Differentiating lesson tasks using the GAP strategy is designed to allow students to take ownership of the level of support and challenge that they receive. This supports student ownership of learning and the ‘Student First’ principals of delivery. GAP differentiation is the use of 3 colours to signpost the level of support or challenge on offer: Green- supportive task Amber- challenging task Pink- extended challenge For further information regarding what GAP is and how to use it please download my free book from the Standout Teach shop on the TES website. You will receive 7 worksheets which are in Microsoft Word format. Each uses the GAP colours in a different layout and include text boxes for you to populate with your lesson tasks. Once completed you can print each one in colour or black and white, as the colours are also indicated using text. These worksheets are suitable for any subject or year group and also for use on a whole school level, department level, individual level and by NTQs and trainee teachers.

Based upon sketch notes, the sketch lesson plan is designed to be quick to use and effective. Using a staged sequence to planning, it will ensure that your planning is focused on active student learning and also ensure that you have all the 7 core principles of Student First Teaching included (lesson objectives, sequencing and timings, differentiation, activity types, assessment, acting on feedback and finally literacy and numeracy). This planning document is designed to be used in note form (hence it is very quick to draft and complete) as the structure retains the detail. It can be used as a planning document and as a reflection or observation template. Ideal as a whole school or department approach or to be used by individual teachers, NQTs, PGCE and trainee teachers. For further information please watch my YouTube video: https://youtu.be/0jys70GbdPg

Based upon sketch notes, the daily sketch lesson plan is designed to be quick to use and effective. Using a staged sequence to planning, it will ensure that your planning is focused on active student learning and also ensure that you have all the 7 core principles of Student First Teaching included (lesson objectives, sequencing and timings, differentiation, activity types, assessment, acting on feedback and finally literacy and numeracy). This planning document is designed to be used in note form (hence it is very quick to draft and complete) as the structure retains the detail. It can be used as a planning document and as a reflection or observation template. Ideal as a whole school or department approach or to be used by individual teachers, NQTs, PGCE and trainee teachers.

Learning Blooms are activities to use within lessons that allow students a choice. You will receive 9 activities (as a ZIP file), each with a different learning outcome focus- 1. Starter activity focus 2. Writing/literacy focus 3. Reflection skills focus 4. Practical activity focus 5. Drawing activity focus 6. Visual outcome focus 7. Student presentation skills focus 8. General focus 9. Plenary activity focus To use these activities you set a task and add it to the relevant worksheet 9please note each worksheet is in 2 parts- a n overview sheet and an explanation sheet which are meant to be photocopied back to back). You can then vary this task to differentiate by filling out the Green, Amber and Pink tasks or delete these if you don’t want them. When completing the worksheets ready for your students to use there are instructions already on them guiding you as to what to do. Each worksheet then has a choice of 8 tasks (pre-filled in) for your students to choose from related to your initial task. For example you may set a question related to your learning, then your students can answer it by writing a story, or a newspaper article or create a mind map etc. The aim is that they have the choice of how to answer the task that has been set and hence allow them to choose what best suits their style of engagement. For more information please download my free EBook which is also available on my TES shop.

Lesson objectives are often set as a form of instruction pointing out what learning will occur within the lesson, an example of this is Must/Should/Could. ‘Sky High Questions’ are a way of taking lesson objectives and remodel them into a challenging question which is then used within the lesson instead of the formal lesson objectives. This also allows student to take ownership of the lesson objective and supports tracking of learning and progress against the lesson objectives. Sky High Questions can be used at the start, end and throughout the lesson as AfL activities. This book gives you an outline of the strategy and suggestions as to how Sky High Questions can be used. Please also look at this YouTube tutorial video for additional information: https://youtu.be/-inQkNFqFAI The use of Sky High Questions has also been noted by Ofsted- ‘The most able students make good progress in a number of subjects. This is a result of activities to raise aspirations such as the ‘Sky High Challenge’ question set in all lessons’.

Student First Teaching is an approach to planning, creating and delivering lessons which focuses on active student learning versus teacher led learning. This approach can be adapted to suit all curriculum areas and works in conjunction with the 7 core principals of Student First Teaching. Each of the 7 core principles (lesson objectives, sequencing and timings, differentiation, activity types, assessment, acting on feedback and finally literacy and numeracy) is modeled into student accessible tools allowing students to take ownership of learning. Ideal as a whole school or department approach or to be used by individual teachers, NQTs, PGCE and trainee teachers. Please watch my video to see how Student 1st Teaching works: https://youtu.be/zNkdmvBZtlw

Differentiating your lesson can often be difficult an also very teacher orientated. This led to ‘GAP’ differentiation, a student tool which uses simple signposting to allow students to access the support or challenge which they require. The three colours used are Green- supportive tasks, Amber- challenging tasks and Pink- extended challenge tasks. This eBook gives you an overview of the strategy and also a range of tips and approaches you can use within your lessons. This is without doubt had a massive impact upon my teaching and I would recommend it strongly to all teachers. It’s simple but extremely effective. OFSTED Report- Subject departments use a GAP (Green, Amber and Pink) strategy in lessons to match work to students’’ abilities. Students choose a level of work they are comfortable with and can also choose work that makes then think harder. This empowers students in their learning and helps them to take responsibility for it. Ideal as a whole school or department approach or can be used by individual teachers, NQTs, PGCE and trainee teachers. For further information please watch these YouTube videos- https://youtu.be/XQLIUwX0x6o https://youtu.be/11clmprcLlc