Differentiating activities and FFF

In class a teacher may have students of different abilities. What can they do to enable them to learn English and to help others, more skilled students, to raise their level too?                             

It happens quite often that some students are faster than other at doing task you gave them. What can we do in this case? How can we motivate our students and don't let then get bored? FFF (Fast Finishers’ Folder) may come in handy. 

Every class is made up of individuals who have different abilities and who work at different speeds. Learners who finish their work before others can become bored and demotivated.

Differentiating activities means providing alternatives to suit different abilities. You can provide completely different tasks, or an easier or more challenging version of the same activity. In this way you are meeting your learners’ needs. 

We shouldn’t use differentiation for every task as this will lead to divisions in our class. But if you sometimes provide differentiated activities, your learners will see that you recognize them all as individuals.

A teacher can create a collection of activities that learners can do if they finish their work early. Providing the answers too will help learners to become more autonomous.

A practical way of dealing with fast finishers is to motivate them to do more. Typically, fast finishers enjoy learning and will welcome more activities rather than simply sitting waiting for others. You could compile a Fast Finishers’ Folder (FFF). This could include age- and level-appropriate:

·                     word games

·                     quizzes

·                     reading texts

·                     writing activities

Include the answers to the activities so that your fast finishers can develop the skill of learner autonomy. For FFF activities to work efficiently, learners need to understand that once everyone has finished the original task, the FFF activities need to be put away until the next time they finish their work early.

You may actually find that having a FFF encourages all your learners to work faster because they want to do the FFF activities!

For more ideas look here