This week, I combined differentiation and engagement into one activity. Students were learning about biographies, and I wanted to find a way to assess them, rather than simply giving them comprehension questions. I learned about this cubing strategy in my Instructional Planning class, and I was immediately intrigued. We were all very engaged, so I thought this would be a good fit for my classroom and inquiry. I made six cubes of three different levels. Level 1 was for students who were below level, level 2 was for students who were on level, and level 3 was for advanced/gifted students. After students read the biography, I divided them into groups according to level. Therefore, they were in homogenous groups. The students were extremely excited about the cubes themselves, and were eager to begin the game.
Each student took turns rolling the cube. They would then answer the question that was on the face that landed up. They would then pass it to the next person in the group and the process would repeat. I believe that this was a form of assessment in which students were all engaged. No one was too challenged or overwhelmed, nor was anyone bored. They also learned a lot and got a lot out of the activity. In the future, I would do the groups heterogeneously, and provide of variety of questions within each cube. I believe that students would be able to assist others in their group if needed, and that this would also be effective with engagement.
Each student took turns rolling the cube. They would then answer the question that was on the face that landed up. They would then pass it to the next person in the group and the process would repeat. I believe that this was a form of assessment in which students were all engaged. No one was too challenged or overwhelmed, nor was anyone bored. They also learned a lot and got a lot out of the activity. In the future, I would do the groups heterogeneously, and provide of variety of questions within each cube. I believe that students would be able to assist others in their group if needed, and that this would also be effective with engagement.