Teachers needing Differentiated Instruction
By Stefanie Ady
Hello, Everyone! We are all busy and when we get into the grind of the school year- plan, prep,
teach, assess, repeat-- things can get pretty time consuming.Especially when we are tailoring
our instruction to the individual needs of our students so that everyone gets what they need.
Keep reading to hear about Tailor-Ed--a fantastic and practical tool for teachers to differentiate
math instruction cutting down on planning time and allowing you to instruct in a specific and effective way for each student!
teach, assess, repeat-- things can get pretty time consuming.Especially when we are tailoring
our instruction to the individual needs of our students so that everyone gets what they need.
Keep reading to hear about Tailor-Ed--a fantastic and practical tool for teachers to differentiate
math instruction cutting down on planning time and allowing you to instruct in a specific and effective way for each student!
What I like about Tailor-Ed
A few of the many things I enjoy about using Tailor-Ed include:
Ease of user interface and user friendly.
Students don’t need logins and passwords.
It takes into account a student’s proficiency toward a standard, AND the child’s
tendencies and attitudes toward learning concepts. Ease of user interface and user friendly.
Students don’t need logins and passwords.
It takes into account a student’s proficiency toward a standard, AND the child’s
As educators, we are constantly switching between software for planning, organization,
grading, assessing, providing practice with technology skills for our students, and giving
presentations. Some of those software programs can be extremely complicated to set up,
forcing you to use excel templates to bulk upload your class roster and generating reports
about progress that can make our eyes glaze over. Our time is precious and, more importantly,
the time we spend with students is precious. To use our planning time in ways that more
effectively deliver the instructional practice a student needs, the Tailor-Ed software is simple
with no fuss. All it requires of your class roster is for names to be entered, and students only
interact with in to take baseline and exit ticket style assessments once practice has been
completed. Not having to assign usernames, passwords, class codes and keep track of all that
info on little index cards for every time the students need it saves time and sanity and makes for
a more seamless transition from practice to assessment.
grading, assessing, providing practice with technology skills for our students, and giving
presentations. Some of those software programs can be extremely complicated to set up,
forcing you to use excel templates to bulk upload your class roster and generating reports
about progress that can make our eyes glaze over. Our time is precious and, more importantly,
the time we spend with students is precious. To use our planning time in ways that more
effectively deliver the instructional practice a student needs, the Tailor-Ed software is simple
with no fuss. All it requires of your class roster is for names to be entered, and students only
interact with in to take baseline and exit ticket style assessments once practice has been
completed. Not having to assign usernames, passwords, class codes and keep track of all that
info on little index cards for every time the students need it saves time and sanity and makes for
a more seamless transition from practice to assessment.
Another thing I like most about this product is its way of breaking down student needs and
grouping them by way of quick learning checks (exit tickets), that includes questions about
learner behaviors and feelings about interacting with the specific lesson content. This informs us
as teachers how to re-engage students with content in areas of struggle or reluctance, and
reminds us of what to keep in mind when deciding on which type of practice activities each
group needs.
grouping them by way of quick learning checks (exit tickets), that includes questions about
learner behaviors and feelings about interacting with the specific lesson content. This informs us
as teachers how to re-engage students with content in areas of struggle or reluctance, and
reminds us of what to keep in mind when deciding on which type of practice activities each
group needs.
What I Wish Tailor-Ed Would Add
Tailor-Ed has wonderful downloadable reports such as the lesson plans you create
within it for each group, how they align to standards, and extra pages for students with text
directions to keep wherever they are situated for work. One thing I wish it had already that is
still being developed is a tool for communicating with parents about student progress.
I’m thinking how nice it would be to have a print out on the specific standard little Fred practiced
all week, his exit ticket responses, and a small progress monitoring graphic so that parents can
see the progress with the proficiency and the learning behaviors over time. This will allow us to
show to parents how when little Fred loves a subject like area and perimeter, his graph shows a
more dramatic positive result than when he is working on say, multiplication math facts and h
e expresses disinterest so his graph stays more flat. This information is all sort of available on
the teachers dashboard of reports, but could be more simplified to present to families for
hanging on their fridge at home, for example.
within it for each group, how they align to standards, and extra pages for students with text
directions to keep wherever they are situated for work. One thing I wish it had already that is
still being developed is a tool for communicating with parents about student progress.
I’m thinking how nice it would be to have a print out on the specific standard little Fred practiced
all week, his exit ticket responses, and a small progress monitoring graphic so that parents can
see the progress with the proficiency and the learning behaviors over time. This will allow us to
show to parents how when little Fred loves a subject like area and perimeter, his graph shows a
more dramatic positive result than when he is working on say, multiplication math facts and h
e expresses disinterest so his graph stays more flat. This information is all sort of available on
the teachers dashboard of reports, but could be more simplified to present to families for
hanging on their fridge at home, for example.
So What Makes Tailor-Ed Good For Saving Time?
Before I go, I want to tell you the best feature Tailor-Ed is good for--choosing resources.
How many times have you sat trying to catch up on your favorite show, while sifting through
endless pinterest blogs and teachers pay teachers resources looking for just the right activity for
each student group in your class? Probably WAY too many times (like me). Well, Tailor-Ed helps
with that. Once you choose your standard and your kids have been preasessed, there will be
two practice activities suggested right away for each group. If you like them, choose them and
your linked directly to a FREE resource for the activity. Don’t like that one? Click for more
choices. Gone are the days of finding something you think will be perfect on TPT, only to find out
its a unit bundle that costs $28 when you just want it for one group! Tailor-Ed has done that
work for us and found the most quality FREE resources online from a variety of sites, all with
common core alignment in mind!
How many times have you sat trying to catch up on your favorite show, while sifting through
endless pinterest blogs and teachers pay teachers resources looking for just the right activity for
each student group in your class? Probably WAY too many times (like me). Well, Tailor-Ed helps
with that. Once you choose your standard and your kids have been preasessed, there will be
two practice activities suggested right away for each group. If you like them, choose them and
your linked directly to a FREE resource for the activity. Don’t like that one? Click for more
choices. Gone are the days of finding something you think will be perfect on TPT, only to find out
its a unit bundle that costs $28 when you just want it for one group! Tailor-Ed has done that
work for us and found the most quality FREE resources online from a variety of sites, all with
common core alignment in mind!
What do you use to help you differentiate for the needs of your students in reading and math?
Do you use a variety of resources online? Do you prefer more traditional ways of file folder
games and worksheets? Do you group your kids for reteaching, or concentrate on whole group
modeling?Do you roll practice into homework?
Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
Do you use a variety of resources online? Do you prefer more traditional ways of file folder
games and worksheets? Do you group your kids for reteaching, or concentrate on whole group
modeling?Do you roll practice into homework?
Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
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