This is the third and final post for this series. Here, I will share and explain 7 methods of differentiation by product that I Find useful in my alternative high school ELA setting. Once again, links to tools are included as each tool in mentioned.
Differentiating by Product
Method 1: Canva One-Pager Visual Analysis
Online resources/tools: Canva, Google Slides, Adobe Creative Cloud, or other digital design tools that allow students to combine text, images, color, layout, and visual organization.
Peer-reviewed support: McGrail et al. (2021) presented a framework for assessing digital multimodal compositions and emphasized that students can communicate meaning through multiple modes, including written, visual, spatial, and digital design choices.
How it differentiates by product: Students can demonstrate literary analysis through a visual composition instead of a traditional paragraph or essay. Students might include quotes, symbols, images, color choices, character connections, theme statements, and short written explanations. The product format gives students more room to show understanding creatively while still requiring evidence and analysis.
Possible units: This method works especially well for Scythe, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, H.P. Lovecraft short stories, independent reading projects, and theme or character analysis assignments.
Rationale for my classroom: Canva one-pagers are useful in my classroom because many of my students are more willing to engage with analysis when they can combine visuals with short written explanations. For example, in my Scythe unit, students can create a one-pager that includes important quotes, character images, symbols, conflicts, and explanations of how those elements develop meaning. This still requires students to analyze the text, but the final product is less intimidating than a full essay for students who struggle with writing stamina. It also gives creative students a way to show depth without lowering the academic expectation.
Method 2: Google Slides Presentations
Online resources/tools: Google Slides, Canva Presentations, Prezi, or another digital presentation tool that allows students to combine text, images, links, audio, video, and speaker notes.
Peer-reviewed support: Göçen Kabaran and Duman (2021) found that digital storytelling positively affected students’ learning and study strategies. While a Google Slides presentation does not have to be a full digital story, it can use similar elements such as sequence, visuals, narration, and intentional design to help students communicate understanding.
How it differentiates by product: Students can demonstrate learning through a visual and oral format instead of only through a written assignment. Students might use slides to explain a character, summarize research, present an argument, teach vocabulary, analyze a theme, or organize evidence. The product still needs to show the required learning, but students have more flexibility in how they present that learning.
Possible units: This method works well for informative speeches, persuasive speeches, book talks, source evaluation lessons, author studies, Scythe theme analysis, Jekyll and Hyde character analysis, and Lovecraft research topics.
Rationale for my classroom: These tools are useful in my classroom because they give students a clear structure while still allowing room for choice and creativity. In speech class, students can use slides to support their speaking without having to memorize every detail and to add to their presentation by granting a visual element to help guide their audience. In an ELA unit, students can use slides to organize quotes, images, explanations, and connections before presenting their analysis to the class. This is especially helpful for students who struggle to write long responses but can explain their thinking more clearly when they have visuals and short talking points to support them. Google Slides also makes it easier for me to check progress, leave comments, and help students revise before they present.
Method 3: Podcast or VoiceThread for Audio Response
Online resources/tools: VoiceThread, Spotify for Creators, Canva audio recording, Google Slides with audio, Flip, Screencastify, or other school-approved tools that allow students to record, upload, and share audio responses.
Peer-reviewed support: Hall and Jones (2021) explained that student-produced podcasts can promote engagement, learning, cognition, and creativity. This supports the use of audio products because students are still required to organize and communicate their understanding, but they are not limited to a traditional written response.
How it differentiates by product: Students can demonstrate learning through spoken explanation instead of only through writing or a visual project. Students might record a literary analysis, character reflection, source explanation, speech practice, book review, or response to discussion questions. The final product still needs to show the required learning, but students have a different format for communicating that learning.
Possible units: This method works well for speech practice, book talks, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character analysis, H.P. Lovecraft story responses, Scythe theme analysis, source evaluation reflections, and argumentative speaking practice.
Rationale for my classroom: This method is useful in my classroom because some students can explain their thinking much more clearly out loud than they can in writing. An audio response still requires students to plan, organize, and communicate their ideas, but it removes some of the writing barrier for students who shut down when faced with a blank page. For example, instead of writing a full paragraph about Hyde’s characterization, a student could record a short response explaining which quote best reveals Hyde’s personality and why. In speech class, students could record practice versions of their introductions or conclusions before presenting live. This gives students another way to demonstrate understanding while still holding them accountable for content, evidence, and explanation.
Method 4: Video Response
Online resources/tools: Screencastify, Canva video, Adobe Express video, Flip, WeVideo, iMovie, VoiceThread, Google Slides with screen recording, or another school-approved tool that allows students to record, edit, and share short video responses.
Peer-reviewed support: Campbell et al. (2020) found that student-created video can function as an active learning approach because students have to plan, organize, create, and communicate their understanding. This supports video response as a product option because students are not only answering a question; they are creating a product that shows how they understand the content.
How it differentiates by product: Using these tools, students can demonstrate learning through a combination of spoken explanation, visuals, text, images, and performance. A student might record a character analysis, explain a theme, present research findings, demonstrate a speech skill, or respond to a discussion prompt. The learning expectation stays the same, but the product gives students a more flexible way to communicate what they know.
Possible units: This method works well for speech practice, book talks, theme analysis, character analysis, story responses, and source evaluation reflections.
Rationale for my classroom: Video responses are useful in my classroom because some students need a product option that combines visual support with spoken explanation. For example, a student could create a short video explaining how a quote from Jekyll and Hyde reveals Hyde’s character, using the quote on screen and narration to explain the analysis. In speech class, students could record practice speeches or short reflection videos before presenting live. This format still requires students to plan and communicate clearly, but it gives them a product that may feel more manageable or engaging than a traditional written response.
Method 5: Digital Comic or Storyboard
Online resources/tools: Canva, Pixton, Storyboard That, Google Slides, Adobe Express, Book Creator, or other digital tools that allow students to combine images, panels, captions, dialogue, and short written explanations.
Peer-reviewed support: Rutta et al. (2021) explored comic-based digital storytelling and found that digital comics could support engagement, collaboration, and content learning. This supports the use of digital comics and storyboards as a product option because students can show understanding through both visual and written choices.
How it differentiates by product: Using these tools in this method, students can demonstrate learning through sequence, visuals, dialogue, captions, and short explanations instead of only through a traditional written response. Students might retell a scene, show a character’s internal conflict, explain a process, illustrate a theme, or storyboard an argument. The product still needs to show the required learning, but students have a more visual and creative way to communicate that learning.
Possible units: This method can be incorporated into any book study in any of my ELA classes, especially in my H.P. Lovecraft class where their final is to make a children's book retelling of an H.P. Lovecraft story.
Rationale for my classroom: Digital comics and storyboards are useful in my classroom because they help students show understanding without requiring them to write a full essay or paragraph right away. For example, a student could create a storyboard showing Jekyll’s transformation, a comic showing a key moment from Scythe, or a visual sequence explaining the rising tension in a Lovecraft story. This format still requires students to understand plot, character, conflict, and theme, but it gives them a product option that feels more approachable. It also works well for students who are creative, visual, or hesitant writers because they can start with images and short text before building toward more detailed analysis.
Method 6: Choice Board with Common Rubric
Online resources/tools: Google Slides, Google Docs, Canva, Genially, Padlet, Schoology, or another LMS where teachers can post a digital choice board with links, directions, examples, and a shared rubric.
Peer-reviewed support: Pozas et al. (2020) found that teachers used differentiated instruction in different ways to respond to student diversity, including strategies that adjusted tasks and supports based on learner needs. A choice board with a common rubric supports this idea because students have options for how they demonstrate learning, but the teacher still assesses the same essential skills and standards.
How it differentiates by product: Students can choose from several final product options while still working toward the same learning goal. For example, students might choose between a Canva one-pager, Google Slides presentation, podcast, video response, comic, written analysis, or digital poster. The common rubric keeps the assignment fair because all students are assessed on the same core expectations, such as evidence, explanation, accuracy, organization, and connection to the unit.
Possible units: This method works well for any major project in just about any of my classes.
Rationale for my classroom: Choice boards are useful in my classroom because students are more likely to engage when they have some control over how they show their learning. At the same time, too much open-ended choice can become overwhelming, so the board gives students a manageable set of options. For example, after reading Scythe, students could choose whether to analyze a theme through a one-pager, presentation, audio response, video, comic, or written paragraph. The product changes, but the rubric still requires textual evidence, explanation, and connection to the novel. This gives students flexibility without turning the assignment into a free-for-all.
Method 7: Google Sites
Online resources/tools: Google Sites, Wix, Weebly, Canva Websites, Adobe Express webpages, or another website-building tool that allows students to organize text, images, links, embedded videos, documents, and reflections in one digital space.
Peer-reviewed support: Tran and Nguyen Ngoc (2023) found that Google Sites e-portfolios supported project-based learning by increasing student interest, motivation, planning, and presentation of project work. This supports the use of Google Sites as a product option because students can collect, organize, and present evidence of learning in a format that is more flexible than a single essay or slideshow.
How it differentiates by product: Students can demonstrate learning through a website instead of a traditional paper, poster, or presentation. A student website can include written explanations, images, embedded videos, links to sources, audio, reflections, project artifacts, and works cited information. The learning goal stays the same, but students have a more open format for organizing and presenting what they know.
Possible units: This method works well for independent reading projects, author studies, research projects, annotated bibliography projects, Scythe theme or ethics projects, H.P. Lovecraft research topics, and speech portfolio work.
Rationale for my classroom: Google Sites works well in my classroom when students need a product that can hold multiple pieces of evidence in one place. For example, a student completing a Lovecraft research project could create pages for author background, historical context, story analysis, source summaries, and personal reflection. A speech student could use a Google Site as a portfolio with topic brainstorming, outlines, research links, practice videos, final presentation materials, and reflection. This option is especially useful for students who like organization, design, and technology, but it also gives students who struggle with long essays a way to show learning through smaller connected pieces. Because the product is digital, students can revise it over time and share it easily.
References:
Campbell, L. O., Heller, S., & Pulse, L. (2022). Student-created video: An active learning approach in online environments. Interactive Learning Environments, 30(6), 1145–1154. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1711777
Göçen Kabaran, G., & Duman, B. (2021). The effect of digital storytelling method on learning and study strategies. International Journal of Technology in Education, 4(4), 681–694. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijte.83
Heacox, D. (2017). Making differentiation a habit: How to ensure success in academically diverse classrooms. Free Spirit Publishing.
McGrail, E., Turner, K. H., Piotrowski, A., Caprino, K., Zucker, L., & Greenwood, E. (2021). Research: An interconnected framework for assessment of digital multimodal composition. English Education, 53(4), 277–302. https://doi.org/10.58680/ee202131483
Pozas, M., Letzel, V., & Schneider, C. (2020). Teachers and differentiated instruction: Exploring differentiation practices to address student diversity. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 20(3), 217–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12481
Rutta, C. B., Schiavo, G., Zancanaro, M., & Rubegni, E. (2021). Comic-based digital storytelling for content and language integrated learning. Educational Media International, 58(1), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2021.1908499
Tomlinson, C. A. (2014). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners (2nd ed.). ASCD.
Tran, T. N. A., & Nguyen Ngoc, T. (2023). Mobile e-portfolios on Google Sites: A tool for enhancing project-based learning. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 17(11), 15–33. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v17i11.39673
No comments:
Post a Comment