Differentiating Instruction With Menus Advanced-Level Menus Grades 9-12: Biology

Description

Differentiating Instruction With Menus: Biology offers teachers everything needed to create a student-centered learning environment based on choice. This book presents six different types of menus that students can use to select exciting advanced-level products that they will develop so teachers can assess what has been learned, instead of using a traditional worksheet format. Topics addressed include biology basics, biodiversity and environments, genetics, human body systems, and the different phyla typically included in the biology curriculum. Differentiating Instruction With Menus: Biology contains attractive reproducible menus, each based on the levels of Bloom's revised taxonomy as well as incorporating different learning styles. These menus can be used to guide students in making decisions as to which products they will develop after studying a major concept or unit. Grades 9-12

After teaching science for more than 15 years, both overseas and in the U.S., Laurie E. Westphal now works as an independent gifted education and science consultant. She enjoys developing and presenting staff development on differentiation for various districts and conferences, working with teachers to assist them in planning and developing lessons to meet the needs of their advanced students.

This short (145 pages), clearly written, and inspiring book is one that would be a useful tool for any biology teacher, whether a novice first-year teacher or a veteran educator. Using the included menu examples as a starting point, a creative teacher could construct a variety of menus for other course topics and give the students the important element of choice. The book is designed for use in grades 9-12, but could easily be adapted for middle school or college classes. College level teaching methods courses would also find this to be a valuable instructional resource.,Richard Lord,National Science Teachers Association, 9/17/13