Emma Beaton

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Summary Sheet for Assignment 2: Differentiated Learning Experience

Name & Student Number: Emma Beaton 2151579

Curriculum (Learning) Area of Lesson or Learning Task: History
Specific Topic of Lesson or Learning Task: Impact of World War II on the world and its
peoples
Year Level/s: 10
Differentiation Choices
1. For this assignment, I have chosen to design a differentiated:
 Learning Menu or Agenda
 Choice Board
 RAFT
 Summative Assessment Task for Unit of Work
 Lesson with Specific Adjustments for Students with Special Needs
 Series of Tasks for Learning Centres or Stations
 Learning Task or Lesson with Innovative Use of Technology to Support Differentiation

2. My lesson or learning task is differentiated to address differences in student:

 Readiness
 Interest
 Learning profile preferences

Context
Class Cohort:
This Year 10 History class has approximately 10 students, all with diverse backgrounds,
abilities, readiness levels, interests and learning profile preferences. This mixed gender class
also has one student with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), another student with a
speech/language disability, several students with lower literacy levels and some high achievers.
The student with ASD is high functioning and as such, does not require an individualised
educational program however, his social skills are limited, and he requires support in learning
how empathise with others which is imperative to completing the following task. This student
also struggles with changes in routine, and “will require support in coping with transitions” that if
not properly supported, can create stress or frustration “in trying to cope” with them (Carpenter,
2014, p.291). As a result of student’s needs, differentiation is essential in this class to ensure
that each student is provided the same opportunity to learn and succeed yet are appropriately
challenged.

Unit Overview:
The overall focus of this unit is to develop student’s knowledge and understanding about World
War II, including the causes and course of the war as well as the significant battles and events
that occurred throughout this period. There is also a strong focus on developing student’s skills
in analysing and evaluating how events have shaped the world we live in today, specifically our
view on war and how to prevent it (Australian Curriculum, 2018).

This unit will begin with students learning about the causes of WWII including the impact of the
Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations on Germany, followed by their first summative
assessment task in which students research a significant battle during WWII. The unit will also
include an in-depth analysis of Australia’s involvement in war, both on the home front and in
Europe and the Pacific. The unit will conclude by analysing the impact of the war on the world,
including how it changed the role of women, surged forward the USA and Russia into global
superpowers and how it effected specific groups in society. The final summative assessment

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task will be a historical essay that explores the impact of an event or figure from WWII on
society. Students will devise their own inquiry question in class based on their major area of
interest.

The RAFT task designed here will be their second summative assessment task, which will be
completed in class during Week 4 of the unit. This task will provide teachers with an insight into
student’s areas of interest regarding WWII and provide students an opportunity to practise their
evaluation skills for their final summative assessment to be started in the following week. As this
differentiated task occurs towards the end of the unit, students will have a thorough
understanding of the key events and figures in WWII and be able to apply their knowledge,
understanding and skills to this differentiated task. This RAFT task will be differentiated by
students’ interest’s and readiness. A pre-assessment task will be distributed in the previous
lesson and student’s responses to this pre-assessment will shape the options students can
choose from in the RAFT. Students will produce a creative text based on one of the RAFT strips
or they may negotiate their own RAFT strip if the options provided do not appeal to them,
however this must be approved by the teacher before they begin.

Link to the Australian Curriculum:

Students will understand the impact of World War II, with a particular emphasis on the Australian
home front, including the changing roles of women and use of wartime government controls
(conscription, manpower controls, rationing and censorship) (Australian Curriculum,
ACDSEH109, 2018 )

Learning Objectives
As a result of engaging with the differentiated lesson or task, students will:
 Students will understand the impact of World War II, with a particular emphasis on the
Australian home front, including the changing roles of women and use of wartime
government controls (conscription, manpower controls, rationing and censorship) (Australian
Curriculum, ACDSEH109, 2018)
 Students will understand that World War II had a lastly impact on people, places, politics,
cultures and ideologies (Adapted from the Australian Curriculum, 2018)
Know (e.g. facts, vocabulary, dates, Be able to (do) (Skills, processes)
information)
 Identify and analyse the perspectives of
That the experiences of people and groups people from the past (Australian Curriculum,
during and after WWII varied ACHHS190, 2018)
 Develop texts, particularly descriptions and
Key terms related to WWII, including discussions that use evidence from a range of
conscription, censorship and rationing sources that are referenced (Australian
Curriculum, ACHHS192, 2018)
 Identify that WWII provided different
opportunities for different people, especially
women
 Describe how life changed for diverse groups
of people both during and after the war
Essential Questions
- How did World War II impact people and groups differently both during and after the war?
- How has World War II had a lasting impact on people, places, politics, cultures and ideologies?

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RAFT: Creative Summative Task about WWII
ROLE AUDIENCE FORMAT TOPIC
Female worker in one Your grandchild Discussion Your experiences in
of the following: doing a project on one of the women’s
 WAAAF WWII auxiliary services.
 AWAS Discuss the jobs you
 WRANS would do, your wage
 AWLA and perceptions of
you as a female
worker
Prisoner of War (you Themselves Diary entry Life in a POW camp,
can choose the including how long
country) and why you were
there, punishments
and living conditions.
British mother living A friend in Australia Letter Everyday life at
in England home, including how
rationing limited food
availability and
conscription has
forced her husband
and son to war
WWII Survivor (you Public and Interview on a talk Your experiences
can choose what they interviewer show during WWII and how
survived e.g. the it affected your life
Holocaust, Pearl after the war
Harbor etc. but
cannot be a POW)
Nazi soldier who Judge and Jury Testimony Justifying your
worked in a actions and the
concentration camp actions of the Nazi
party during WWII at
the Nuremberg Trials
Presidential or Prime Government officials A government Discuss how you will
Ministerial candidate and media at a campaign speech help your country to
in the USA, Britain or campaign rally overcome the
Australia after WWII impacts of war
including paying back
debts,
Student Choice: Student Choice: Student Choice: Student Choice:
Negotiable Negotiable Negotiable Negotiable

Lesson Sequences:
Week 4 Lesson 1: 105 minutes
Whole class introduction: 10 minutes
At the end of the previous lesson, students were given approximately 20 minutes to complete a
pre-assessment task (Appendix 1) which will provide the teacher with an indication of student’s
readiness to complete the summative assessment task. It will also provide an indication of their
areas of interest about the study of World War II, thus influencing the design of the RAFT.
Through differentiating by interest, teachers are more likely to “evoke curiosity” or “fascination”

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within students about the task or big idea, thus “build[ing] bridges between the students and
critical knowledge, understanding and skills” they need to develop about WWII (Sousa and
Tomlinson, 2011, p.113).

Upon student’s arrival to class, the teacher will greet them and instigate a student directed
discussion based on what they have covered over the past 3 weeks. This discussion will be
prompted by the unit’s KUD’s that the teacher will display on the board. During this time, the
teacher will provide the students with ASD and a speech/language disability a handout that will
provide a basic, written overview of the unit so far. Hanbury (2012) suggests that in addition to
verbal instructions or discussions, teachers should provide “written instructions” or information to
students with learning disabilities, especially those with ASD, to ensure they have clear
understandings and expectations (p.49).

Task introduction: 20 minutes

Students will be given a copy of the assessment sheet including the RAFT, task strips and the
rubric (Appendix 2 and 3). Teacher will then explain the task to the class, explaining the overall
learning objectives devised above. Most of the knowledge that students require for this task has
been taught in class, nevertheless students will be provided additional lesson time to complete
research to be prepared for the task. To ensure that the student with ASD is adequately
prepared for the change in routine that the next lesson will bring, the teacher will provide him
with a lesson outline of the following lesson (in which the summative will take place) so he is
able to not only see how it will be structured, but to become familiar with the change. Following
the explanation of the task, the teacher will place students into 3 groups based on their
readiness. While students in each group will have different RAFT strips to choose from, each
group will be appropriately challenged to ensure that students are able “to grow toward and
beyond their goals” set at the beginning of the unit (Doubet & Hockett, 2017, p.228).

See appendix 1 for pre-assessment task.

Assessment planning time: 60 minutes

During this time, students will be able to use their laptops or school computers to research any
additional information they may need to complete this task. The teacher will, at the same time,
provide students in the purple group with a brief description of the format types in the RAFT
strips, while students in the pink group will receive a template of the two format options if
necessary. While students spend time planning their assessment, the teacher’s role will be to
provide general help and offer support for the pink and purple groups.

Lesson closure: 10 minutes

Teacher will outline that students must have finished their planning by next lesson and to make
sure their laptops are charged as the assessment will need to be typed then handed in both
electronically and in hard copy to the teacher.

Week 4 Lesson 2: 105 minutes

Whole lesson introduction: 10 minutes
Teacher will use this time to check in on student’s homework and ensure they have finished their
plans. Students will have time to ask questions and receive final guidance before writing the
task. While teacher is responding to questions, students are to set up their laptops and move
seats so there is at least a chair between each student.

Summative Task Completion: 40-50 minutes

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Students will write their summative assessment task following their chosen RAFT strip. This will
be under test conditions and students will need to sit away from other students, place all items
except their laptop away and be silent while they write their task. To ensure that the student with
ASD feels comfortable during this lesson, which is different from the classes usual routine, the
teacher will place a visible countdown timer on the board as well as written timer in 10-minute
increments to ensure that the student feels relaxed and familiar with this new routine.

Students who complete the task before the timer finishes will have the opportunity to complete
homework for other classes, or they may choose to read a novel made available in the
classroom.

Lesson Closure:15 minutes

Once students have handed in their assessment task, the teacher will prompt them to complete
a Google Form for evaluation of not only how well they think they did in the task, but also their
opinion of the task design and how it was taught. This will provide the teacher will vital feedback
of how effective this task was, how students coped with it and how it can be improved for next
time. This Google Form will be in the format of a 3-2-1 exit card. See appendix 4.

Tiers within this summative assessment task:

To group the students based on their readiness, the teacher provided students with a pre-
assessment task. This will enable the teacher to determine students who are ready and able to
write a more sophisticated and longer text taking on an unfamiliar and complex role, those who
are ready to write a shorter, more creative piece taking on a more familiar role and students who
may require a template of their format provided to them and a very familiar role. Question 5 of
the pre-assessment will determine student’s interests, which will have been noted by teacher’s
observations during the preceding weeks as well. Ultimately, each of these groups will have two
RAFT strips to choose from that relate to their interests and readiness, determined by the pre-
assessment task.

Blue Group:
Students who provided highly articulate responses to Question 3 and 4 of the pre-assessment
task and were able to identify the format, audience and purpose of the text are placed into the
Blue Group, who would receive minimal teacher direction during Lesson 1 as they are more
likely to do well at “learning something new or overcoming a personal challenge” without
immense teacher direction and support (Covington, 2000, p.23). These students have a higher
readiness to complete this task and will be able to write a longer, more sophisticated text taking
on an unfamiliar and complex role.
Purple Group:
Students who provided mostly coherent responses but were unable to completely identify the
format, audience or purpose of the text were placed into the Purple Group that would be receive
some teacher support during Lesson 1. These students demonstrated they are ready to write a
shorter, more creative text from a semi-familiar role.
Pink Group:
Students who provided limited or unclear responses to Question 3 and 4 and were unable to
identify the format, audience and purpose of the text are placed into the Pink Group, who would
be given the most teacher support during Lesson 1. This group will receive “highly structured
and explicit instruction” to ensure they know what is expected of them and what is required to be
successful in this task (Mercer, 2010, p.135). This group may receive a template of their format if
necessary. Students within this group have a lower readiness level and demonstrated they are
ready to write a simpler text taking on a very familiar role.

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Explanation:

Within each classroom, teachers are challenged with teaching students who have a diverse set
of interests, skills, abilities and needs that require differentiation. The class cohort that this task
has been designed for has students with numerous needs; one student has Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD), another student has a speech/ language disability and several other students
have low literacy levels. Differentiation is therefore essential in this class to ensure that students
have the “maximum opportunity for challenge, growth, and success” in this unit and in this
summative assessment task (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p.28). This differentiated summative
RAFT task has been designed according to student’s readiness and interest. According to
Sousa and Tomlinson (2011), curriculum and tasks that are differentiated by students’ interests
are likely to “draw and hold [their] attention”, motivating their active engagement and
participation (p.113). Readiness, on the other hand, enables students who are at various levels,
who have different strengths and areas of weakness and different motivations, to all learn the
same curriculum and achieve within that (Doubet & Hockett, 2015, pp.175-176). This task has
been designed so that each student can demonstrate their understanding of the impact of WWII
on the world and specific people, while being challenged to extend their knowledge and skills.

To determine student’s interests regarding WWII and their readiness to complete this summative
task, a pre-assessment was given to students in the previous lesson. This pre-assessment task
was a combined written comprehension and evaluation task, and a student interest survey. As
the summative assessment task was to be differentiated, it was important that the teacher
assessed student’s current readiness to create a written text which would consolidate their
understanding of the impact of WWII. Pre-assessment is essential to differentiation, especially
for a high stakes summative assessment task like this one, as it can enable the teacher to “plan
instruction that will better meet learners’ needs” (Doubet & Hockett, 2015, p.70). As a result of
the pre-assessment, the teacher designed a RAFT that catered to not only the student’s varying
readiness levels, but also their different interests so that each student has a strip that best
represented their readiness and their interests.

As this RAFT task will be graded as a summative assessment for the Year 10 History class, it
was important to consider how the role of assessment changes in a highly differentiated
classroom. One of the key aspects to consider when designing this differentiated assessment
task was how to grade it. According to Tomlinson and Moon (2013), “understanding and
addressing the concepts of error, reliability, validity and teacher bias provides four legs of a
stable grading process” (p.124). To decrease the chance of error in grading this task, the
teacher ensured that students had a very thorough understanding of what was expected of them
by reading through the task sheet with them multiple times and answering any questioned that
arose from this. This was to ensure that the students would not grade badly in this task purely
for the fact that they misunderstood the task itself. To increase the reliability of this task and to
ensure student’s grades are based on their understanding rather than luck or chance, the
teacher scaffolded this task over two lessons so that students could create a plan and deepen
their understanding by completing research. As this task precedes their final essay, it also helps
to increase the reliability of that task because the teacher should have a solid grasp of what
students understand by that stage of the unit. The validity of this task is evident as students are
made highly aware of the KUD’s they need to address and how we have already covered them
so far in class (discussed during Lesson 1’s recap). Finally, to avoid teacher bias which occurs
because “teachers are people whose feelings, experiences and expectations come to work with
them every day”, the teacher of this class will have a colleague review their grades before
releasing them to the class (Tomlinson & Moon, 2013, p.125). This will ensure that the

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“inevitability of bias” is reduced as much as possible when grading this differentiated summative
assessment RAFT task (Tomlinson & Moon, 2013, p.125).

Ultimately, this RAFT, which is also a summative assessment, has been designed so that the
students within the Year 10 History class it has been designed for, could demonstrate their
learning throughout the unit. By differentiating through interest, students are more likely to
engage with the task and be intrinsically motivated to complete it. Similarly, by differentiating
through readiness, students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in a way that
is most accessible to them and that works to their strengths, especially for the lower literacy
level students and those with disabilities. To ensure that the task is respectful, the groups were
given names based on colours to limit any overemphasis of issues like “name-calling” or
“inappropriate stereotyping” that could occur, and each task will work towards the same rubric
and take a comparable amount of time and effort for each group to complete (Foreman, 2017,
p.24). Conclusively, this summative RAFT task is differentiated to support student’s varying
needs, levels of readiness and interests so that each student could demonstrate their
knowledge, understanding and skills about the lasting impact of WWII on the world.

References
Carpenter, L. (2014). Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder. In M. Hyde, L. Carpenter & R.
Conway, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement (2nd ed., pp. 273-295). South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford
University Press.

Covington, M. (2000). Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation in Schools. Current Directions in Psychological
Science, 9(1), 22-25.

Doubet, K., & Hockett, J. (2015). Differentiating according to student readiness. In K. Doubet & J. Hockett,
Differentiation in middle and high school: strategies to engage all learners (pp. 70, 173-206). Alexandria,
Virginia: ASCD.

Doubet, K., & Hockett, J. (2015). Differentiation in middle and high school: strategies to engage all
learners. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD.

Foreman, P. (2017). Introducing inclusion in education. In P. Foreman & M. Arthur-Kelly, Inclusion in

action (5th ed., pp. 2-49). South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning Australia.

Garih, A. (2015). Letter to a World War II Veteran. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved
6 April 2018, from https://www.ushmm.org/remember/office-of-survivor-affairs/memory-project/featured-
writers/letter-to-a-world-war-ii-veteran

Hanbury, M. (2012). Educating students on the autistic spectrum. London: SAGE.

History. (2018). Australian Curriculum. Retrieved 16 March 2018, from

https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/history/

Mercer, K. (2010). Supporting students with learning difficulties. In D. Tangen, Engaging Diverse
Learners (2nd ed., pp. 128-156). French's Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

Sousa, D., & Tomlinson, C. (2011). Differentiation and the Brain: How Neuroscience Supports the
Learner-Friendly Classroom. Bloomington, Indiana: Solution Tree.

Tomlinson, C., & Moon, T. (2013). Assessment, Grading and Differentiation. In C. Tomlinson & T.
Moon, Assessment and Student Success in a Differentiated Classroom (pp. 120-140). Alexandria,
Virginia: ASCD.

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Appendix 1: Pre-assessment Task for RAFT
Excerpt taken from: Garih, A. (2015). Letter to a World War II Veteran. United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum. Retrieved 6 April 2018, from https://www.ushmm.org/remember/office-of-
survivor-affairs/memory-project/featured-writers/letter-to-a-world-war-ii-veteran

Task: Read the following text and answer the questions below:
Dear Veteran,
This is to express my gratitude for your sacrifice during World War II. I was a hidden child in
Paris, France, pursued by Nazi invaders and their French collaborators who were doing the dirty job
of rounding up people like me to send us to the gas chambers in Auschwitz. Were it not for people
like you, who braved the enemy fire to liberate Europe from the tyranny of the Nazi regime, I might
not be here today.
I remember that day, in late August 1944, as I was hiding in a Catholic boarding school in a
Paris suburb, when one of the students came running to the school to announce: “The Allies are
coming! The Allies are coming!” That was the day I was liberated; I had survived the constant threat
of being taken away with my family.

I remember how we all went to the main street in that suburb to greet you, our liberators, with
our hearts full of joy and love for these young soldiers who, for the first time, were not threatening
us, but were smiling at us and giving us chocolate, chewing gum, even cigarettes. I still remember
the smell of the Lucky Strike cigarettes that surrounded us. I was six years old, and the memory of
that day will stay with me forever.

I am aware of the dangers that you were facing, with the enemy still around. I have seen the beaches
in Normandy where you landed and where so many of your brothers in arms lost their lives. I have
seen the cemeteries with all these white crosses and Stars of David. I am aware of the ultimate price
that so many of you paid so that Europe could live once again in freedom. I have not forgotten.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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 Question 1: What is the format of the text? How do we know this?
 Question 2: Who is the audience and what is the purpose of this text. How do we
know this?
 Question 3: What is the author’s opinion about WWII? Use evidence to support
your answer
 Question 4: What lasting impact did the author suggest WWII has had on them or
the rest of the world? Use evidence to support your answer
 Question 5: Using the topics listed below, rank from 6 (not interested) to 1 (very
interested) which topic is most interesting to you.

Women’s roles in WWII Prisoners of War

Survivors of the war Family on the home front
Hitler or the Nazi party Government responses after WWII

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Appendix 2: Task cards based on RAFT
Female worker: You were a female worker employed in one of the women’s auxiliary services
located in Australia during World War II. Your task is to create a discussion that your grandchild
who is studying WWII at school can use in her presentation. You need to include information
about what your job involved, what you were paid and what people’s opinion of you as a female
worker was. You have 300 words to write this.

Prisoner of War: You are a prisoner of war imprisoned in a camp by an enemy force. You have
managed to steal some paper and a pencil to write down your thoughts about life as a POW.
Your task is to write down how you were imprisoned, how long you have been in the camp, any
punishments you have received and what your living conditions are like. You have 300 words to
write this.

British mother: You are a woman living in Britain whose husband and son have been
conscripted to fight in the war. Your task is to write a letter to a friend in Australia and describe
how war has impacted your life at home including the limited food availability and rationing as
well as how conscription forced your loved ones to go to war. You have 500 words to write this.

WWII survivor: You are a survivor of an aspect of WWII (chosen individually) and have been
invited to speak about your experiences on a televised talk show (such as Dr Phil, Sunrise etc).
Your task is to create an interview script that you will use on the show. You have 500 words to
write this.

Nazi soldier: You were a Nazi soldier sent to oversee the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration
camp where you were responsible for the murder of thousands of people during WWII. You are
now on trial for your actions at the Nuremberg Trials. Your task is to write a testimony that you
will present to the judge and jury justifying your actions during the war to prevent your
imprisonment or death sentence. You have 750 words to write this.

Presidential/ Prime Ministerial Candidate: You are a government candidate running for
President or Prime Minister in the USA, Britain or Australia in the 1946 election. Your task is to
write a campaign speech that outlines how you will bring your country out of the shadow of war
by repaying debts, rebuilding cities and making new jobs. You have 750 words to write this.

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Appendix 3: Task Sheet and Rubric for RAFT

10 HISTORY SUMMATIVE TASK

Learning Area: History

Year Level: 10
Teacher/s: Beaton
Due Date: Friday Week 4

Description of Task:
Using the RAFT strips provided to you, choose one of the two options and produce a
creative written response about the lasting impact of World War II on different people,
groups or places.

In your response, you will need to take on the ROLE of the provided character and write
about the TOPIC in the FORMAT outlined to your specific AUDIENCE.

You will have Lesson 1 during Week 4 to research any additional information you need to
complete this task. You can also use this time to research the format you have chosen. By
the beginning of Lesson 2 in Week 4, you need to have created a plan for how you will write
this assessment.

You will be given 50 minutes during Lesson 2, Week 4 to write this assignment. It will be
completed under test conditions in class.

1 2 3 4
Content Students have Students have Students have good Students have a
limited knowledge some knowledge on knowledge of the thorough knowledge
of the impact of the impact of WWII, impact of WWII, of the impact of
WWII, with no with some with numerous WWII, supported by
examples of how it examples provided examples provided. very detailed
affected different More examples examples of how it
people could have been affected different
used and in more people
detail.
RAFT Students did not Students generally Students mostly Students fully
adhere to the role, adhered to the role, adhered to the role, adhered to the role,
audience or format audience and audience and audience and
of their chosen format of their format of their format of their
RAFT strip. They chosen RAFT strip chosen RAFT strip. chosen RAFT strip.
did not make but lacked They made They text was easy
connections to the relevance in some connections to the to follow and often
overall topic and the sections. More topic most of the related back to the
text was difficult to connections to topic time, but it lacked topic.
follow. needed. some clarity.
Spelling and There were There were some There were a few There were no
grammar numerous spelling spelling and spelling and spelling and
and grammar errors grammar errors and grammar errors, but grammar errors.
that interrupted the some sections were they did not The text was easy
flow of their text. It unclear and difficult interfere with the to read and
was generally to read. flow of the text. It evidently proofread.
unclear or difficult to was mostly clear
read. and easy to read.

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Appendix 4: Exit Card for Lesson Closure

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