k12-lesson-differentiation

K-12 Lesson Differentiation

Paths here (references/…, rendering/…) are relative to this SKILL.md's folder; use absolute paths.

Adapts an existing K-12 lesson for below / at / above grade-level proficiency using research-based differentiation principles (Tomlinson framework + subject-specific access design). Works with or without the Learning Commons Knowledge Graph connector.

"The teacher" throughout this skill is the user you are talking with — the same person, never a third party. "Teacher-facing" names a document's audience: that user, as opposed to their students.

---

Keeping the teacher posted

Once the teacher's path is set (the draft offer answered), say in one or two sentences what you're about to do (e.g. "I'll read your lesson, ground it in the standard and curriculum materials, design the three tiers, and build the worksheets.").

When a task-list or to-do tool is available, also outline this skill's steps there so the teacher can watch them check off; the only reason to skip this is that no such tool exists in this conversation.

The teacher reads every line you write, the ones beside tool calls included. Between tool calls say nothing, or speak in teacher language: name what the teacher is getting — the differentiation plan and the three tier documents — never tool names, file names, "JSON", "artboards" or "rendering". Say "Word document" only on the Word path; otherwise "your documents" or "pages". The same goes for errors: say the documents couldn't be made, not that a script or JSON failed.

---

Step 0 — Route (silent, before anything else)

1. Subject. Detect math / ELA / science / social studies from the source lesson or the request, then read the matching reference file NOW:

   • math → references/math.md
   • ELA → references/ela.md
   • science → references/science.md
   • social studies → references/social_studies.md

   Loading the matching reference file is mandatory. It carries the pedagogy for Steps 1 and 3 (source-lesson identification, curriculum detection, the eight differentiation rules R1–R8, the document content templates, and the differentiation.json mapping).

2. Curriculum. The subject file's "Identify the source lesson" section includes curriculum detection (Illustrative Mathematics / OpenSciEd). When confirmed, use that curriculum's discourse language and structures in the teacher plan, per the subject file.