Anonymous wrote:I'm not a parent, but I'm an EOTP teacher at a Title I school serving a high population of ELLs. I meet the needs of diverse learners through small group instruction. I meet with two groups a day, and each group focuses on different teaching objectives that cater to their immediate needs, whether they are remedial, on grade level, or advanced. With this format, I see a total of five groups two times each week.
While I'm working at Guided Math, students are at Math stations that connect with each of the Common Core focus areas, in addition to a fluency station. Tasks at these stations are differentiated through a color coded system, with different colors representing the complexity of the task. Students are assigned a specific color, and those are the tasks they are able to complete.
I also have our whole group math lesson. The "direct instruction" portion of this lesson is less differentiated, but meets the needs of all learners because I'm building up to more abstract questions by the end of the lesson. Then, the performance task/independent practice portion of the lesson is differentiated. The objective I want students to demonstrate is different based on their ability level.
For the PP who was thinking of hiring a math tutor, I would search for online math resources first. Here is something I like using in my classroom:
http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/
The site offers a variety of resources that are Common Core aligned. I also enjoy the variety; the sight includes journal prompts, station tasks, and project ideas. Most resources are free, but some require a nominal fee. Hope this is helpful!