Same Assignment, Different Grade Levels

Since I am in a special education classroom and there are three grade levels in the class, it is difficult to plan lessons that every student can participate in. However, I really liked the idea that my cooperating teacher developed. She first read a story to the entire class. Although the story was too difficult for the kindergarten and first graders to read themselves, my cooperating teacher reviewed details that were important and possibly confusing for them so they could understand the story. After she finished reading the story, she assigned each grade level a different assignment based on their capability. The kindergarteners had to draw a picture showing what happened in the story. The first graders had to draw a picture of the story and write at least a sentence about what they drew from the book. The second graders were not allowed to draw; they had to write a paragraph about the story. All of the students had to show their comprehension of the story whether it was written, drawn, or a combination. I really liked this assignment because it enabled all of the students to work on the same thing at the same time. If the teacher had assigned all of the students to draw a picture, then it would have been efficient for the kindergartners but too easy for the first and second graders. At the same time, writing a paragraph is a good assignment for the second graders, but too difficult for the kindergarteners and first graders. I like the way my cooperating teacher was able to take one story and make assignments that each grade level is capable of completing. This teaching tool can even be used in an inclusion setting; the teacher can assign work based on learning ability (high, medium, and low) that correlates with each other. I believe this teaching tool is effective and will be a good thing to remember for my classroom.