Know your students. Assess where they are and what they know. Begin a new topic by having a brainstorming session in which all students contribute their ideas and knowledge from previous lessons. Use the information from this initial session and from looking at previous work and tests to decide where your student is in his math learning and what the next stage in his learning should be.
Do not make assumptions. Do not assume that because a student has struggled in one math topic, she will find all aspects of math difficult. Also, if a student is able in math, or in any other subject, that does not necessarily mean she will not find some areas of math difficult. Be flexible and be prepared to move students in and out of different ability groups according to their understanding and need.
Plan for support. Make sure you work with each differentiated group of students at least once during the teaching of a particular topic. Make use of other adult help, allocating a helper to a group that you are not working with. Use peer support, partners and group work.
Consider resources carefully. Think about the most appropriate resources for each student or group. Less able students may benefit from tactile, hands on or concrete materials; blocks or counters when teaching addition, for example. More able students could extend or reinforce their grasp of math concepts through the use of computer software or online activities.
Differentiate through task. Allocate a suitable task or activity for each level of ability. Use learning objectives and success criteria that are included in your planning and shared with students. Provide a task that will allow students to meet the objective and make progress. If the learning objective is "I can identify the properties of a variety of shapes," for example, then less able students should have an activity that that helps them to identify aspects such as number of sides, whereas more able students may be looking at properties like number of right angles or parallel sides.