Differentiating Instruction With Menus

Language Arts (Grades K-2)

Laurie E. Westphal

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781032142197
• eBook ISBN: 9781000491920
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The Differentiating Instruction With Menus series offers teachers exciting tools to challenge and reach both gifted and advanced students in the classroom. Whether these students need enrichment, choice in independent practice, or even additional academic options resulting from curriculum compacting, these books provide teachers a complete ready-to-use resource. Each book includes a rubric that can assess different types of products, free choice proposal forms to encourage independent study, specific guidelines for each of the products included in the menus to save the teacher time, and challenging menus to meet the needs of these diverse higher level learners.

Differentiating Instruction With Menus: Language Arts (Grades K-2) contains attractive reproducible menus, based on the levels of Bloom's revised taxonomy, that students can use as a guide when making decisions about which products they will develop after they study a major concept or unit. Topics addressed include book genres, mechanics, and literature.

The products included on the menu are carefully selected from various learning styles to build students' excitement and so that teachers can more accurately assess the depth of what has been learned. Using creative and challenging choices found in Three-Shape Menus, Tic-Tac-Toe Menus, Meal Menus, Give Me Five Menus, 2-5-8 Menus, and List Menus, students will look forward to sharing their newfound knowledge throughout the year!

Grades K-2

CHAPTER 1
Choice

DOI: 10.4324/9781003234418-1

"So, I can do as many as I want? Really?" stuttered one of my second-grade students as he looked, surprised, from the paper in his hand to me. I had just handed out a Getting to Know You List menu and explained to the small-group members that they would need to complete at least three choices from the list in order to share a few things about themselves with the group and me.

CHOICE IN THE PRIMARY GRADES

"I think it is the best one because I like it."

—Kindergarten student, when asked to defend his activity of choice

Choice can be frustrating for both the teacher who is trying to draw the best from his or her young students and the students who are trying to do what the teacher is asking, but are just not sure how to do it. Choice and independent thinking on a higher level are both developmental in nature, as well as cognitive skills. When given a choice between tools to complete a product, most primary students have not developed their higher level thinking skills enough to respond with a well-thought-out, analytical response. Instead, a 5-year-old may defend or evaluate his choice by stating that it was the one he liked or that it was red, his favorite color. Does that imply that primary students are not capable of making choices or processing at the analysis level or higher? Definitely not! Primary students are very capable of making choices and enjoy doing so with some guidance. This guidance comes in minimizing the number of choices a student faces at once, as well as assisting in the choice process.

MAKING GOOD CHOICES IS A SKILL

"I wanted you to know, I never thought of it [making good choices as a skill] that way. That really opened my eyes."

—Kindergarten teacher

When we think of making a good choice as a skill, much like writing an effective paragraph, it becomes easy enough to understand the processes needed to encourage primary students to make their own choices. In keeping with this analogy, children could certainly figure out how to write on their own, perhaps even how to compose sentences and paragraphs by using other examples as models. Imagine, however, the progress and strength of the writing produced when children are given guidance and even the most basic of instruction on how to accomplish this task. The written piece is still their own, but the quality of the finished piece is much stronger when guidance is given during the process. The same is true with the quality of choices children can make in the classroom.

As with writing, primary students can make choices on their own, but when the teacher provides background knowledge and assistance, those choices become more meaningful, and the products become richer. Although all students certainly need guidance, primary students will need the most; they often have not been in an educational setting long enough to have experienced different products, and the idea of choice is usually new to them. Some children may have experienced choice only when their parents allowed them to choose between different outfits or breakfast options for the day. Some may not have experienced even this level of choice. This can cause frustration for both the teacher and the student.

"When it comes to choice, some of my students just aren't receptive."

—First-grade teacher

So, what is the best way to provide this guidance and develop students' skill of making good choices? First, choose the appropriate number of options for your students. Although the goal might be to have students choose between nine different options, teachers should start by having their students choose between three predetermined choices the first day. For example, if there are nine choices available on the menu, the teacher could break the menu into three different parts and allow students to choose between three of the options from the first part of the menu. Then, after those products have been created, students can choose between another set of three options a few days later, and perhaps another three the following week. By breaking down students' choices, teachers are reinforcing how to approach a more complex and/or varied choice format in the future. Primary students, even kindergarten students, can work up to making complex choices from longer lists of options as their choice skill level increases.

"My first menu bombed. I had given it out to the students, told them to pick what they wanted to do, [and given them] the deadline at the end of the week. Students either bugged me all week with questions or they didn't do anything.... The second one went so much better. I did a build-up with lots of excitement and guidance for each choice. My students did a great job! Some even did more than the minimum!"

—Second-grade teacher

Second, students will need guidance on how to select the options that are right for them. They may not automatically gravitate toward options without an exciting and detailed description of each choice. For the most part, primary students are still in the "pleasing the teacher" phase, which means when given a choice, they will usually choose what they think will make the teacher happy. This means that when the teacher discusses the different menu options, the teacher has to be equally as excited about all of them. The discussion of the different choices has to be animated and specific. For example, if the content is all very similar, the focus would be on the product: "If you want to do some singing, this one is for you!" or "If you want to write and draw, circle this one as a maybe!" Sometimes, choices may differ based on both content and product, in which case both can be pointed out to students to assist them in making good choices for themselves: "You have some different choices in our Earth Language Arts unit. If you want to do something with dinosaurs and drawing, circle this one as a maybe. If you are thinking you want to do something with collecting rocks, this one might be for you." Primary students, although egocentric in nature, have not yet pondered who they really are and often have trouble choosing between product types and content on their own. The more exposure they have to the processing the teacher demonstrates, the more skillful they become in making their own choices.

WHY IS CHOICE IMPORTANT?

Now that we have established that making good choices is a skill, and that skills need practice and experience to master, consider the simple concept of choices or options. Ask adults whether they would prefer to choose or be told what to do. Of course, they are going to say they would prefer to have a choice. Primary students have the same feelings.

"Pick, pick, pick! Pick, I get to pick!"

—Second-grade student, singing as she skipped to the center designated for working on menu products

One benefit of choice is its ability to meet the needs of so many different students and their learning styles. The Dunedin College of Education (Keen, 2001) conducted a research study on the preferred learning styles of 250 gifted students. Students were asked to rank different learning options. Of the 13 different options described to the students, only one option did not receive at least one negative response, and that was the option of having a choice. Although all students have different learning styles, choice is the one option that can meet everyone's needs. Unlike older elementary students, primary students have not been engaged in the learning process long enough to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as their learning styles; therefore, they need to be exposed to multiple options so they can begin to discover their preferences. By allowing choice, students are better able to narrow their options in the future and choose what best fits their learning preferences and educational needs.

"I liked making the board game. Can I make one for my next menu too?"

—Second-grade student

Another benefit of choice is a greater sense of independence for the students. What a powerful feeling! This independence looks different at each grade level in the primary grades. Once students understand it is about wha...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Chapter 1: Choice
• Chapter 2: How to Use Menus in the Classroom
• Chapter 3: Product Guidelines
• Chapter 4: Rubrics and Grading
• THE MENUS
• References
• Appendix: Book Lists
• About the Author
• Common Core State Standards Alignment