Diversity and Differentiation

If you walked into my classroom you would not think it was very diverse. Out of 31 students (ours numbers are dropping), we have only one mixed student and two twin Hispanic students. Beside this our students can pretty easily be categorized into athletes and quiet students. The majority of students in my class are involved in some time of athletic group or band. These students are usually very energetic and chat with each other all of the time. The students who are not into sports are my "quiet students." They consist of about 20% of the class. Because of the this, often my quiet students fade in the background.

I have tried to break the students up into groups of varied ability level. This is somewhat difficult because since our class is small and we sit so close together, I also have to make sure that many of my students are not seated anywhere near each other. To make sure that my "quiet students" are not left out, I try to include a student in their group who will ensure that they won't be overshadowed by the more chatty students.