The scene is set for your well-planned preschool lesson -- the tempera paints are out, the large-handled brushes are set on poster-sized sheets of paper and your instructions for children to create pictures of the spring garden they just walked through are impeccable. With all of your planning and hopes for success, how is it possible that one-third of the class refuses to use the brushes and is gleefully slopping the tempera on with their fingers, another third is painting pictures of trucks or airplanes and the rest just want to build with blocks? Instead of expecting all of your students to react to a lesson in the same way, ditch the cookie-cutter notion and plan for a diverse group of learners.
Arrange the classroom environment to support different types of learners and learning styles. Set up an array of easily accessible content centers around the room -- such as art, science, blocks, literacy, dress-up, pretend play, housekeeping and music areas -- for children who have varying interests. Include a mix of playthings and educational materials that are age-appropriate for three- to six-year-olds and also meet different learners' needs and skill levels. Provide different art items, such as crayons, markers, different sizes of paintbrushes, finger paints, tempera paints, paper, kid-sized scissors, play clay and glue sticks in the art center to accommodate children who have varying degrees of fine-motor abilities. Set out magnifying glasses, magnets, prisms and balance scales in the science area to encourage hands-on exploratory learners to make discoveries. Introduce dress-up clothing that ranges from straightforward costumes to more open-ended pieces that a more skilled student can piece together.
Learn about and understand each student's abilities, developmental level and learning style, keeping in mind generally accepted pre-K milestones -- such as the fact that most pre-K students can write at least some well-formed letters, according to PBS Parents. Make accommodations for students who learn in different ways. For example, you might allow physical or kinesthetic learners to move around, social learners to interact more with you or their peers, and visual learners to use posters and pictures to learn.
Organize a flexible grouping strategy for lessons and activities. Split the class into smaller groups or teams, swapping out students in each grouping at different times to provide variety. Match groups or pairs by developmental level or interest, or mix a grouping of differently aged or skilled children.
Create tiered lessons that easily adjust to fit diverse learners. Plan your lessons for the average pre-K student, using traditionally accepted milestones. Add different levels of activities that provide options for students who fall above or below the average. Keep the main themes and goals the same, but adapt specific activities to fit children with different needs and learning styles. For example, if you're creating an animal collage, provide pre-cut shapes for the less advanced learners to piece together and allow more skilled students to cut out their own. Provide chubby crayons for children who need extra help in developing their fine-motor skills, and use materials such as thin colored pencils or thin markers for children with more advanced dexterity.
Allocate different amounts of time for students who have varying needs. Allow more time for students who need a slower pace and add extra activities or an extension of the current one for those who finish more quickly. For example, if your students are practicing writing the first letter of their name, ask the children who master the task quickly to move on to writing the rest of the letters in their name too.
- National Association for the Education of Young Children: Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children From Birth Through Age 8
- St. Cloud State University: Differentiating Instruction in the Preschool Classroom: Bridging Emergent Literacy Instruction and Developmentally Appropriate Practice
- Reading Rockets: What Is Differentiated Instruction?
- Learning-Styles-Online.com: Overview of Learning Styles
- National Association for the Education of Young Children: Good Toys for Young Children by Age and Stage
- PBS Parents: Child Development Tracker: Literacy
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