Differentiated Instruction
If some students in a class are at the independent level, and some still need more modeling or practice, this is where differentiated literacy instruction can come in. According to lead differentiation expert, Carol Tomlinson, differentiation is "teaching with the child in mind." Not all students will understand the content the same way, in the same length of time, or need the same supports. Listen to Dr. Tomlinson in this video.
Teachers can differentiate the content/text for different abilities or interests; the process as whole class or small group, the product of learning that students turn in; and the affect of the classroom environment.
Check out this article called Teaching reading: Development and Differentiation to read more about differentiating according to reading development level. In addition to explicit and differentiated instruction, literacy instruction should be systematic.
