I just don't have time to create differentiated lessons.Are your most advanced learners getting the least support?
If you're like me, you've gone to conferences and workshops. You've bought books about differentiation. You've already heard lots of ideas. But you still haven't really implemented many of those ideas.
Why? Because workshops, conferences, and books leave you with more work! Despite the time and money invested, you still have to actually write the lessons.
But here's the thing.
You're good at working with students, building relationships, and actually teaching. That's probably why you became a teacher! That's what you should be able to focus on.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- Advanced students are learning things they already know.
- They have to ask, "I'm done. What do I do now?"
- They get a "challenge worksheet" – but it's really just more of the same.
- Advanced students end up tutoring or reading a book in the corner.
- Apathy sets in. Parents grow concerned.
Aim High to Begin With!
The answer isn't to aim for grade level and try to "differentiate up." That's like buying a medium shirt and "stretching it up." It just doesn't work (believe me I've tried!).
The answer is to aim high to begin with. Really high! And then add scaffolds as necessary.
But teachers don't have time. So that's what Byrdseed.TV does. We have hundreds of actually interesting projects and investigations that respect advanced students' brains.
That's why my favorite feedback was from a student. They said, "Everything at school is so linear. But Byrdseed.TV makes us think diagonally!"
You should not be expected to write your own differentiated curriculum!Teachers do not have time to write their own differentiated curriculum.
That's where Byrdseed.TV comes in. It's a library of lessons, projects, and investigations that you can use directly with your students. You can just press play. It's all planned for you.teachers can use directly with their advanced students. They can just press play. Everything is planned for them.
And we aim high. We know that there are students at every school who could not only meet this year's standards, but could meet next year's standards too, if they were given the chance. It's just that no one ever checks.
But we don't chase the impossible idea of asking teachers to run three tasks for every single lesson (on-level, struggling, and advanced)! We aim high to begin with, and then scaffold down as necessary. Even students who might be labeled "struggling" have the opportunity to go as far as they are able. They are not artificially restricted to a low-level task.
And these lessons are in a format that is dead simple to use. They're videos, broken into individual steps. Teachers can just press play - or students can run through them independently. We've planned everything out. It's an actual solution to differentiation.
Is Byrdseed.TV Right For Me?Is Byrdseed.TV Right For Our Situation?
I know that some folks work in self-contained classrooms, some are pull-out teachers, some push-in, some offer only enrichment, some even work remotely. Byrdseed.TV is purposefully flexible to meet your needs.
However, Byrdseed.TV is best suited for those who teach multiple subjects and work with students in grades 3 through 8.
Byrdseed.TV is purposefully flexible. It was planned to account for teachers who pull-out, push-in, teach remotely, or only see students once a week. For typical classroom teachers, Byrdseed.TV will be a piece of cake.
Byrdseed.TV is best suited for teachers who teach multiple subjects and work with students in grades 3 through 8.
I Love Byrdseed.TV!
Thousands of teachers from around the world use Byrdseed.TV with their students. They represent every continent (except Antarctica). The most common word in their Byrdseed.TV reviews is love. And they love Byrdseed.TV because their students love it.
"This was the best money I have ever spent on a teaching tool!"
Christine in Wisconsin
"I LOVE these videos. It's like having two teachers in my classroom."
Kristi in Ohio
"I love Byrdseed.TV. It is a lifesaver"
Lori in Washington
"Byrdseed.TV has always been amazing but during the last year, you have been elevated to SUPERAMAZINGFANTASTIC status. You have saved my students from super boring lessons."
Heidi in California
"I love Byrdseed TV! I use it as a resource and inspiration source! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and knowledge."
Kari in Texas
"I am the coordinator for our district gifted program. Byrdseed.TV is one of my favorite sites and one of the best investments I have made for the program."
Jeannette in California
"I absolutely LOVE all of the ideas on your site. I am using Byrdseed TV to differentiate activities for my clustered students to work on when the rest of the class is doing something they've already mastered."
Wendy in Washington
"Love, love, love Byrdseed TV... I used many ideas and lessons this year. The kids loved the lessons and were engaged!"
Tiffany in California
"I just subscribed to Byrdseed.TV and am loving it -- though it is kind of scary addictive in a binge-watching kind of way (that, by the way, is a compliment)."
Elizabeth from Florida
Hello! I'm Ian Byrd, and I create the resources here at Byrdseed.TV. Tens of thousands of teachers read my site Byrdseed.com every month. I spoke at more than two hundred education events. I taught in southern California, where I grew up. Nowadays, I live on Oahu.
Email any questions to: [email protected]