Meet as a co-teaching group. All teaching partners should sit down to develop and plan the tiered lesson. Plan how to divide the students into three groups.
Select a reading activity for the class. Decide how the class will be split into groups. For instance, groups could include high achievers, mid-range achievers and lower-scoring achievers and those who have special education accommodations based on their Individual Education Programs.
Decide how the high achievers will do the reading. Perhaps at separate tables, they will read on their own, then complete a series of open-ended questions that develop their critical thinking about the reading. One of the teachers -- perhaps the instructional assistant -- will make sure they understand their assignment, answer any of their questions and monitor them. These students are generally self-starters and need very little help.
Decide how the middle achievers will do the reading. For instance, they can take turns reading two to three paragraphs each as a group. At the end, they can answer a series of multiple choice questions. One of the teachers -- perhaps the general education teacher -- will make sure they understand their assignment, answer any of their questions and monitor them. This is the area that needs much of the teaching work, and it is usually where the greatest number of students fall.
Decide how the low achievers will do the reading. This group can include slower readers and students with reading accommodations. A special education teacher can read them the lesson, then ask them a combination of true and false and multiple choice questions. This is typically a smaller group, where one of the other teachers can join in and help provide one-on-one instruction to special needs students.