Differentiation9 min read·

How to Plan ELL, IEP, and Gifted Supports in One Lesson

Inclusive planning is not three different lessons. It's one objective with deliberate supports, accommodations, and extensions mapped to the same core task.

Use one shared objective

Begin with a common objective all students can work toward. Then adjust access, complexity, and output supports by learner need.

This keeps rigor consistent while making entry points realistic.

Build a support matrix

Plan three lanes: support scaffold, core task, and extension challenge. Every lane should connect to the same success criteria.

For ELL and IEP students, prioritize language scaffolds, chunking, and clear models. For advanced learners, increase depth and transfer.

Place supports where they are used

Avoid putting differentiation in a disconnected notes section. Put sentence stems, visual supports, and challenge prompts inside the exact activity where students need them.

This makes implementation easier during live instruction.

How LessonCraft supports inclusive planning

LessonCraft captures ELL/IEP/gifted class needs up front and reinforces concrete support language in the generated plan. You get topic-specific scaffolds and extension prompts tied to lesson flow instead of generic add-ons.

Turn this strategy into a ready-to-teach lesson

Start free with up to 10 structured plans per month. Upgrade when you want extra lesson variants, advanced refinements, and Pro tools.

  • • Free: 10 structured lesson plans/month
  • • Pro: Tournament + Discussion variants and section-level refinement
  • • Pro: Word/PDF exports plus parent letters, vocab lists, slide outlines, and exit tickets

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Put these strategies into practice

LessonCraft builds structured lesson plans with differentiation, pacing, and assessment — so you can spend less time planning and more time teaching.

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