Hey there, Joyful Journey Makers! Today, we’re diving into one of the most powerful tools in your teaching toolkit—differentiated instruction. I know what you’re thinking: Isn’t differentiation just about giving advanced students more work and novice students less work? Nope! True differentiation is about meeting each student at their level and helping them build the skills they need to succeed—whether they’re just starting or already thriving.
Using my FREE “¿A dónde vas?” Word Tracing Activity, I’ll show you how to differentiate instruction for every level, from novice to expert learners, and give you practical tips for making differentiation a breeze in your classroom.
But first, let’s get to the heart of differentiation: How do we give each student exactly what they need without overwhelming ourselves? And how do we ensure it’s meaningful for every learner?
What Differentiation Really Is (and Isn’t)
Let’s start by clearing up a common misconception: Differentiation isn’t about more work for advanced students or less work for those who need extra help. It’s about tailoring instruction to meet students where they are in their learning journey. Differentiation means offering varied levels of support, scaffolded tasks, and multiple ways for students to demonstrate understanding.
Think of it as giving students the right tools to unlock their potential—whether they’re just beginning or ready for a challenge.
The Levels of Learning: Novice, Apprentice, Practitioner, Expert
To really nail differentiation, it helps to think about your students in terms of four skill levels:
- Novice: These students are just starting to learn a concept. They need a lot of support and step-by-step guidance. Think tracing, repeating, and simple sentence structures.
- Apprentice: These learners are getting the hang of it but still need scaffolding. They might be ready to write or speak independently but need sentence starters or vocabulary prompts.
- Practitioner: Practitioners have a solid grasp of the content. They can apply the vocabulary in new ways and are ready for more complex sentence structures, but they might still need occasional support.
- Expert: These students can use the vocabulary creatively and in a variety of contexts. They can work independently, produce their own sentences, and help their peers.
Now, let’s explore how you can differentiate instruction for each of these levels using the “¿A dónde vas?” Word Tracing Activity.
Differentiation in Action: "¿A dónde vas?" Word Tracing Activity
The “¿A dónde vas?” activity is perfect for practicing vocabulary related to places in a school, like la biblioteca (the library) or el gimnasio (the gym). Here’s how to differentiate for each level of learner:
- Novice:
- How to Scaffold: For novice students, start with tracing. Let them trace the words and repeat them out loud. This builds fine motor skills while helping them get comfortable with pronunciation.
- Extension: After tracing, guide them to say simple sentences like “Voy al gimnasio” (I’m going to the gym). Keep the sentences short and repeat them as a class to build confidence.
- Apprentice:
- How to Scaffold: Apprentices can start moving away from tracing and into sentence building. Provide sentence starters like “Voy a la ____” and let them fill in the correct place.
- Extension: Have students practice asking each other “¿A dónde vas?” and answering with full sentences. Keep the questions simple, but give them the chance to practice real conversations.
- Practitioner:
- How to Scaffold: Practitioners can handle full sentences independently. Give them a writing prompt like “Describe qué lugares visitas en un día escolar” (Describe which places you visit during a school day).
- Extension: Have them write short paragraphs using more complex sentences, adding details about where they’re going and why. Encourage them to include prepositions like “al lado de” (next to) or “cerca de” (near).
- Expert:
- How to Scaffold: Experts can work on independent writing. Challenge them to create a story about a day at school, using the places vocabulary in a creative context.
- Extension: Have them lead partner conversations or small group discussions where they use the vocabulary in real-time conversations. They can also act as peer tutors, helping other students with pronunciation or sentence structure.
Get Your Resource: Spanish Days of the Week Riddler Card Game (El Acertijo)
Common Differentiation Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)
- Pitfall: Giving More Work to Advanced Learners
It’s tempting to just add extra work for your higher-level students, but that’s not real differentiation.
The Fix: Instead of more work, give them different work. Challenge them with more complex sentence structures or creative projects, like writing a short story in Spanish or leading a conversation. - Pitfall: Not Scaffolding Enough for Novices
Sometimes, we move too quickly from one task to the next without giving our beginners enough support. This can leave them feeling lost.
The Fix: Make sure your novices are getting enough scaffolded support. Keep things simple and provide plenty of repetition to help them build confidence before moving on. - Pitfall: Expecting All Students to Move at the Same Pace
Not all students will be ready to advance at the same time, and that’s okay!
The Fix: Use differentiated tasks so that students can work at their own pace. Have extra challenges ready for your experts and give your novices plenty of support.
How I’ve Differentiated This Activity in My Classroom
When I used the “¿A dónde vas?” Word Tracing Activity with my students, I knew I needed to differentiate from the start. For my novices, I kept it simple—they traced and repeated words like “Voy a la biblioteca”. They loved the chance to practice writing and speaking in a safe, scaffolded way.
For my practitioners and experts, I kicked it up a notch. Practitioners worked on writing full sentences and using prepositions to describe where things were in relation to each other. My expert students created little stories about their day at school, describing each place they visited in detail.
The result? Every student felt challenged, but no one felt overwhelmed. And because I provided different tasks for each level, students were able to engage with the activity at their own pace, building both confidence and competence in using Spanish vocabulary.
5 Ways to Use This Activity in Your Classroom
- Partner Practice: Pair up students at different levels to practice asking and answering where they’re going. This encourages peer learning while giving everyone a chance to practice speaking.
- Morning Warm-Up: Use this as a quick, scaffolded warm-up activity. Novices can trace and repeat, while experts work on crafting their own sentences.
- Small Group Work: Divide students into small groups based on their skill level. Novices can trace and speak, while more advanced students work on creating short dialogues.
- Exit Ticket: Use the writing portion of the worksheet as an exit ticket. Students write a full sentence in Spanish describing where they’re going, and you can assess their understanding before they leave.
- Classroom Display: Once students have completed the activity, use their work to create a classroom word wall of places in the school. This reinforces vocabulary while showcasing their progress.
The Gist of it All
Differentiating instruction doesn’t have to be complicated. With my FREE “¿A dónde vas?” Word Tracing Activity, you can easily scaffold and tailor tasks for every learner, from novice to expert. Whether students are tracing, writing, or speaking, this resource helps them build confidence and practice real-world Spanish in a meaningful way.
Resources
Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. ASCD.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Ellis, R. (2005). Instructed Second Language Acquisition: A Literature Review. New Zealand Ministry of Education.