Differentiation is building different ways of learning into lessons. Accommodations are tools that help students access materials and content that are not otherwise accessible. Both are important during the planning, delivering, and wrap-up phases of lessons. Remote learning presents unique challenges that make it difficult to differentiate or make changes during a lesson. Building in opportunities for students to access the content and lesson; and work in different ways makes learning accessible and engaging for all students.

Differentiation refers to a wide variety of teaching techniques and lesson adaptations that educators use to instruct a diverse group of students. It can involve different activities to different groups of students, recognition of multiple pathways and flexibility of time to complete the tasks. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a proactive approach to designing learning experiences to be accessible for all students, while differentiation is a reactive evaluation of the needs of individual students where adjustments are retrofitted into the learning environment. Some people use the terms synonymously, but they are different.

This activity from the Exploratorium provides an introduction to the diffraction of light which indicates its wavelike properties. Two pencils are used to create a slit through which a flashlight bulb or candle˘ď‹ď_s light is examined. The site contains an explanation of the observed interference patterns, additional materials that can be experimented with, and an extension activity. This activity is part of Exploratorium's Science Snacks series.

In this optics activity, demonstrate diffraction using a candle or a small bright flashlight bulb and a slide made with two pencils. Learners will observe the diffraction pattern and learn that light has wavelike properties.

Mix two gases to explore diffusion! Experiment with concentration, temperature, mass, and radius and determine how these factors affect the rate of diffusion.

The esophagus is a muscular tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach through waves of muscular contractions called peristalsis.

Water is absorbed in the large intestine. The remaining materials leave the body as waste.

The liver is an organ that filters blood and plays a major role in metabolism.

Peristalsis involves muscular contractions that move food through the small intestine to the large intestine.

The small intestine is a long tube in the center of the abdomen where a great deal of chemical digestion takes place.

Chemical and mechanical digestion take place in the stomach, a muscular organ. Digestive juices, including hydrochloric acid, chemically break down food.

Villi line the inner walls of the small intestine, increasing the surface area through which food can be absorbed.

Villi are filled with blood vessels, through which food molecules enter the blood stream, where they are converted to energy.

The main organs of the human urinary system include two bean-shaped kidneys located at the bottom of the rib cage near the back. Kidneys perform the very important job of removing nitrogen-containing wastes from the blood.

A read-aloud of Patricia Polacco's "Thank You, Mr. Falker" helps promote deeper comprehension through questioning to achieve personal connections and discussions of character and theme.

Students will learn local sources of energy in Utah and evaluate the environmental and economic cost of various forms of energy.

This lesson, in which students research worms in order to create a classroom habitat, incorporates reading and writing across content areas as well as math and science activities.

This is a lesson plan to teach students to digitize a story they have previously written using sequential words and describing thoughts, feelings, and actions.