Decomposers Activity 4.2 Differentiation

Differentiation
  • Provide sentence stems for discussion and filling in the Explanations Tool
  • Work through the tool as a class and provide sentence stems for final explanation
  • Hand out and refer to Example Decomposers Explanations Handout when working on the Explanations Tool
  • Refer to the word wall for questions on Cellular Respiration related vocabulary
  • Refer to the Decomposers Matter Tracing Tool to support students further
Modifications

The Three Questions Explanation Checklist on the back of the Three Questions Handout can be used to scaffold students’ explanations in many ways.

  • Students refer to the checklist as they are constructing their explanations.
  • Students use the checklist as they are sharing and revising their explanations with a partner.
  • Students use the checklist to critique and revise their final explanations.
  • Students use the checklist to critique the example explanations for each unit.
  • Students use the checklist to create and/or evaluate a whole-class consensus explanation.

We recommend using this checklist with a gradual release. As students improve in their ability to write their own explanations, they may rely on the checklist less.

Extending the Learning