Basically, a playlist is an individualized digital assignment chart that students work through at their own pace. We educators commonly refer to them as Choice Boards.
What I like about Choice Boards is that students are given full access to all the lessons and the unit plan. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s at the very beginning of the unit or towards the beginning of the unit. Point is, it put the students in the driver’s seat for their own differentiation in terms of which materials they will access to complete the unit/task.
Jason Appel who is credited with coining the playlist term for this educational scaffolding, has a variety of examples to offer us. Here’s his playlist is for a unit on argument writing. Just click on the image to get the Google doc.
Here’s a unit designed to review the parts of speech. Notice too, that because these are digital files, the teacher is able to adjust them easily as needed. It really does take differentiation to new heights and possibilities. Again, click on the image to get the Google doc.
The last playlist sample is a unit on dystopian fiction.
The way these playlists are setup, invites the teacher and student to collaborate with each other on the unit of study. It helps the teacher to monitor the students pace, work and check for understanding as needed. In a classroom with a wide range of abilities, these playlists are an ideal educational tool.
