Produce three tracks of the same task in ninety seconds

Produce three tracks of the same task in ninety seconds

The gap between what "differentiated learning" is supposed to mean and what it looks like in Period 4 on a Thursday is wide. What it should look like: three versions of the same task, all hitting the same learning intention, sitting on desks side by side, indistinguishable enough that no student feels streamed. What it actually looks like: one worksheet, and a shrug at the top three kids who finish it in eleven minutes. AI cuts the drafting time on the good version by about a factor of ten, which is the difference between doing it and not.

The prompt

You are helping me build three parallel versions of the same task, so I can run one differentiated lesson tomorrow without writing three separate lesson plans. All three versions must hit the same learning intention. All three must be doable in the same time. All three must LOOK similar enough on the desk that no student can tell which track they are on from across the room.

You are working in the tradition of Tomlinson's differentiation (same LI, varied route) and Sweller's cognitive load theory (worked-example effect, faded scaffolding). That means:
- The stretch track removes scaffolds and adds transfer, not new content.
- The standard track is the task as I would run it for the middle of the class.
- The scaffolded track keeps the SAME task and adds scaffolds, worked steps, sentence starters or a partial solution. It does NOT swap in an easier task.

CONTEXT
- Year level: [YEAR LEVEL]
- Subject and unit: [e.g. Year 8 Maths, linear equations]
- Learning intention (one sentence, the same for all three tracks): [PASTE]
- Success criteria (up to three, the same for all three tracks): [PASTE]
- Lesson time available for the task: [e.g. 25 minutes]
- The class in one honest line: [e.g. "27 students, roughly a third who need scaffolds to start, a third at standard, three or four who finish everything early and coast"]
- Any students I want to name and route specifically: [PSEUDONYMS, one line each. "goes on scaffolded" / "goes on stretch" / "watch, likely standard but stretch by Wednesday"]

THE TASK I ALREADY HAVE
[PASTE the task, worksheet, problem set, writing prompt, or investigation as it currently exists. If I only have the idea and not a written version, say so and give me the idea in two lines.]

PRODUCE, IN THIS EXACT ORDER. NO PRE-AMBLE. START WITH SECTION 1.

1. THE STANDARD TRACK
The task, written cleanly, ready to hand out. This is the version most of the class does. Keep it as close to my original as possible. If my original was messy or contradicted the LI, fix it and tell me in one line what you changed.

2. THE SCAFFOLDED TRACK
The SAME task. Not an easier one. Add:
- A one-sentence orientation at the top explaining what the task is asking.
- A worked first example (or first paragraph, or first step) done for the student, with the reasoning shown.
- Sentence starters, partial solutions, or a fill-in-the-blanks structure for the first third of the task.
- The remaining two-thirds of the task, unscaffolded, so the student still practises the full move by the end.
Do NOT reduce the number of questions. Do NOT switch to an easier text or a smaller number set. Do NOT change the LI.

3. THE STRETCH TRACK
The SAME task, with:
- Scaffolds and hints removed.
- One transfer question added at the end that applies the same move to a new context (a novel data set, a different text, a real-world scenario).
- If the standard task is closed-ended, add one open-ended part. If it is open-ended, add a constraint that forces sharper thinking.
Do NOT add more questions of the same kind. Do NOT introduce content from a later unit.

4. THE LAYOUT NOTE
One paragraph. How I should print or project these so students receive the right track without an announcement. Suggestions: same header, same font, same page count, coloured dot in the corner keyed to a class list I keep on my desk. Be practical, not theoretical.

5. THE ROUTING CALL
For each named student in my context block, one line naming which track they get and why. If I have not named students, one paragraph on how I should make the call in the first two minutes of the task, based on what I would see.

6. THE MIS-ROUTE RECOVERY
Two lines. First: what I do if a student on the scaffolded track finishes early and clearly did not need the scaffolds. Second: what I do if a student on the stretch track stalls in the first five minutes.

RULES
- Australian English throughout. Year 8, not 8th grade. No em-dashes, no en-dashes anywhere. Commas and full stops only.
- Do not open with "here are three differentiated versions" or "great task". Start with Section 1.
- Do not add group work, gallery walks, or "students share their thinking with a partner" unless my original task included them.
- If the LI I gave you cannot be genuinely three-tracked in the time available, say so in one sentence at the end and propose a narrower LI. Do not silently narrow it and pretend that was my ask.
- The three tracks must all be gradable against the same success criteria. If they are not, the scaffolded track is a different task and you have missed the point.

What it does well

The three tracks share a learning intention, a rubric, and a look on the desk, which is the whole difference between differentiation and streaming. The scaffolded track is the piece the prompt gets right where humans usually get it wrong: it keeps the task, adds scaffolds, and preserves the last third unscaffolded so the student still practises the actual move. Most manually-drafted "easy versions" swap in an easier task, which lets the bottom third off the hook and widens the gap you were trying to close.

Where it falls over

The routing is on you. The prompt can suggest a routing move in the first two minutes, but it cannot tell you which of your kids is a coasting stretch and which is a wilting scaffolded, and getting that call wrong once will cost you their trust for the term. Second, the model will occasionally produce a "stretch" task that is really just the same task with harder numbers, which is not stretch, it is drudgery. Push back and ask for a transfer question specifically. Third, this prompt eats context. A vague LI produces three vague tracks. Twenty seconds spent tightening the LI is the highest-yield twenty seconds you will spend all week.

Try it like this

For Year 9 English on analytical writing: the standard track is a paragraph with a given topic sentence. The scaffolded track keeps the paragraph, gives the topic sentence and models the first piece of evidence with a linking sentence. The stretch track removes the topic sentence and asks the student to write two paragraphs that argue opposite positions from the same evidence.

For Year 7 Maths on ratio: the standard track is six ratio problems. The scaffolded track keeps the six problems, adds one worked example at the top and a labelled diagram for the first two. The stretch track has the same six problems and one seventh question that gives students a real-world scenario (a recipe, a scale drawing) and asks them to invent the ratio problem, then solve it.

For VCE Legal Studies on a case study: the standard track is the case study analysis. The scaffolded track adds a two-line glossary of the tricky legal terms and a sentence starter for the analytical opener. The stretch track adds a second, contradictory case and asks the student to resolve the apparent conflict.

If you only have five minutes: run the prompt for the standard track only, and add the scaffolds for the bottom third by hand, in red pen, on the printed copy in the ten minutes before the bell. Scaffolds you write yourself over the top of a good standard sheet are often sharper than the ones the model drafts anyway.

Differentiation stops feeling like a whole second lesson plan when the three tracks share a rubric, a header, and ninety seconds of drafting time.