DIFFERENTIATING
INSTRUCTION WITH
MENUS
A choice for learning
THERE ARE 5 DIFFERENT MENUS
 Tic-Tac-Toe Menu
 List Menu
 20-50-80 Menu
 Baseball Menu
 Game Show Menu
20-50-80 MENU
 Time for this menu to be completed is one week
 Works best with in-depth study of one topic
 No Free Choice because point values need to be assigned based on
Bloom’s Revised taxonomy
 With this menu students will complete one activity at a higher level
of thinking in order to reach their point goal
FREE CHOICE
 With most menus, the students are allowed to submit a free choice
for their teacher’s consideration
 Proposal forms must be submitted before students begin working
on their free-choice products
 Once approved, the forms easily can be stapled to the students’
menu sheets and the teacher can refer to the agreement for the graded
features of the product
LIST MENU
 Time period for this menu to be completed is two weeks
 This menu can be used for more than one topic
 Requires advanced planning ~teacher must have all materials ready at
the beginning of the unit for the students to be able to choose any activity
on the list
 Students have complete control over their grades by doing the required
work; those still learning can choose lower level point value projects to
reinforce the basics before jumping into the higher level activities
TIC-TAC-TOE MENU
 Time needed to complete is usually one to three weeks
 Eight predetermined choices and one free choice for students
 All choices are created at the same level of Bloom’s Revised
taxonomy and carry the same weight for grading
 Only covers one to three topics
 Friendly design is easy for students to understand
BASEBALL MENU
 Time needed to complete is usually four to five weeks
 Twenty predetermined choices, given values as singles, doubles,
triples, or home runs based on Bloom’s Revised taxonomy
 Singles represent remember and understand, double- apply and
analyze, triples-evaluate, home runs-create
 This menu is best for one topic with many objectives for in-depth
study
GAME SHOW MENU
 Time to complete this type of menu is four to six weeks
 Most complex menu, covers multiple topics or objectives with at least
three predetermined choices and a free student choice for each objective,
choices are assigned based on the levels of Bloom’s Revised taxonomy
 It has the flexibility to allow for individualized contracts for different
learning levels with in the classroom
 Students and parents must understand the guidelines for completing
the menu
MENUS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN
A VA R I E T Y O F WAY S
 Enrichment and Supplemental Activities
 Standard Activities
 Mini-Lessons
G U I D E L I N E S F O R P RO D U C T S
 Different types of products are included in the featured menus, as well
as guidelines and expectations for all products
 $1 Contract- is part of the product criteria- this limits the amount of
money a child can spend, and creates an equal amount of resources for all
students- encourages creativity
 Products are listed and chosen to meet different learning styles- visual,
kinesthetic, or auditory - explanation of the criteria for all products
RUBRICS FOR MENUS
 All –Purpose Rubric
 Student –Taught Lessons
 Oral Presentation Rubrics
 Student Feedback Rubric