When starting a new school year it’s important to think of routines, procedures, expectations, and how to set up your classroom - all the basic and foundational aspects. But as some have already started school and are diving into lessons and curriculum, it’s time to start thinking of the next aspect of teaching: differentiating instruction. To help give further insight, on today’s episode, I have guest Karel Dimalanta and we’re discussing how to differentiate instruction to meet every child. 

Karel is currently a curriculum designer at Wife Teacher Mommy, but before that, she taught resource special education for 7 years in junior high and elementary schools. Now, she helps create resources for fellow educators so that they can enjoy life to its fullest! 

With Karel’s expert background knowledge in special education, she gives a fresh perspective on how to differentiate instruction that best fits each child’s needs. She first recommends getting to know the needs of your students, which will then assist you in determining what skills they need help with and what tools and strategies to use with them. Sounds like a simple recommendation, but she admits that many educators skip this step and provide more general accommodations that sometimes don’t help those students who need them the most.

The first part of our conversation revolves around specific ways to differentiate instruction for different subject areas because the skills vary depending on the subject matter. Karel does a great job at answering all of my questions around whole group vs. small group and how to differentiate if you’re a general education or special education teacher. She naturally explains ideas and strategies that meet the needs of each student. 

Our goal as educators is to teach and meet the needs of each child, knowing that each child learns differently. So the way to accomplish that goal is through differentiating instruction. After listening to my conversation with Karel, you’ll know how to differentiate instruction successfully for each of your students. 

Resources Mentioned:

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• I Spy Bundle
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• Wife Teacher Mommy: Mentioned on Podcast Amazon List 

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/how-to-differentiate-instruction

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