The first stage of differentiation is assessment. You need to know where each individual student is in her learning. When this is established, students can be placed into appropriate groups. Be sure not to make any assumptions. Math is a wide and varied subject; just because a student has struggled with one aspect of math, that does not mean that he should automatically be placed in the group needing the most support when moving on to the next math topic. Similarly, just because a student is able in one topic or subject, do not assume that he will find all aspects of that subject easy. Continue to asses throughout your teaching of the topic and move students into different groups if you realize that they need more or less support than you previously thought.
Once you have established your groups, allocate support. Decide which of the groups will have the help of classroom assistants or adult helpers. Make sure that this is not always the least able group. If teaching a topic over the course of a few days, try and work with each group yourself during one session. Use peer support and allow students to work in pairs, learning from each other. Consider the use of technological support; could one group benefit from using some topic-related software, for example? Make sure you note the allocation of support in your math lesson plan.
When planning your math lessons, include strategies for differentiating through the resources that you provide. Choose an appropriate text for worksheets, considering dyslexic and dyscalculic students. Provide tangible, hands-on resources such as counters and cubes for your students who prefer to learn kinesthetically; these resources will also help those with dyscalculia. Again, consider the use of software; this can be particularly motivating for students with special needs. Make sure that your classroom is organized so that all students have access to the appropriate resources.
Think about what task is most appropriate for each group and differentiate accordingly. The task that you provide must help each student to achieve the learning goal for the lesson. If teaching how to find fractions of different numbers, for example, your more able students may have a task that requires them to find tenths, sixteenths or twentieths while your least able group may be finding halves or quarters. Remember to keep checking that students are on task and coping; be prepared to move students to different groups if they are struggling with the allocated task or are finding the task too easy. Make sure you have included extension tasks in your planning for able students that quickly complete the task you have allocated.
When the lesson is completed, make sure that you assess your students' work and provide timely and appropriate feedback. Assess against the learning objective for the lesson. If the objective has been met, ensure that you let your student know this. If it has not been met, provide feedback and ensure that the student has a chance to respond to that feedback. Consider the use of self assessment. Try traffic lighting. A student puts a green tick on her work if happy and confident she has understood; a yellow tick indicates that she requires more help and a red tick shows that she has not understood the topic. Use self assessment and your own marking to assess where students now are in their learning and use this knowledge to plan for your next math lesson.