Differentiation in a classroom does take a lot of planning and prep, but don’t panic! Differentiation is important in both general education classrooms, specials, and self-contained classrooms. Throughout a learner’s educational experience, we as a team are to differentiate for them to access the curriculum and education that they deserve. Once we differentiate and create materials and resources, we save them for when another learner can benefit from using the same materials, even in school years in the future. This post will discuss differentiation ideas within the classroom for large group lessons and activities!
Differentiating will always depend on the learner and how we can increase their success and independence. During large groups I am always sure to have the following accessible to our learners.
- Communication supports
- Behavior change strategies such as token boards
- Visual schedules or task strips
- Hands on materials
- Preferential seating options
- Modified curriculum activities
- If a learner benefits from extra support, pulling them to the back of a large group with a paraprofessional or other related service team members
The Autism Helper has created many resources that can be introduced and implemented immediately! The following are some of my favorite resources to use with many different learners!
How do we know what a learner needs?
Just like in my post about differentiating learning stations and work at the table, analyzing a learner’s data is the way that we can see what a learner knows and what skills they may need to be taught. The resources that I share below are large resources, If I am not using the whole assessment for an evaluation, rather using them for baseline data or progress monitoring, I pull out the sections that match the learning objectives within the classroom to then see what a learner may need.
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- Top 10 Must-Do Tasks from a Self-Contained Elementary Teacher - September 22, 2025
- Setting Up the Classroom Environment for Independent Learners - August 20, 2025
