Anchoring activities are ongoing tasks connected to the content and learning process that students can work on independently, allowing you time to work with other students or groups requiring more attention.
The purpose of anchoring activities is to provide meaningful work for students when they:
- finish an assignment or project before others.
- first enter the classroom.
- are waiting for you to provide one-on-one instruction.
These activities can take many forms. They can include a list of follow-up activities for students whenever they complete an assignment, or simple tasks assigned at the beginning of each class to prepare students for new content. They may relate to specific needs or enrichment opportunities, such as problems to solve or journals to write. They could be components of long-term projects.
Anchoring activities allow students to work at their own pace, yet always have productive work appropriate to their individual learning needs.
Another effective strategy for differentiating instruction is to adjust questions to fit your students' individual abilities. Adjusting your questions ensures that each student has the opportunity to respond to questions that make them think, but at their readiness level.
One way to accomplish this is to put posters on the classroom walls with keywords identifying varying levels of thinking. For example, questions can be based on the six levels of Bloom's Taxonomy:
- Knowledge
- Comprehension
- Application
- Analysis
- Synthesis
- Evaluation
These can be useful cues when conducting class, and for students to develop their own research questions. Students can be directed to different posters at different times depending on their ability, readiness, or their assignment requirements.
When conducting written quizzes, you can assign specific questions to each group of students. Each group has the same number of questions to answer, but the complexity of the questions varies from group to group.
Student groupings are an important tool in differentiating instruction. They can be setup in a number of ways:
- Teacher assigned
- Student selected
- Random
There are many variables that affect student performance. Alternating groups, and allowing for movement between activities can greatly enhance the effectiveness of using student groupings. Some things to consider when determining groups:
- Readiness
- Interest
- Reading level
- Skill level
- Background knowledge
- Social skills
It's important to remember that students may excel in one subject and struggle in another. This is often seen with a student who is good at math, but struggles with reading, including the reading associated with math. Like us, each student has their strengths and their weaknesses. Flexible grouping strategies can help every student feel successful in their learning process.
Occasionally a student will require specific one-on-one instruction beyond the needs of their fellow students. After receiving extra instruction, the student could be designated the "resident expert" on the topic, and would then receive valuable practice re-teaching the concept to their peers. With this strategy every student benefits.
There are a number of other strategies you can try in your classroom:
- Reading Buddies - Pair students for reading projects. This strategy is particularly useful with younger students, and/or students with reading difficulties.
- Independent Study Projects - This involves research projects that provide students with the opportunity to develop skills for independent learning.
- Buddy-Studies - A buddy-study allows two or three students to work together on a project.
- Learning Contracts - This is a written contract between teacher and student that results in students working independently.
- Learning Centers - These are used by teachers, especially in primary classrooms, and may contain both differentiated and compulsory activities.
(Adapted from Theroux, 2004)