As I read chapter one of "Differentiation in Practice," I couldn't agree more with this sort of practice and the reasons behind it. As a teacher, I want success for each of my students who will come with different abilities. As a mom I have learned very quickly how important it is to differentiate my parenting. What works for one child does not always work with another child. The same holds true in a classroom.

Two of my favorite quotes were; First, when she explained that as a teacher I cannot accept that I am doing my best. At first I thought, why not? But I realize that I cannot stop, I cannot get complacent and I must continue to extend differentiation practice until my last day of teaching.
Second, I liked how the book said that there is no single "right way" to do it. I realize that every day and every year will be different depending on my students and their abilities. I realize that it may take trying a couple of different things to get it how I want it for a particular student.

Since I agree with this practice so much, one of my favorite parts of chapter one is where it explains how a teacher plans for differentiated instruction. This is really funny because as I read through the pages a couple of times I was understanding a little bit but for some reason it was just not coming together for me. I was a little confused as to what student characteristics had to do with the curricular elements. They seemed like two separate things. But as I studied the chart on Using Student Traits And Curricular Elements To Plan Differentiation on pages 12 and 13, it all came together and I had a much better understanding of how to plan for this type of instruction.

I found it interesting that I would learn and understand so much better with the chart when some one else reading the same material would fully understand the reading. How ironic is it for me to discover a better way for me to learn when that is the very subject that I am reading about. It just made me realize even more, how different each person is, teacher or student.

After reading chapter one it made me realize how important it is to know my students strengths and weaknesses. I know that class time is limited and I don't want to wait weeks or even months to find this out. It made me wonder if it would be beneficial to ask parents this sort of information when school begins.

I found the articles on morning meetings very enjoyable to read. With the knowledge I have on morning meetings, it only makes sense to implement them into my classroom. It seems like the biggest benefit from doing them is that it helps to build a safe and friendly environment. I know for learning to take place with my students, I must do all that I can to eliminate stress and fear.

I like how Sharon believed the morning meetings had an immediate impact on her students and that it was a way to prepare students for the instruction that would follow. It also had a cumulative impact that gave the students a sense of belonging, it made even the new students feel like they were a part of the classroom, it promoted more peer helping, and also increased student assertiveness and responsibility. Morning meetings also had an impact on Sharon's teaching practices. She was also able to turn more power over to her students as they demonstrated increased responsibility and social skills.

Of course, the exciting part of the article was the fact that after she had done morning meetings throughout the year, her student's test scores were the highest in their grade. So while everyone was working and playing together, it somehow had the outcome of increased student learning. Yay! That's what I want as a teacher!!!

As far as building a safe community, I agree that everything I do matters. I must be very accepting of my diverse students, and show respect to all members of the classroom. Then I must get my students to adopt the same practices.