Scaffolding in teaching means supporting students by breaking a concept or task into small pieces. Teach each step. Allow students to practice the skill and then build on that knowledge. Picture the scaffolding on a building that allows a painter to safely access heights not otherwise possible. The concept is the same!

Teachers are masters in this area! Providing support at multiple levels to meet the differentiated needs of the learners in front of us is our super power.

How is scaffolding useful in teaching a skill?

Scaffolding helps level the playing field for students who need and deserve lessons that are written in a way that is accessible to them. While students are developing their executive functioning and problem solving skills, they will need support with breaking apart tasks. Scaffolding allows students to access to grade level content.

Think about your student who listens to all instructions. He nods along and verbally responds that he is ready to start a task. Then, when it is time to work he raises his hand and says, “I don’t know what to do”. This student who we all know and love will thrive once he has some scaffolding around this assignment.

Scaffolding Examples

Below are two assignments that have the scaffolding built into the lesson! You can download them for free for a good example of two different ways you can use scaffolding in your classroom.

This Memorial Day activity comes with three levels. Each student is practicing the same skill and learning about the same topic. You can download it for FREE! A wonderful example of scaffolding to accommodate the abilities of the individual students you serve.

This Writing Intervention Journal has the scaffolding built into each page. Rather than requiring students to jump directly into writing a full sentence from a prompt, students are lead through the process one step at a time. You can download it for FREE!