So, what does differentiation look like in a classroom? Our DS6's teacher recently agreed that he could do more advanced work than what is currently bring taught in his first grade class. From what I can see, he is bringing home some more advanced homework sheets (yea!), and his teacher said he could work ahead in the math. However, when I saw his in-class work, there were a significant number of errors. I asked my son, & he said he had difficulty understanding the directions on a few sheets and that the teacher told him he should figure it out on his own.
My son does test as gifted, but he's seems to be a bit of a slow processor when it comes to written directions. I usually resolve it by making him re-read the directions aloud to ensure he's not skipping words and actually "hears" the directiins.
Does differentiation mean that he no longer receives any verbal instruction or teaching in math? He just works ahead, and if he can't figure out the directions/concepts independently, he needs to stay with the rest of the class? It doesn't sound quite right that he should no longer be allowed to ask for clarification or instruction.
