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How to Teach to Multiple Ability Levels

Teaching Above and Below Grade Level Students in One Classroom

Nov 26, 2008 Jennifer Wagaman

Although the school system groups students by age, not all of the children in one class are at the same academic level. Even so, teachers are expected to teach them all.

In any typical classroom today, there will be a range of learning abilities. There will be those students who struggle to keep up, and those who are bored. There are several teaching methods that will help teachers meet the needs of every student in their classroom regardless of ability.

Learning in Centers

Setting up centers in the classroom with activities for the students to complete will enable every student to learn at an appropriate rate. Centers can be an effective use of instructional time while enabling a teacher to work with a small group of students. Teachers should use creativity in coming up with appropriate tasks for each student, keeping in mind what ability level each one is on.

Color coding the leveled tasks at each center will help prevent higher level students finishing tasks that are too simple, while allowing the lower level students to not become frustrated with more difficult tasks. In order to prevent students from picking up on the levels, the colors can be changed each week. Display a chart showing which students are on which colors.

Grouping Students Together

Partnering students together for projects will enable those students with a higher ability assist those students with a lower ability. Teachers must think carefully about how to group the students together in order to most effectively enable all students to learn.

Assigning roles for individuals working in a group will give ownership to every student, and ensure participation. Jobs can include: scribe, timekeeper, encourager (to ensure that everyone participates), speaker (to present information to the class), and reader.

Appropriate Assignments

When using an assignment for the whole class, teachers should take care to focus on more than one learning style. This will give more students the ability to successfully complete assignments. Teachers should also make some assignments open ended so that each student can complete the assignment at his or her individual ability level.

If any of the students in the class have an Individual Education Plan, there are some specific strategies for modifying assignments for individual learning disabilities. The special educator is a great resource for teachers to get ideas from, even if the child in question does not have an IEP.

Teaching a group of students who are at multiple ability levels presents unique difficulties. Even so, teachers are expected to not only teach each student in their classroom, but to see each of these students succeed at grade level. Utilizing strategies that work with various ability levels will help teachers in this endeavour.

The copyright of the article How to Teach to Multiple Ability Levels in Teacher Tips/Training is owned by Jennifer Wagaman. Permission to republish How to Teach to Multiple Ability Levels in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Tips for Teaching Multiple Ability Levels