Using Formative Assessment to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction, Grades 4–10

Seven Practices to Maximize Learning
Leslie E. Laud - Bank Street College of Education, New York, USA
Using Formative Assessment to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction, Grades 4–10
March 2011 | 168 pages | Corwin
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ISBN: 9781452239507
Available from January 0001
Paperback
ISBN: 9781412995245
Available from January 0001

Description

Seven easy steps to differentiating math instruction for busy teachers

Are you able to support your struggling students while also challenging your high achievers? Research clearly shows the value of using formative assessment to differentiate mathematics instruction, but putting it into practice can be daunting. This book makes it much easier! Staff development expert and former math teacher Leslie Laud provides a clear roadmap for using formative assessment to differentiate mathematics instruction for students in Grades 4–10, using strategies ideal for a Response to Intervention (RTI) model. She presents a comprehensive framework of research-based practices that show how to:

  • Get started and establish norms
  • Implement formative assessment
  • Create tiered lessons
  • Manage a multitasking classroom effectively

Tested and enhanced by experienced math teachers, the book's strategies are designed for use in conjunction with any curriculum or textbook. Included are a wealth of practical examples, reproducibles, and student activities—all developed with effective time management in mind. Whether you are just starting or interested in enhancing your mathematics instruction, this book will prove an invaluable resource.

Contents

List of Figures

List of Figures

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

  • 1. Getting Started and Establishing Norms
  • Getting Started
  • Establishing Class Norms
  • 2. Formative Assessment
  • What is Formative Assessment?
  • Where Am I? Involving Students in Self-Assessment
  • Where Am I Going? Conveying Criteria or Learning Targets
  • How Will I Get There? Providing Feedback
  • Impact of Assessment on Confidence and Motivation
  • 3. Tiered Instruction
  • What Is a Tiered Lesson?
  • Tiering by Student Characteristics
  • Tiering by Instructional Characteristics
  • Tiering Existing Textbook Lessons
  • Creating a Tiered Lesson
  • 4. Supporting Students Who Are Low Achieving
  • Differentiating Instruction in Basic Facts
  • Differentiating for Conceptual Understanding
  • Differentiating Procedural Support
  • 5. Challenging Students Who Are High Achieving
  • Exemptions Based on Prior Knowledge and/or Pace of Learning
  • Opportunities for Higher-Order Math
  • Strategies to Avoid
  • Importance of Challenge
  • 6. Time-Saving Management Strategies
  • Planning Lessons and Units
  • Managing Students Working on Different Tasks
  • Assigning Homework
  • Grading
  • Wrap-Up

Suggested Resources

Suggested Resources

References

References

Index

Index

Description

Seven easy steps to differentiating math instruction for busy teachers

Are you able to support your struggling students while also challenging your high achievers? Research clearly shows the value of using formative assessment to differentiate mathematics instruction, but putting it into practice can be daunting. This book makes it much easier! Staff development expert and former math teacher Leslie Laud provides a clear roadmap for using formative assessment to differentiate mathematics instruction for students in Grades 4–10, using strategies ideal for a Response to Intervention (RTI) model. She presents a comprehensive framework of research-based practices that show how to:

  • Get started and establish norms
  • Implement formative assessment
  • Create tiered lessons
  • Manage a multitasking classroom effectively

Tested and enhanced by experienced math teachers, the book's strategies are designed for use in conjunction with any curriculum or textbook. Included are a wealth of practical examples, reproducibles, and student activities—all developed with effective time management in mind. Whether you are just starting or interested in enhancing your mathematics instruction, this book will prove an invaluable resource.

Contents

List of Figures

List of Figures

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

  • 1. Getting Started and Establishing Norms
  • Getting Started
  • Establishing Class Norms
  • 2. Formative Assessment
  • What is Formative Assessment?
  • Where Am I? Involving Students in Self-Assessment
  • Where Am I Going? Conveying Criteria or Learning Targets
  • How Will I Get There? Providing Feedback
  • Impact of Assessment on Confidence and Motivation
  • 3. Tiered Instruction
  • What Is a Tiered Lesson?
  • Tiering by Student Characteristics
  • Tiering by Instructional Characteristics
  • Tiering Existing Textbook Lessons
  • Creating a Tiered Lesson
  • 4. Supporting Students Who Are Low Achieving
  • Differentiating Instruction in Basic Facts
  • Differentiating for Conceptual Understanding
  • Differentiating Procedural Support
  • 5. Challenging Students Who Are High Achieving
  • Exemptions Based on Prior Knowledge and/or Pace of Learning
  • Opportunities for Higher-Order Math
  • Strategies to Avoid
  • Importance of Challenge
  • 6. Time-Saving Management Strategies
  • Planning Lessons and Units
  • Managing Students Working on Different Tasks
  • Assigning Homework
  • Grading
  • Wrap-Up

Suggested Resources

Suggested Resources

References

References

Index

Index

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Using Formative Assessment to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction, Grades 4–10

Seven Practices to Maximize Learning


March 2011 | 168 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781412995245 $37.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781452239507 $35.00

Seven easy steps to differentiating math instruction for busy teachers

Are you able to support your struggling students while also challenging your high achievers? Research clearly shows the value of using formative assessment to differentiate mathematics instruction, but putting it into practice can be daunting. This book makes it much easier! Staff development expert and former math teacher Leslie Laud provides a clear roadmap for using formative assessment to differentiate mathematics instruction for students in Grades 4–10, using strategies ideal for a Response to Intervention (RTI) model. She presents a comprehensive framework of research-based practices that show how to:

  • Get started and establish norms
  • Implement formative assessment
  • Create tiered lessons
  • Manage a multitasking classroom effectively

Tested and enhanced by experienced math teachers, the book's strategies are designed for use in conjunction with any curriculum or textbook. Included are a wealth of practical examples, reproducibles, and student activities—all developed with effective time management in mind. Whether you are just starting or interested in enhancing your mathematics instruction, this book will prove an invaluable resource.


Table Of Contents:

  • List of Figures
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Author
  • 1. Getting Started and Establishing Norms
  • Getting Started
  • Establishing Class Norms
  • 2. Formative Assessment
  • What is Formative Assessment?
  • Where Am I? Involving Students in Self-Assessment
  • Where Am I Going? Conveying Criteria or Learning Targets
  • How Will I Get There? Providing Feedback
  • Impact of Assessment on Confidence and Motivation
  • 3. Tiered Instruction
  • What Is a Tiered Lesson?
  • Tiering by Student Characteristics
  • Tiering by Instructional Characteristics
  • Tiering Existing Textbook Lessons
  • Creating a Tiered Lesson
  • 4. Supporting Students Who Are Low Achieving
  • Differentiating Instruction in Basic Facts
  • Differentiating for Conceptual Understanding
  • Differentiating Procedural Support
  • 5. Challenging Students Who Are High Achieving
  • Exemptions Based on Prior Knowledge and/or Pace of Learning
  • Opportunities for Higher-Order Math
  • Strategies to Avoid
  • Importance of Challenge
  • 6. Time-Saving Management Strategies
  • Planning Lessons and Units
  • Managing Students Working on Different Tasks
  • Assigning Homework
  • Grading
  • Wrap-Up
  • Suggested Resources
  • References
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

My course is a multi-term secondary methods course. I adopted Laud's book for the second term of the course when my teacher candidate are developing their units for their student teaching. It provides a valuable perspective on assessment that treats assessment as something that is for individual students to support the teaching and learning process while providing tools to make it happen.
Dr Nicole Rigelman, Curriculum Instruction Dept, Portland State University
"The powerful principles described can enhance stduents' learning of mathematics inside and outside the classroom and help teachers modify their lessons and teachings. It is a great way to enrich the teaching and learning of mathematics concepts in middle schools as well as reaching low and high achievers in the classroom."
Wladina Antoine, Farleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey
"The recommendations in this book showed me how to organize my class to support each kind of learner. By providing formative assessment for my students, I am helping them learn what they need to do to help themselves. By providing different kinds of experiences for them to use in the classroom, I am giving them tools to support their own learning. Laud's book focuses on what is doable and reasonable for a classroom teacher."
Marty Wagner, 7th Grade Math Teacher, Wellesley Middle School, MA
"Leslie Laud shows the importance of the link between formative assessment and differentiated instruction. There is a limited body of work that combines these two constructs, and that connection makes this book powerful."
William Farber, Professor of Mathematics Education, Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY
"I learned a great deal and plan to make some changes in my 7th grade math classroom. Leslie Laud takes the 'fear' out of trying this method – she uses concrete examples that can be easily implemented by busy teachers. Her book gave me the initiative, reasons, and strategies to experiment with formative assessments to drive tiered instruction in my classroom!"
Paul Kuhlman, Science and Math Teacher, Avon School District 4-1, SD

Recommendations