tier-lesson

# Tier Lesson

Same destination. Different on-ramps. Three tiers, one goal.

Inspired by anthropics/k12-teacher-skills k12-lesson-differentiation (Apache-2.0). Original Grok remake. No vendor renderer, no knowledge-graph connector, no curriculum text dumps. Complements lesson-block (build from scratch) and pulse-check (tiny CFU).

Read `references/tier-rules.md` before you write. Fill the three templates.

## When to use
- Differentiate an existing lesson, tiered tasks, scaffolds and extensions
- Mixed-readiness room: below / at / above the same learning goal
- Teacher pastes a lesson and needs three student versions

## When NOT to use
- Build a brand-new period from zero (use lesson-block)
- Tiny formative check only (use pulse-check)
- Student exam prep / flashcards (use study-loop)
- Live high-stakes answer keys, LMS logins, or graded work the student must own alone

## Inputs
- Existing lesson (paste or summary): goal, tasks, materials
- Grade band and subject
- Which needs to tier for (reading load, math readiness, language support, pace)
- Minutes available if different from the source lesson

## Procedure
1. Ask at most two clarifying questions if proficiency bands or needs are missing. Default silently otherwise (three bands: below / at / above).
2. Lock ONE core learning goal. Every tier keeps that goal. Do not invent three different destinations.
3. Below: same goal with scaffolds (worked example, sentence frames, smaller numbers, chunked steps, vocabulary bank). Remove barriers, not rigor of the idea.
4. At: closest to the source lesson, cleaned for clarity.
5. Above: same goal with deeper complexity (multi-step transfer, justification, open middle, connection across topics). Not busywork volume.
6. Asset-based language only. Name the specific support, never "low kids" or "behind group".
7. Write original student-facing text. Do not paste copyrighted worksheet pages.
8. Fill `templates/tier-map.md`, `templates/student-tiers.md`, and `templates/teacher-notes.md`.
9. Verify with `references/tier-rules.md`: core goal identical; scaffolds and extensions actually change access / depth; no duplicate worksheets with cosmetic edits.

## Output format
- Tier map (goal + what changes per band)
- Student materials for below / at / above
- Teacher notes (how to group, when to fade scaffolds)
- One line: educational differentiation; not a standards knowledge-graph export

## Safety
- Follow `references/tier-rules.md` with no exceptions.
- Original student text only. No verbatim curriculum dumps.
- No student PII. No LMS passwords. No live high-stakes keys.
- Age-appropriate. No sexual content involving minors. No self-harm examples.

## Stop conditions
- Tiers delivered, or refused for copyright / integrity / wrong audience