objective? Students will be required to record their own answers and solutions (Students will remain
for the problems at their station. While they can look to their classmates as in their seats/groups
resources, they will be required to think for themselves, come to their own but pass the folders
conclusions, and most importantly, justify their solutions. Student progress will counter clockwise.
be monitored by me consistently throughout the activity, and students know I Each folder will have
will be taking notes on their performance. their assignment in it)
Reflection: Because I provided students with the answers for this
activity, I saw a spike in engagement a drive for independent
growth/mastery. As Tomlinson notes, [Differentiation] also calls on
teachers to work with students to show them the direct link between
effort and success, thus enlisting each students energy in his or her
own success (p. 32). By providing students with the answers and
expressing to them that I was much more interested in the process they
took to reach the destination, they were immediately more confident,
determined, and engaged. This was one of the strengths of the lesson,
and I will be sure to use it again.
- How will you provide opportunities for extension? Some students will be
challenged to complete more complex problems. If they finish the station work,
there is a bonus round which students can earn bonus points towards their
future assessment. If they get a problem from the bonus round correct, they
can earn points towards that standard on their next assessment. This
encourages more advanced students to push themselves to answer some of
the more difficult problem while also encouraging students who might be more
behind to work towards the bonus round questions.
- Why will students be engaged/interested? Students are invested in the Habits
of Mind in our classroom and understand the importance of learning to think.
Therefore, students understand the importance of this unit and the activity.
However, they also know every assignment they complete in class is for a
grade, and if they fall behind, I will call their parents. Students are motivated by
the high culture of achievement and accountability in my classroom. Many of
the stations will also have word problems and real-world connections for
students. The pace and timing of this exercise will also encourage students to
stay on task.
Reflection: During this activity, when I was trying to plan for
differentiation, I used students previous learning inventories and survey
results to shape my lesson and feedback. However, I noticed some
students not responding to methods that worked in previous lessons.
Encouragement that worked before had suddenly stopped working. For
instance, I had one student who is normally engaged and had written on
her survey, I need for you to keep me motivated and on-task by
encouraging me and telling me when Im off-track. However, during
this lesson, as we were working through the stations, she could not
keep her head up and stay awake. So, I tried to encourage her and
keep her on track like she requested. However, she was pretty upset
and exhausted and would not do any work. As Tomlinson notes,
Expect students to grow and change. Resist the inclination to assume
 that a student who is interested in insects in September will still be
passionate about that topic in March. Some will; some will not (p. 83).
As I tried to differentiate, I was not flexible enough on this point during
my planning. This led me to feel frustrated with some students which
caused them to shut down even more. Next time, I will work towards
being more flexible and understand that each day is a new opportunity
for all of my students.

CLOSING (10 min.) MATERIALS

How will students summarize what they learned?
How will students be asked to state the significance of what they learned?
How will you provide all students with opportunities to demonstrate mastery of
(or progress toward) the objective?
Why will students be engaged/interested?
- How will students summarize what they learned? - Students will be asked to - Notes Sheet
reflect on their thinking and learning (metacognition) in the exit ticket. This is - Calculator
something students have become very accustomed to in my classroom. For - Pencil/Pen
todays exit ticket, students will be asked a series of reflective questions - Overhead projector
regarding the activity and lesson today. I will use this data to help shape my - Technology (if
lesson and activities for the rest of the unit. Students feel their voice is needed)
important, and they feel comfortable opening up to me honestly about their - Station Activity
confidence level with the material. Students will also have time at the end of sheet (to turn in)
class to finish up their station activity and turn it in as a grade. We will have a - Exit Ticket reflection
brief whole-class discussion over their responses to their reflections (if time). sheet
- How will students be asked to state the significance of what they learned? -
Students will develop and discuss potential career fields where this skill might
be useful. They will do this with their groups and share their answers. Students
will then be able to see some examples of the expectations for success. On
their exit tickets, students will have the space to offer suggestions and discuss
grows and glows from the assignment. The goal for todays assignment is for
students to leave the room feeling confident in their mastery and encouraged by
my investment in their progress.
- How will you provide all students with opportunities to demonstrate mastery of
(or progress toward) the objective? Students will be held responsible for all
work completed at todays stations. They will have multiple opportunities to
demonstrate mastery at each station. Students will be able to check their
answers in real time which will help them track their progress toward the
objective without wasting class time waiting for me to come and give them the
correct answers.
- Why will students be engaged/interested? Because I am asking for student
feedback and reflection, students will be engaged in my investment in their
education. They will feel confident that I care about their opinions and want
them to succeed.
Reflection: In the Laureate Education video on Differentiated
Instruction, the teacher emphasized the importance of letting students
know we are their partner in this endeavor and that we get joy from
getting to know them and working with them (2012). By closing my
lesson with some reflection questions and collecting their work,
students felt energized and confident that I was listening to their needs
and celebrating their successes. I clearly expressed that I was
collecting their work to not only assess their performance as learners
but also my performance as a teacher. Because I framed the activity in
this regard, students were more invested in their responses, and I
received some helpful and specific feedback. Next time, I would like to
plan more time for students to share their responses and come together
whole-group to have a class wide discussion.
Appendix:
Name ___________________________ Unit 3 PreTest/Brain Dump
Directions: Write everything you know about the topics below (Jot your thoughts anywhere on the circle)

Trigonometric Translating
Ratios Functions
Triangles

Angle Sum Special Right

Theorem Triangles

Name ___________________________ Unit 3 Pre Test/Brain Dump

Directions: Write everything you know about the topics below (Jot your thoughts anywhere on the circle)

Trigonometric Translating
Ratios Functions
Triangles

Angle Sum Special Right

Theorem Triangles
Part 2: Quick Questions
1.What is 30 degrees converted to radians? 2. A right triangle has legs of 16 and 30 feet.
How long is its hypotenuse?
a) 3 radians b) radians a) 46 feet b) 34 feet
c) /9 radians d) /12 radians
c) 46 feet d)17 feet

3. Find x 4. Find the missing side length

Part 2: Quick Questions

1.What is 30 degrees converted to radians? 2. A right triangle has legs of 16 and 30 feet.
How long is its hypotenuse?
a) 3 radians b) radians a) 46 feet b) 34 feet
c) /9 radians d) /12 radians
c) 46 feet d)17 feet

3. Find x 4. Find the missing side length

Works Cited:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Differentiating instruction. [Video file].
Baltimore, MD: Author.

Tomlinson, C.A., & Imbeau, M .B. (2010). Leading and managing a differentiated classroom.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD.