Differentiation Strategy: Cubing Cubing is designed to help students think about a
topic or idea in different ways. A cube has six sides, or faces. Each side prompts a different question or task. Each of these prompts or tasks is created with consideration of the six levels of Blooms Taxonomy. Therefore, each side of the cube uses a different level of Blooms Taxonomy. Teacher will create two to three cubes at various levels of readiness, interest or learning profile and break students into small groups or partners. Each of the various cubes is a different color. Each student rolls the cube 2-4 times depending on the concepts/questions. Students can opt out of a side one time if they do not want to answer or discuss that concept. Students may only opt out one time. Periodically, the color-coding of the cubes need to change so students do not get labeled as a lower ability student. One key advantage to the cubing strategy is incorporating higher level thinking skills into lessons. It is also a great activity for kinesthetic learners.
Cubes can be differentiated by readiness, interest or learning profile. For my classroom, I will arrange my cubing groups and different cubes by readiness (low, medium, high). For my academic classes, all three levels would be used. For my PreAP classes, the medium and high levels would most likely be the only cubes utilized. I plan to use this activity as a review prior to the STARR test in April. Students learn about different types of energy and resources in 6 th and 7 th grade. This activity will provide a quick review of concepts before a major standardized test. Purpose/Focus of Lesson (the big idea): In this lesson students will explore and recall information on many different types of energy and resources. Instruction Grouping: Individual Whole Group Small Group Peer Partners Homogeneous Heterogeneous
What will be differentiated: Content Process Product Learner Elements Involved: Readiness Interest Learning Profile
As a result of this lesson what you hope your students will:
Students will Know: energy sources, pollutants and non-renewable/renewable
Students will Understand: how important energy and resources are to humans in daily life.
Students will be able to: compare and contrast different energy sources.
Pre-assessment: Prior to the cubing activity, I will give students a warm-up quiz that will be located on the Smart Board as they enter the classroom. We will grade the quizzes as a class and then divide into three groups. I will put students into these groups so they are not aware of the organization of the groups. Resources/References: http://www.firstpalette.com/tool_box/printables/cube.html