I remember sitting in my classroom a few years ago, staring at a stack of generic curriculum guides and then looking at my students. In one corner, I had a student who could tell you everything about the history of space travel but struggled to write a single sentence. In another, I had a student who was non-verbal but could navigate a tablet faster than I could. I realized then that "teaching to the middle" wasn't just ineffective—it was impossible. If you’re a new teacher feeling overwhelmed by the word "differentiation," take a deep breath. You’ve likely heard it a thousand times in grad school, but in the trenches of special education, it looks a lot less like a colorful Pinterest board and a lot more like a strategic battle plan. It’s about creating multiple entry points to the same mountain peak. When I’m coaching teachers, I always tell them: don’t work harder by making thirty different lessons. Work smarter by making one lesson accessible in three diff...