Preassessment is an important component of teaching mixed ability students in the regular classroom. With preassessment, mathematics and spelling lessons are tailored so that each student focuses on the skills each needs to master. Do preassessment by giving the same test to all students at the beginning of a unit. Once the tests have been scored, provide instruction and reinforcement at the level necessary for all students to be successful. You can implement this through centers, where students rotate in groups to stations with reinforcement activities, or through individual instruction as needed.
Enrichment is vital for the gifted learner in the regular classroom. Gifted learners tend to work more quickly than others and need enrichment to fill gaps in time while other students are finishing. This avoids confusion when the gifted learner is ready to move ahead before the rest of the class. Enrichment should challenge the gifted learner by requiring higher level thinking and in-depth research about the topic being studied. Enrichment can also come in the form of classes outside the regular classroom during regular instruction time. These classes focus on math teams, spelling bee preparation or analogy-based language arts instruction teams like Word Masters. In Word Masters, students study lists of words, their meanings and how to use them in analogies. They take tests on the words, and their scores are compared to other students around the country as they compete for awards. These kind of teams give enrichment to the gifted learner while he is waiting to move to the next skill with the rest of the class.
Cooperative group instruction can benefit both the gifted and the slow learner within the regular classroom. Cooperative group instruction teaches all levels how to work together to solve problems and produce a product. In cooperative learning groups students are each given a task, and each group is presented with a part of the concept to study or present to the class. Putting different level learners in groups helps each student contribute to and benefit from the learning process. LD learners are included and challenged, and gifted students learn valuable team-building skills.
Hands-on learning gives the slower student the opportunity to see concrete examples of concepts and gives the gifted learner the chance to dissect how a process works. Hands-on learning helps focus on the strengths of each group and fosters the natural curiosity in young people. Prepare hands-on activities regularly for science investigation, math problem manipulation and pre-writing activities to get students ready to learn the concepts being taught on a particular day. Use hands-on activities in groups, as a classroom or individually in stations throughout the room.