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7 Ways to Differentiate Lessons for Gifted Students

Students raising hands in a gifted classroom.

Written by Victoria Hegwood

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  • Teaching Strategies

What does “Gifted” mean?

  • Why differentiate instruction for talented students?
  • 8 Differentiation strategies for gifted students

1. Create tiered assignments

2. shorten the explanations.

  • 3. Flexible apps
  • 4. Offer open-ended and self directed assignments
  • 5. Introduce project based learning
  • 6. Compact curriculum

7. Pair gifted students up

8. always keep learning, gifted education pitfalls to avoid.

  • Creating a learning environment for every student

All students are unique and special in their own way. Each learns in a different way and needs their education to be individualized. 

But differentiating lessons for gifted students can require even more thought and extra planning. 

Gifted learners tend to go through their learning activities rapidly and require modifications to their education for them to be fully engaged in the classroom. 

If you’re struggling to know exactly how to differentiate lessons for gifted students, this is just the article for you. We’ll highlight instructional strategies to use that will meet your student’s need for enrichment in the classroom, as well as pitfalls to avoid.

The National Association for Gifted Children defines gifted as “ students with gifts and talents performed or capable being performed at higher levels compared to others the same age, experience, and environment. ”

If your school has a gifted program, they likely also have their own definition and benchmarks that qualify a student as gifted. It is important to note that there is not a unified definition from all the states concerning what gifted means. 

Gifted students are seen across all racial, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. 

And there is no one behavior or skill set that defines a gifted learner. Some are gifted in athletics or leadership while others are gifted in the sciences or social skills.

Why is differentiated instruction needed for talented students?

Gifted students are often bored in a typical classroom. This can result in them just zoning out of the lesson or misbehaving. In situations where gifted students are left unchallenged for long periods of time, the students may never learn how to learn in a classroom. 

These students need unique opportunities to analyze, evaluate, create and reflect in challenging ways. Differentiating the lesson according to their strengths can help make this happen. 

Building differentiated lessons is about the philosophy and practice rather than a strict step-by-step process. You can tweak this practice to match your students’ readiness, interest, learning styles and academic needs.

In general, differentiating lessons is a helpful strategy for all student learning. Education scholar Carol Tomlinson emphasizes, “ Differentiation really means trying to make sure that teaching and learning work for the full range of students .”

However, this article will specifically focus on why it’s necessary for gifted students. When a student is contemplating skipping a grade but isn’t quite ready to make the leap or is only gifted in a particular subject, differentiated lessons are a great solution. 

8 Differentiation strategies for gifted learners

There are a lot of ways to use differentiation with a lesson. Different approaches will likely work better for a particular topic or student. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Tiered assignments allow learners to complete the same assignment at different levels of difficulty.

How you implement this strategy will vary based on your classroom. For example, you may design an assignment for the middle tier of students and then add additional challenges for gifted students. 

Another option is designing a more difficult assignment and then adding scaffolding, such as a graphic organizer or supplied reading material, to those at or below grade level. 

With this strategy, it is important to routinely assess your students to understand where they are at. This way you will always know who needs advanced content and who needs more help.

Did you know?

If you're teaching math to students in 1st-8th grade, you can use Prodigy's Assignment tool to easily set tiered exercises. With your free teacher account , simply select the skill you want to set as an Assignment and have your students play Prodigy Math .

And the best bit? You won't have to do any grading, it's all done automatically!

Gifted students typically understand a concept the first time it is explained, whereas their peers may need the content to be taught a few different ways.

Try giving a short pre-assessment or a pop quiz once you have taught the concept one time to see if the gifted students can move on to the next topic. 

Doing this will hopefully prevent boredom and, in turn, misbehavior from gifted students.

3. Use flexible apps

When bringing technology into your classroom and blending the learning experience , choose apps and games with flexibility. Look for options where gifted students can work on more complex concepts while other students work closer to grade level. 

There are plenty of apps, like Prodigy Math , that engage students and evaluate their skills to determine if they are learning math problems at the right level. Prodigy Math then uses adaptive algorithms to continue to challenge the student. 

Apps like this can also help strain teachers less when planning differentiating lessons since they don’t have to design the tiers themselves.

4. Offer open-ended and self-directed assignments

Open-ended tasks are great for differentiated lessons because they leave plenty of room for students’ skills and ideas to shine. They are especially good at stimulating higher-order thinking skills such as problem-solving. 

Self-directed assignments give gifted learners responsibility for their own development and let them decide how far they want to take their own learning. Assignments with open-ended questions encourage students to offer creative responses, work in small groups and build other ways to further explore. But make sure you deliver open-ended sessions with an end goal rather than leaving the students alone.

5. Introduce project-based learning

Project-based learning is effective since it mimics the real world. In a project-based assignment, learners conduct research, ask complex questions and improve management skills. Oftentimes, projects end with a presentation, which is great for practicing public speaking. 

Projects can be completed in small groups or by each student individually. This learning method is especially beneficial for gifted learners due to its depth, student choice, real-world learning and collaboration opportunities.

Project-based learning tends to go over the best when the assignments relate to a student’s interests.  For example, a high school student interested in social studies could be tasked with designing advocacy around an issue of their choice.

6. Try a compact curriculum

A compact curriculum is similar to shortening explanations, but it will actually throw out whole lessons that the gifted student already understands. Instead, the gifted student will be given lessons on content they’ve never been exposed to. 

Most often in this method, students will be given a pre-test that allows them to show mastery over various problems. Then, the curriculum is adjusted. 

It’s important to remember that curriculum development for gifted students is a dynamic process.

Another strategy is being more intentional in how you pair students up in collaborative projects. Putting gifted students together in cluster groups boosts their achievement since they are able to work at a faster pace. 

You may even find that in specific subjects, students that are gifted in that area can be paired up for their own differentiated lesson while you teach the rest of the class. These pairs can work on advanced content and learn from each other.

Teaching requires constant innovation and growth with a new classroom of kiddos each year. You will always be tweaking what you are doing based on new things that you learn. 

In the last two years, the pandemic has required flexibility and accelerated digital learning in ways we had never seen before. 

The challenges that came with this got teachers talking and opened up a dialogue about what learning strategies work. It created a community where more experienced teachers could impart their knowledge to others. 

Here's more strategies and ideas to help you differentiate learning

Looking to learn more about differentiation? Check out our list of 20 differentiated instruction strategies for more inspiration on how to level educational content in your classroom, with examples included!

As with any strategy, there are ways to do it well and ways to do it that are not so great. Try to avoid these three common mistakes when differentiating lessons for gifted students.

1. Using gifted students as teaching assistants

While gifted students may seem like a great help in the classroom, they should not be tasked with mentoring or tutoring other students. They need to be challenged in their own education and reteaching a concept that they already know doesn’t do that. 

A different way to go about this is having flexible grouping projects that let students work together for a short period of time. These projects allow gifted students to practice interacting with their peers and allow other students to learn from gifted students, but it’s temporary. 

This method allows gifted students to learn and avoids attaching a ‘teacher’ role to their interactions.

2. Working independently without oversight

A differentiated lesson for gifted learners should lead to more collaboration and content enrichment without the learner working constantly on their own. Assigning open-ended tasks without oversight or accountability can actually have the opposite effect of what you’re going for with gifted learners.

Ensure that lessons allow for student choice while still conforming to school district standards. And check in often with your gifted students.

3. Assuming mastery in all subject areas

Don’t assume that just because a learner is gifted in one area means that this means they are gifted in every area. For example, a student may be reading at a high school level but is not a strong writer. Or they may excel at math problems but struggle to understand graphs in science. 

Evaluate each subject area individually before assigning advanced lessons to gifted students.

Creating a learning environment for everyone

Differentiated lessons can be a great tool for gifted students in your classroom. But there are best practices to keep in mind when you’re constructing lessons. Differentiating lessons helps challenge gifted students and keep them engaged in your classroom.  

If starting the process of planning differentiated lessons feels overwhelming to you, using Prodigy can be a great first step.  

Whether you’re teaching in a math or English classroom, Prodigy is a fantastic free teaching resource that customizes each student’s experience with adaptive content.

Prodigy helps make it easier for you to differentiate instruction across your classroom, with no grading required! Teachers simply select what curriculum-aligned skills they'd like to test on their students or let Prodigy's adaptive algorithm assign content to help a student grow, including those in gifted or talented strands.

It's also free for teachers and schools! See how it works below:

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Differentiated Instruction

6 Ways to Deliver Differentiated Instruction for Gifted Students

Ellen ullman author photo WF1470000

What Does Gifted Mean?

Before we discuss how to differentiate instruction for gifted students, we should explore what gifted means. There isn’t a simple definition. In fact, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)’s 2018–2019 State of the States in Gifted Education report shows that nearly every state has its own definition of gifted, and some states don’t even define the term.

The definition used by the state of New Jersey gives one such example, which states that a gifted and talented student is a “student who possesses or demonstrates a high level of ability in one or more content areas when compared to their chronological peers in the school district and who require modifications of their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities.”

It’s important to remember that students can be gifted in different ways—such as athletics, leadership, or social and emotional skills—and nobody is gifted in everything. “There are lots of different areas that people can be gifted in, but in school, we rely on the academic piece because that’s what we serve,” says Jennifer G. Beasley, EdD, director of teacher education at the University of Arkansas. “Since there is no common definition of gifted, we need to appropriately assess students to discover the strengths and areas we can support.”

It’s also important to remember that the strategies discussed in this blog can be used for “non-gifted” students as well.

Why Do Gifted Students Need Differentiation?

Just as a student who finds the classroom material overwhelming may zone out or misbehave, so too may a gifted student. Even worse, when students who are gifted are routinely unchallenged, they may never learn how to learn. Gifted students need opportunities to analyze, evaluate, create, and reflect. They should gain experience by asking and investigating complex questions and completing challenging tasks.

Although we are focusing on differentiated instruction for gifted students, it is important to note that the strategies discussed in this blog can apply to all populations of students. “Differentiation is meeting the needs of learners where they are at,” says Beasley. “It’s a philosophy—not a bag of tricks or a strategy. It’s about thinking about the pieces we can differentiate by readiness, by interest, by learning profile, and so on, for whatever type of learners are in your class.”

How to Differentiate for Gifted Students

Teachers can differentiate content, process, or product (see chart below), but they need to start by building the right kind of classroom community. “If a student—gifted or not—doesn’t feel safe and accepted by their teacher or classmates, it will be difficult for them to trust what you’re doing or take risks and learn and grow,” says Beasley.

Other key principles of differentiation include flexible grouping, a high-quality curriculum, and ongoing assessment. If one of these factors is missing, it will be more difficult to differentiate . Once these principles are in place, there are a variety of strategies teachers can use to differentiate instruction for gifted students.

6 Ways to Differentiate Instruction for Gifted Students

1. create tiered assignments.

Tiered assignments allow learners to complete the same assignment at different levels of difficulty. By varying the level of difficulty, you’re letting each student demonstrate understanding. Some teachers do this by designing an assignment for the middle tier and then adding in an additional challenge for students who are gifted. For example, you could ask gifted students to apply a skill in two ways instead of one. Other educators prefer to plan the lesson for the students who are gifted and then differentiate by providing support for the rest of the class. Differentiation expert Carol Ann Tomlinson believes that this method “challenges advanced learners more than trying to pump up a ‘middling’ idea—and serves other students better as well.”

Beasley has gotten this strategy down to a science. She’ll collect data, do a quick assessment, and plan two levels of an activity. “We typically think of planning for three levels of an activity, but it depends on what your assessment shows. There may not actually be any students that are above grade level on a particular skill.” She starts by planning the above-grade level task because that’s where she wants everyone to be, and then adds in scaffolding, such as a graphic organizer or supplied reading material, for the students who are at- or below-grade level.

Tiered assignments can be time-consuming, with lots of upfront work. Beasley suggests collaborating with colleagues. If you do it for one unit or chapter, might another teacher do it for a different unit or chapter?

2. Allow Gifted Students to Work at Their Own Pace

By giving a pre-assessment at the start of each unit, you can let students who already know the material handle the lessons differently. Perhaps there’s an independent project related to the topic that a gifted learner could work on, or maybe the student could skip some of the earlier assignments. How about letting the gifted students work on two assignments at once or giving them fewer directions?

Delivering differentiated instruction for gifted students inline

3. Offer Open-Ended or Self-Directed Assignments & Activities

Open-ended tasks can have many valid approaches, and students can apply their unique skills and ideas. In addition, an activity that is open-ended can stimulate higher-order thinking. Let gifted learners be responsible for their own development by giving them a say in how far they take their own learning. Ask higher-level questions and encourage students to offer creative responses, work in pairs to question each other, and find ways to stimulate further exploration. You may even allow your students who are gifted to work on an independent study in an interest area whenever they have free time.

4. Compact the Curriculum

Whether it’s an entire unit or a lesson, if you can give students the opportunity to show they already understand the material, they can move on to something else. “Compacting” refers to tossing out the part of the lesson that students already know, which frees them up to work on something more challenging. In a math class, for example, you might choose the essential problems that demonstrate mastery. If students can correctly solve those problems, they can move on to an extension activity.

Beasley calls this the “Five Hardest First.” For any assignment, she’ll choose the five most difficult questions and let all students attempt to answer those first. “If the students understand these five, I know they have met that learning goal.”

5. Deliver Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning (PBL), which the Buck Institute for Education defines as a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects, lets students who are gifted flex their intellectual muscles. More than “just a project,” PBL encourages intellectual and emotional development by asking students to conduct deep research, ask complex questions, exhibit critical thinking and problem-solving, collaborate, and improve time-management skills. To solve problems or come up with physical solutions, students need to develop timelines and summon inner strength if their solutions don’t work. In some schools, students can display or present their projects, helping them develop public speaking skills. These types of projects give students increased independence and the ability to study material at their own pace. PBL is a great strategy for all types of learners, but it can be particularly compelling for gifted learners due to its depth and complexity, student choice, real-world skill development, and collaboration opportunities.

6. Pair Gifted Students Up

NAGC research shows that allowing students who are gifted to work together in small groups boosts their achievement because they challenge themselves. The Davidson Institute says that academic competition is important for gifted students to learn how to deal with success and defeat. In fact, the Institute lists academic competitions that are designed to entice students to work independently or in teams; this kind of work helps gifted students handle pressure and gain experience in real-life challenges. When you let gifted students work together, they can work on advanced content or assignments at their level. Because students can be talented in different ways, you can use this strategy to help them learn from each other and expand their horizons.

Communicating Your Goals

Whichever of these differentiation strategies for gifted students you use, by doing so, you’ll be helping to meet gifted learners’ needs. Communicate your goals and plans for differentiation to your students and their families and caregivers. “Be sure to introduce and define differentiation,” says Beasley. “Let students know that their classmates may be doing different things, and that just means we have different interests.” By getting buy-in upfront, you can help everyone understand your methods. It’s important for everyone to be in the know about the ways we educate.

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Instructional Modifications for Gifted Students

Home » Parent Press » Parenting Hacks » Academics » Instructional Modifications for Gifted Students

Imagine the pure joy you experience when you see that twinkle in your child’s eyes, their earnest thirst for knowledge surpassing their age. You recognize they’re not just bright; they’re gifted. Yet, navigating the educational landscape for such talented minds can be daunting. Inside this blog, let’s unravel how instructional modifications for gifted students can become your guiding light. As a cornerstone of differentiated instruction, these modifications foster engagement, spur motivation , and instill self-efficacy in gifted learners. More than just a tool, they empower our kids to traverse challenging learning paths at their own pace, fostering their talents and kindling their passions. Prepare to uncover insights and practical tips on implementing instructional modifications for gifted students. Together, we’ll ensure that your child’s constant thirst for knowledge is quenched and their boundless potential is nurtured.

Table of Contents

Plunge into Instructions

As I navigate my journey working with gifted kids, I’ve discovered various instructional modifications. They’ve consistently fostered growth, nurtured potential, and ignited passion, creating an environment where gifted kids thrive. Let’s explore these further.

Tiered Assignments

Do you remember when you found a puzzle too complex for your kid, yet unraveling it themselves left them brimming with satisfaction? That’s what tiered assignments aim for—the same task, different challenge levels. For instance, a science project can be made more intricate for gifted students by adding a component demanding more in-depth research.

instructional modifications for gifted students. 6 kids are sitting at their desk in school.

Curriculum compacting

Nothing stifles a gifted learner’s spirit more than redundant lessons. Say an algebra lesson—your child understands it after the first iteration, but the class continues. Curriculum compacting eliminates the mastered work, aligning pace with the readiness of gifted kids.

Flexible Grouping

Consider this as changing playgroups depending on your kid’s evolving interests. Sometimes, it’s a group building Lego cities; other times, it’s an assembly brainstorming mysteries of the universe. Similarly, flexible grouping keeps shifting, catering to students’ strengths, needs, or interests, ensuring a rich learning experience.

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Differentiated Instruction

Imagine having a GPS that adapts on the go. A bit of traffic ahead? It recalculates. That’s what differentiated instruction does—thoughtfully tweaks content, process, products, environment, and even assessments to suit your gifted child’s academic voyage.

Journey beyond the conventional

We’ve just skimmed the surface. The ocean of instructional modifications for gifted students runs far more profound. Some more effective strategies that caught my attention were:

  • Acceleration : Moving at a pace that challenges their intellect
  • Enrichment : Expanding on existing knowledge
  • Cluster Grouping : Grouping gifted students for certain subjects
  • Problem-Based Learning : Simulating real-world problem-solving
  • Tiered Lessons: Differentiated content within the same lesson
  • Independent Study : Encouraging self-learning and exploration
  • SPECIFIC Curriculum Models : Frameworks designed for gifted learners
  • Project-Based Learning: Applying concepts to real-life scenarios
  • Pairing Up Gifted Students : Mutual growth through constructive competition

Additional activities like Sudoku, Logic and reasoning puzzles, KenKen puzzles, Brain teasers, or Riddles provide an intellectual challenge and add a fun element to their daily routine.

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As your child develops new skills, you can increase the difficulty level of the tasks in the app to challenge and motivate them even further. This helps your child grow and progress at their own pace, while also keeping them engaged and excited about their development.

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Above all, remember this—every child is different. Just because a particular modification worked for another child doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for yours. My advice? Create a mix, experiment, and monitor progress. Soon, you’ll find the perfect blend of instructional modifications for your gifted student. It may be challenging, but it’s rewarding as every step forward equips your child to reach their fullest potential.

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Emily is a seasoned blog writer for Goally, leveraging her extensive background in child psychology and special education to provide valuable insights and resources for parents. Her commitment to understanding and addressing the unique needs of these children, combined with her expertise in educational strategies, makes her a credible and empathetic voice for families.

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Gifted Education

A resource kit for teachers on gifted education, 4.1 accommodations and modifications for students who are gifted.

Students who are gifted and talented often have a wide range of diverse interests coupled with uneven development and distaste for all that is repetitive and unchallenging. Educating those who are gifted and talented requires flexibility on the part of the teacher and the implementation of choice for the student. The whole notion of differentiated education and instruction was first developed to meet the needs of gifted learners (Hutchinson and Martin, page 55) before being implemented for all learners because, just like all learners, gifted students are a heterogeneous population with varying strengths and weaknesses. An entire classroom of gifted learners may only share the characteristics of “having an unusually advanced degree of general intellectual ability” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2001, page A20) and nothing more. As such, those who teach student who are gifted in the regular classroom or otherwise must be flexible in both instruction delivery and demonstration of student knowledge. The focus of these suggestions is to incorporate the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy in a substantial amount to address the cognitive needs of gifted learners. All students require exposure to all levels of the Taxonomy, however, gifted students need to have more time spent in instruction at the higher levels as they often bring a large amount of knowledge to class with them and can learn new knowledge at a faster pace.

Listed below are the typical accommodations and modifications to address the needs of gifted learners. Please note that in curriculum models designed for gifted learners, it is the combination of all accommodations/modifications listed below that is needed and that each accommodation and/or modification is not a total curriculum program for gifted students.

1. Tiered Assignments

Tiered assignments refer to assignments that are graduated or tiered by level of difficulty or completeness. Creating a tiered assignment in either a self-contained or regular classroom allows for all levels of learners to complete the same assignment to the best of their ability. Creating an assignment in this manner allows the teacher to present content at varying levels of complexity as well as allows students to present their knowledge in varying ways of complexity. An example of a tiered assignment in younger grades given in Hutchinson and Martin (2012) would be to have one group of students investigate the magnetic properties of various household objects while another group of students could add the complexity of determining the affect of magnet size on magnetic strength. In this way both groups of students are learning about magnets at their varying levels of understanding and comprehension.

  2. Open-Ended Assignments

 Open-Ended Assignments refer to giving the student choice as to how far they take their own learning-making them both responsible and accountable for their own education. In this way, students can be given choice of both assignment content and product delivery. An example of an open-ended assignment would be to have students research their favorite animal. All students may provide information of diet and habitat but the option for gifted learners to go one step further in their research, in terms of mating cycles, destruction of habitat for example, as well as the ability to present their knowledge in a unique way allows for the potential of the further depth and breadth needed for gifted learners.

3. Enrichment (Independent Study, Independent Research, Sophistication of Projects)

Enrichment is the modification most used in programs for gifted and talented learners at the elementary and secondary level (Clark, page 407) and refers to adding disciplines or areas of learning not normally found in the regular curriculum. Enrichment encourages gifted students to focus on the upper levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy-analysis, synthesis and evaluation-in their learning. Independent study falls under the category of enrichment along with individually chosen projects to match the interests of the gifted student. The introduction of research skills and critically thinking skills along with multidisciplinary connections are often taught as a way to enrich the program for gifted learners. Enrichment is theoretically the least expensive method of meeting some of the needs of gifted learners; however, it has the potential to become nothing more than more work for the student and as such it is only effective when used in conjunction with other methods as part of a differentiated curriculum plan. Examples of enrichment include allowing the student to complete an independent project and display their findings around the school (a gym poster, a presentation etc), allowing students to display their work in a more sophisticated means (as a flyer, in a spreadsheet for data, as a website or video), and allowing the student to research a topic independently at the library or on a classroom computer.

  4. Acceleration (Telescoping, Compacting, Ability or Need Grouping)

Acceleration refers to educating the student at their level of ability rather than chronological age. This can take many forms and can be in one or more areas depending on the nature of the gifted student’s development. Students can be accelerated by having early entrance into school, skipping grades, or by being placed in a higher grade for a particular subject or discipline. They can also accelerate through the rate at which they are learning-commonly referred to as telescoping. Because gifted students are often “quick learners” it is possible to have them learn both what is required of them in their current grade and then move on to what is taught in the following grade. The usual result is the gifted student finishes their required school in less time than is typically needed. Research has shown that gifted learners are inclined to identify with those older than themselves and as such, acceleration into higher grades with older students is a viable option with positive consequences both academically and socially. Grouping by ability is another form of acceleration that allows the gifted learner to be placed with students of similar ability rather than chronological age and can take the form of a pullout program, special schools or classroom or clustering within a regular classroom. There is extensive research that shows that gifted learners benefit greatly from interaction with their intellectual peers, which makes grouping by ability a viable accommodation from both an academic and social perspective.

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Differentiating Math Instruction Through Tiered Lessons

In response to the movement toward inclusion in classrooms, Rebecca Pierce and Cheryll Adams from Ball State University outlined how teachers can reach all the students in their classrooms : when they are academically diverse; have special needs; are ESL learners; or, have some combination of any or all of these factors. Differentiation Differentiation is an organized, yet flexible way of proactively adjusting teaching and learning to meet students where they are and help all students achieve maximum growth as learners (Tomlinson, 1999). Instruction may be differentiated in content/input, process/sense-making, or product/output according to the students’ readiness, interest, or learning style. Content refers to the material that is being presented. Process activities help students practice or make sense out of the content, while product refers to the outcome of the lesson or unit, such as a test, project, or paper. Readiness refers to prior knowledge and a student’s current skill and proficiency with the material presented in the lesson.

The article provides two critical rules that thwart chaos and preserve sanity. The first is “Use six-inch voices,” meaning that students should modulate their speaking level so that their voices can only be heard six inches away. The second rule is “Ask three before me.” If students need assistance completing a task or come to a stumbling block in a lesson and you are not available, they should find three other students to ask before they may interrupt you. If their three peers cannot answer the question, the student has permission to interrupt you. Anchoring or “sponge” activities are provided for students to use when they are waiting for you to assist them before they can go any further or at the beginning of the class period to get them ready to work.

Tiered Lessons A tiered lesson is a differentiation strategy that addresses a particular standard, key concept, and generalization, but allows several pathways for students to arrive at an understanding of these components based on their interests, readiness, or learning profiles. When developing a tiered lesson, the following eight steps have been provided:

  • Identify the grade level and subject for which you will write the lesson.
  • Identify the standard (national, state, district, etc.) you are targeting. A common mistake for those just beginning to tier is to develop three great activities and then try to force-fit them into a tiered lesson.
  • Identify the key concept and generalization. The key concept follows from the standard. Ask yourself, “What big idea am I targeting?” The generalization follows from the concept chosen. Ask, “What do I want the students to know at the end of the lesson, regardless of their placement in the tiers?”
  • Be sure students have the background necessary to be successful in the lesson. What scaffolding is necessary? What must you have already covered or what must the student have already learned? Are there other skills that must be taught first?
  • Determine in which part of the lesson (content, process, product) you will tier. You may choose to tier the content (what you want the students to learn), the process (the way students make sense out of the content), or the product (the outcome at the end of a lesson, lesson set, or unit—often a project).
  • Determine the type of tiering you will do: readiness, interest, or learning profile. Readiness is based on the ability levels of the students. Giving a pretest is a good way to assess readiness. Students’ interest in a topic is generally gauged through an interest survey, while the learning profile may be determined through various learning style inventories.
  • Based on your choices above, determine how many tiers you will need and develop the lesson. When tiering according to readiness, you may have three tiers: below grade level, at grade level, and above grade level. If you choose to tier in interest or learning profile, you may control the number of tiers by limiting choices or using only a few different learning styles. Differentiation means doing something different—qualitatively different. Make sure you keep this in mind when tiering the lessons. Second, be sure that students are doing challenging, respectful, and developmentally appropriate work within each tier. In other words, no group should be given “busywork.”
  • Finally, develop the assessment component to the lesson. The assessment can be formative, summative, or a combination of both. You may use some means of recording observations of the various groups, such as flip cards or sticky notes. You could develop a rubric for each tier based on the particular product that is created. You may give a formal paper-and-pencil test. Whatever it is, choose your assessment based on your needs and your lesson design.

Conclusion Time, energy, and patience are required to learn to differentiate instruction effectively in an academically diverse classroom (especially during these challenging times throughout the ongoing pandemic!). In addition, you need administrative and peer support, as well as professional development over extended periods of time.

For more information on tiering, contact the  Center for Gifted Stud ies and Talent Development , Ball State University (BSU).

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Five Ways to Support Gifted Students in Your Classroom

Read full post: Five Ways to Support Gifted Students in Your Classroom

Do you struggle to support the needs of gifted children in your classroom? Teachers often find it difficult to understand the specific needs of gifted students, which means they often don't get the support they need in the classroom. Find out how you can better support the gifted students in your classroom below!

1. Learn how gifted students think.

If you want to support gifted students in your classroom, it's important that you make an effort to learn how they think and learn about the different struggles they face. Understanding that gifted students have special needs, requirements, and trends in behavior will help you meet their needs and better support them in the classroom.

2. Created tiered assignments for students.

Tiered assignments can help you meet the needs of all students. Choose the basic standard objective and design an assignment on that standard to make the middle tier. Once the middle tier is finished, you make the other tiers by adding support for at-risk children and adding challenge for gifted students. Here are two simple ways you can add challenge to assignments:

  • Give gifted students more complex numbers in a math assignment or a more difficult text to read.
  • Add a second component to assignments, such as having them apply the skill they've learned to a real-world situation or asking them to write an explanation of their thinking.

3. Include a variety of levels in your classroom library.

Make sure your classroom library has a variety of texts to support the reading ability and interests of gifted students. You can also encourage students to bring reading materials from home, but make sure the materials they bring challenge them to learn new words and increase their reading skills.

4. Utilize their talents and interests.

Gifted students are often asked to do busy work when they finish assignments ahead of others. Instead of taking that approach, try utilizing gifted students' talents and interests to further explore a skill. For example, students could write or draw something related to the assignment/skill or they could act out solutions to the problem or project.

5. Explore real-word application.

Gifted students understand math algorithms, science concepts, and grammar rules very quickly. You can encourage them to move beyond the skill they're learning by applying it in the real world. For example, they can explore how area and perimeter affect an architect's design or how scientists use animal classification to understand animal life and how it functions.

Create a differentiation strategy for your classroom with the educational materials and resources available in our Elementary section.

Tiered Assignments

Field guide: continuing the journey.

Before we head into the next session, take a moment to record some thoughts in your field guide. There are three questions in the TIERED ASSIGNMENT section of the guide. 

Expedition: Tiered Assignments

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This simulation can be used to demonstrate that differentiation can actually be done quite simply and without students knowing who is receiving addiitonal challenge or more support. 

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Guided Practice

For our guided practice in this section, you'll have the chance to practice what you've learned to create a tiered lesson of your own. We'll use the Nearpod link below for our work. 

Field Guide & Questions

Let's take a moment to reflect on some of the ideas that have been brought forward today. Spend a bit of time in your Field Guide thinking about your next steps. This is also a great time to ask some individual questions of Liz.

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  • Multi-Tiered System of Support for Gifted Students

Use of a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) provides responsive services for all students. It is a process that provides high-quality, research-based instruction based on learner needs. Needs are identified by monitoring students’ progress. Adjustments to instruction and interventions are based on students’ performance and academic growth. MTSS promotes a well-integrated system, connecting general, gifted, and special education with intervention and enrichment services.

The MTSS process addresses academic, social and emotional needs. Under the MTSS model, student needs are categorized under three tiers of support.

Tier 1 refers to the instruction that occurs within the classroom. The majority of students’ needs are met within this tier. The five core best practices in gifted education to form the foundation of differentiation for gifted learners include: pre-assessment, compacting, learning contracts/independent study, tiered instruction and assignments for depth, complexity and higher-order thinking, and grouping strategies that allow for a like-ability learning cohort.

Tier 2 interventions are utilized with a small percentage of identified students after documented Tier 1 interventions haven’t supported achieving appropriate growth. Students who require this level of intervention are typically outliers, even within the gifted population.

In rare cases, a student may require Tier 3 interventions. This level of intervention involves significant changes to a student’s learning experience.

Individual schools are the primary resource for information on gifted education and the front line of communication for families. The Gifted and Talented Department focuses on providing professional development and serving as a resource to district staff. 

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Differentiated Instruction Strategies: Tiered Assignments

Janelle cox.

  • September 23, 2014

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Many teachers use differentiated instruction strategies  as a way to reach all learners and accommodate each student’s learning style. One very helpful tactic to employ differentiated instruction is called tiered assignments—a technique often used within flexible groups.

Much like flexible grouping—or differentiated instruction as a whole, really—tiered assignments do not lock students into ability boxes. Instead, particular student clusters are assigned specific tasks within each group according to their readiness and comprehension without making them feel completely compartmentalized away from peers at different achievement levels.

There are six main ways to structure tiered assignments: challenge level, complexity, outcome, process, product, or resources. It is your job, based upon the specific learning tasks you’re focused on, to determine the best approach. Here we will take a brief look at these techniques.

Ways to Structure Tiered Assignments

Challenge level.

Tiering can be based on challenge level where student groups will tackle different assignments. Teachers can use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide to help them develop tasks of structure or questions at various levels. For example:

  • Group 1:  Students who need content reinforcement or practice will complete one activity that helps  build  understanding.
  • Group 2:  Students who have a firm understanding will complete another activity that  extends  what they already know.

When you tier assignments by complexity, you are addressing the needs of students who are at different levels using the same assignment. The trick here is to vary the focus of the assignment based upon whether each group is ready for more advanced work or simply trying to wrap their head around the concept for the first time. You can direct your students to create a poster on a specific issue—recycling and environmental care, for instance—but one group will focus on a singular perspective, while the other will consider several points of view and present an argument for or against each angle.

Tiering assignments by differentiated outcome is vaguely similar to complexity—all of your students will use the same materials, but depending on their readiness levels will actually have a different outcome. It may sound strange at first, but this strategy is quite beneficial to help advanced students work on more progressive applications of their student learning.

This differentiated instruction strategy is exactly what it sounds like—student groups will use different processes to achieve similar outcomes based upon readiness.

Tiered assignments can also be differentiated based on product. Teachers can use the Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences to form groups that will hone particular skills for particular learning styles . For example, one group would be bodily/kinesthetic, and their task is to create and act out a skit. Another group would be visual/spatial, and their task would be to illustrate.

Tiering resources means that you are matching project materials to student groups based on readiness or instructional need. One flexible group may use a magazine while another may use a traditional textbook. As a tip, you should assign resources based on knowledge and readiness, but also consider the group’s reading level and comprehension.

How to Make Tiering Invisible to Students

From time to time, students may question why they are working on different assignments, using varied materials, or coming to dissimilar outcomes altogether. This could be a blow to your classroom morale if you’re not tactful in making your tiers invisible.

Make it a point to tell students that each group is using different materials or completing different activities so they can share what they learned with the class. Be neutral when grouping students, use numbers or colors for group names, and be equally enthusiastic while explaining assignments to each cluster.

Also, it’s important to make each tiered assignment equally interesting, engaging, and fair in terms of student expectations. The more flexible groups and materials you use, the more students will accept that this is the norm.

Tiering assignments is a fair way to differentiate learning. It allows teachers to meet the needs of all students while using varying levels of tasks. It’s a concept that can be infused into homework assignments, small groups, or even learning centers. If done properly, it can be a very effective method to differentiate learning because it challenges all students.

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Tiered Assignments

What are tiered assignments.

According to Tomlinson (1995), tiered assignments are used by teachers within a heterogeneous classroom in order to meet the diverse needs of the students within the class. Teachers implement varied levels of activities to ensure that students explore ideas at a level that builds on their prior knowledge and prompts continued growth. Student groups use varied approaches to explore essential ideas.

Williams (2002) offers the following definition on her website: Tiered assignments are parallel tasks at varied levels of complexity, depth and abstractness with various degrees of scaffolding, support, or direction. Students work on different levels of activities, all with the same essential understanding or goal in mind. Tiered assignments accommodate mainly for differences in student readiness and performance levels and allow students to work toward a goal or objective at a level that builds on their prior knowledge and encourages continued growth. 

How can tiered assignments help your students?

Using tiered assignments allows for the following:

  • Blends assessment and instruction,
  • Allows students to begin learning where they are,
  • Allows students to work with appropriately challenging tasks,
  • Allows for reinforcement or extension of concepts and principles based on student readiness,
  • Allows modification of working conditions based on learning style,
  • Avoids work that is anxiety-producing (too hard) or boredom-producing (too easy), and
  • Promotes success and is therefore motivating. (Tomlinson, 1995)

How can you implement tiered assignments in order to effectively meet the diverse learning needs of students?

One of the main benefits of tiered assignments is that they allow students to work on tasks that are neither too easy nor too difficult. They are highly motivating because they allow students to be successful at their level of readiness. Tiered assignments also allow students to work in their specific learning styles or preferences (Williams, 2002).

What are the guidelines for implementing tiered assignments?

Tomlinson (1995) offers the following guidelines for implementing tiered assignments:

  • Be sure the task is focused on a key concept.
  • Use a variety of resource materials at differing levels of complexity and associated with different learning modes.
  • Adjust the task by complexity, abstractness, number of steps, concreteness, and independence to ensure appropriate challenge.
  • Be certain there are clear criteria for quality and success.

Where can you find more information about tiered assignments?

Cherokee County Schools This homepage by Eulouise Williams has additional information on tiered assignments including examples of tiered assignments created by teachers in their district.

IMAGES

  1. Tiered Activities

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  2. Tiered Lesson Plan Template

    tiered assignments gifted

  3. PPT

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VIDEO

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COMMENTS

  1. 7 Ways to Differentiate Lessons for Gifted Students

    Tiered assignments allow learners to complete the same assignment at different levels of difficulty. How you implement this strategy will vary based on your classroom. For example, you may design an assignment for the middle tier of students and then add additional challenges for gifted students.

  2. 6 Ways to Deliver Differentiated Instruction for Gifted Students

    6 Ways to Differentiate Instruction for Gifted Students. 1. Create Tiered Assignments. Tiered assignments allow learners to complete the same assignment at different levels of difficulty. By varying the level of difficulty, you're letting each student demonstrate understanding.

  3. Instructional Modifications for Gifted Students

    The ocean of instructional modifications for gifted students runs far more profound. Some more effective strategies that caught my attention were: Acceleration: Moving at a pace that challenges their intellect. Enrichment: Expanding on existing knowledge. Cluster Grouping: Grouping gifted students for certain subjects.

  4. How to Adjust Your Instruction for Gifted Students

    Offering tiered learning is possibly one of the most effective ways to teach all levels of students, but especially the gifted learners. While it takes a little more planning at the beginning, preparing entry level and advanced learning combined with extension activities is a perfect way to tiered learning.

  5. Tiered Lessons: One Way to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction

    When developing a tiered lesson, we have found the eight steps described below useful. First, identify the grade level and subject for which you will write the lesson. In this case, the grade level is first and the subject is mathematics. Second, identify the standard (national, state, district, etc.) you are targeting.

  6. 4.1 Accommodations and Modifications for Students who are Gifted

    1. Tiered Assignments. Tiered assignments refer to assignments that are graduated or tiered by level of difficulty or completeness. Creating a tiered assignment in either a self-contained or regular classroom allows for all levels of learners to complete the same assignment to the best of their ability.

  7. PDF Differentiation Strategies for Gifted and Talented Learners

    Tiered assignments Tiered assignments work well in skill areas where the student has not yet met the outcomes ... Many textbooks and teachers' guides provide follow-up or extension activities as time allows. When gifted students finish early, these may be suitable ways for them to get the challenge and depth of understanding they require. Open ...

  8. Critical Questions about Tiered Lessons

    Two websites that provide good examples of tiered lessons are the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development at Ball State as part of the Javits Project and the Indiana Department of Education Gifted and Talented Unit's Tiered Lesson Project, developed by Dr. Cheryll Adams, Dr. Felicia Dixon, and Dr. Rebecca Pierce and funded by the IDOE.

  9. Six Strategies for Challenging Gifted Learners

    Plan for Tiered Learning ... believes gifted students need less grade-level work, faster-paced lessons, deeper and more advanced content, and opportunities to work with other gifted students. They also require a different kind of interaction with the teacher, who must be less of a "sage on the stage" and more of a "guide on the side ...

  10. Differentiating Math Instruction Through Tiered Lessons

    When developing a tiered lesson, the following eight steps have been provided: Identify the grade level and subject for which you will write the lesson. Identify the standard (national, state, district, etc.) you are targeting. A common mistake for those just beginning to tier is to develop three great activities and then try to force-fit them ...

  11. Five Ways to Support Gifted Students in Your Classroom

    2. Created tiered assignments for students. Tiered assignments can help you meet the needs of all students. Choose the basic standard objective and design an assignment on that standard to make the middle tier. Once the middle tier is finished, you make the other tiers by adding support for at-risk children and adding challenge for gifted students.

  12. Differentiation for Gifted

    Field Guide: Continuing the Journey Before we head into the next session, take a moment to record some thoughts in your field guide. There are three questions in the TIERED ASSIGNMENT section of the guide.

  13. Multi-Tiered System of Support for Gifted Students

    The five core best practices in gifted education to form the foundation of differentiation for gifted learners include: pre-assessment, compacting, learning contracts/independent study, tiered instruction and assignments for depth, complexity and higher-order thinking, and grouping strategies that allow for a like-ability learning cohort.

  14. 6 Ways to Support Your Gifted and Talented Students

    With tiered assignments, the level of difficulty or thought-provokingness can be increased or reduced to its roots for those still struggling to grasp the topic. Tiered assignments allow for gifted students to work on more difficult, for example, math problems that might be coming up in the next chapter. Another alternative to tiered ...

  15. Tiered Assignments

    Tiered assignments are an instructional strategy where all students work toward the same overall goal, but assignments are designed for different abilities and learning styles. This method of teaching gifted students is mostly used by instructors with a mixed classroom, in order to fulfill the learning needs of all their students.

  16. Differentiated Instruction Strategies: Tiered Assignments

    Tiered assignments can also be differentiated based on product. Teachers can use the Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences to form groups that will hone particular skills for particular learning styles. For example, one group would be bodily/kinesthetic, and their task is to create and act out a skit. Another group would be visual/spatial ...

  17. Tiered Assignments

    What are tiered assignments? According to Tomlinson (1995), tiered assignments are used by teachers within a heterogeneous classroom in order to meet the diverse needs of the students within the class. Teachers implement varied levels of activities to ensure that students explore ideas at a level that builds on their prior knowledge and prompts ...

  18. Tiered Assignments

    The following is an example of what a tiered assignment might look like: Tier 1 (the rest of the class) -Describe a local ecosystem in either pictures or words. Tier 2 (gifted students) - Describe a local ecosystem in a few paragraphs and represent it visually. The students are still achieving the same outcome and doing the same activity, the ...

  19. Using Tiered Assignments for Differentiated Instruction

    Devise a lesson plan for your class on a subject you will be teaching using differentiated instruction. Use at least one differentiated method described in the lesson (and listed on your graphic ...

  20. (PDF) EXPLORING GIFTEDNESS: TRAITS OF COGNITIVE AND ...

    Parents and teachers need to understand gifted children's traits in order to cater to their learning needs. This study aims to explore the traits of the cognitive and practical skills of a ...

  21. (PDF) Talented Children and Adults: Their Development ...

    Consequences of Being a Gifted and Talented Adult 408 . Spiritual Growth 409 . CASE EXAMPLE: ENGINEER AS HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER 412 . SUMMARY 415 . ... Tiered Lessons 497 . Cubing 499 .

  22. Omsk State University

    Dostoevsky Omsk State University (Омский государственный университет им. Ф. М. Достоевского), usually referred to as Omsk State University (Омский государственный университет) (OmSU) was founded in 1974 in the city of Omsk, Russia.The two original departments (Humanities and Science) and 40 professors have grown to ...

  23. (PDF) Gender Features of Migration Attitudes of Omsk Gifted

    The study is devoted to comparing the career orientations of schoolchildren (N=461) from the Omsk region, who have different levels of giftedness, and the search for relationships between their ...