The document discusses strategies for teaching mixed ability classes, including: - Adapting materials so weaker learners can participate while stronger students remain challenged. - Using self-adjusting activities that scaffold instruction based on students' responses. - Employing collaborative tasks that require students to work together and support each other. - Assigning different roles to students within group activities. - Setting open-ended tasks with low achievement thresholds to include all learners. - Providing the same task at different levels of difficulty according to students' abilities.

1. Teaching Mixed Ability
Classes
By Nick Michelioudakis

2. • To look at how we can adapt materials for Mixed Ability
classes.
• To consider ways of ensuring weaker learners participate
while stronger students still feel challenged.
• To ensure we do not undermine the confidence of weaker
learners.
Session Aims

3. • You are going to listen to a description of two beautiful places
in Saudi Arabia.
• WS Task: Write down the numbers you hear (there are 10 of
them).
• SS Task: Write down the numbers you hear AND what they
refer to.
A1: Different Tasks
[Receptive Skills]

4. • Work in pairs. You are going to tell your partner a little story
– that happened to you, BUT you are going to include 3 lies in
it. [Keep your story short: 2-3 min max].
• Before you start, make a note of these 3 lies on a piece of
paper (don’t show it to your partner yet!).
• As you tell the story, your partner has to guess which are the 3
lies.
• They score a point for each one they get right.
• Let me share a little story with you – what are the 3 lies?
A2: Self-adjusting
Activities

5. • Andrew was not dyslexic.
• He liked a sit-com – not
documentaries.
• When he passed his
exams, they did not
change his marks; they
moved him up the
streams.
A2: Self-adjusting
Activities

6. • Work in pairs. Decide who is going to be the WS and who is
going to be the SS.
• SS: You are going to study a picture for 30 seconds (try to
remember it in detail!).
• WS: You are going to study a description of the same picture
for 30 seconds.
• The description differs from the picture in some details.
Together, you have to describe the picture to each other (from
memory) so as to spot these differences.
A3: Collaborative Tasks

7. A3: Collaborative Tasks

8. There are many things on the bed. There are 6 books – 3 near
the suitcase and 3 more inside it. There are many yellow
pencils on the bed. Next to them there are 4 T-shirts. There
are also 2 shirts on the other side of the suitcase. The one on
top is mostly red with white buttons. The one under it is green.
There are two pairs of trousers in front of the suitcase (one is
green and the other one is brown). On the floor there is a pair
of brown shoes and a bottle of water.
A3: Collaborative Tasks

9. There are many things on the bed. There are 6
books – 3 near the suitcase and 3 more inside it.
There are many yellow pencils on the bed. Next
to them there are 4 T-shirts. There are also 2
shirts on the other side of the suitcase. The one
on top is mostly red with white buttons. The one
under it is green. There are two pairs of trousers
in front of the suitcase (one is green and the
other one is brown). On the floor there is a pair
of brown shoes and a bottle of water.
A3: Collaborative Tasks

10. • This is a dictation task. Work in pairs. One of you (the WS) is
the runner; the other one (the SS) does the writing.
• The text is on the wall at the front of the class.
• The WS has to run up to it, memorise as much as he can and
go back to dictate it to his partner (the SS). Then he has to go
back for more.
• The pair who manage to finish first are the winners (provided
they got the spelling right, that is!  )
A4: Different Roles

11. Papyrus - In Ancient Egypt people wanted to make paper to
write on. 3,000 years ago there were lots of papyrus plants in
Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians used papyrus to make a kind of
paper. It was difficult to make but it was light and easy to
write on. People in other countries started to use papyrus too.
But papyrus was very expensive. Only rich people used it.
Sometimes people used the papyrus then washed it and used it
again.
A4: Different Roles

12. • Work in pairs.
• You will be given a vocabulary quiz.
• You will have two minutes to answer as many of the questions
as you can.
• You have to answer at least 20 questions.
• Good luck! 
A5: Setting a low
threshold level

14. Work in pairs. Decide who is going to be the SS and who is
going to be the WS. You will both need pen and paper.
To play the game you have to take turns. First the SS chooses
a word (it is a ‘difficult’ word) and writes it down on a
piece of paper without showing it to his/her partner.
Then s/he speaks for 20-30 seconds; during this time s/he has
to use this word at least once.
While the SS is speaking, the WS has to listen carefully and
note down all the ‘difficult’ words that the SS uses. Then
s/he has to try to guess which word the SS has on his/her
slip of paper. S/he has 3 guesses.
A6: Different Level
[Productive Skills]

15. billboards

16. charity trophy
additives banknote
receipt volunteer
carvings manual
lungs maze
HIDE THE WORD – [HARD]

17. onion playground
waterfall elbow
shower path
toothbrush cereal
bridge helicopter
HIDE THE WORD – [EASY]

18. • We can use the same materials, but give different students different
tasks.
• We can give students self-adjusting activities.
• We can give students collaborative tasks.
• We can give students different roles.
• We can give students an open-ended task and set a low achievement
threshold.
• We can give students the same task but at a different level of
difficulty.
What can we do with
MA groups?

20. Hope you found
the session useful 
NB: All the video clips you have watched today can be found on YouTube
under ‘Comedy for ELT’ or ‘Psychology and ELT’. If you have any comments
feel free to contact me at nickmi@ath.forthnet.gr