> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.learningcommons.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # K-12 Lesson Differentiation > Reference documentation for the K-12 Lesson Differentiation Agent Skill. [Skill last updated July 14, 2026](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/k12-lesson-differentiation?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills) The K-12 Lesson Differentiation Agent Skill was co-developed with [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/) ↗. ## Overview The K-12 Lesson Differentiation skill adapts an existing K-12 lesson for students at different proficiency levels (below / at / above grade level). It produces one teacher-facing differentiation plan plus three student-ready tier documents in Turn 1, all rendered from one master JSON via bundled scripts. Shared content is written once so tiers cannot drift. The skill uses research-based differentiation principles (Tomlinson framework + subject-specific access design) and works with or without the Learning Commons Knowledge Graph. The skill considers: * Source lesson identification from conversation history, uploads, or URLs * Subject-specific differentiation rules and document templates * Curriculum detection (for example, Illustrative Mathematics or OpenSciEd) * State-specific standards anchoring when jurisdiction signals are present * Grade-level demand preserved across all tiers ## At a glance | | | | :------------------ | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Workflow** | Differentiate an existing lesson into below / at / above proficiency tiers | | **Subjects** | Math, ELA, science, social studies | | **Grades** | K–12 | | **Knowledge Graph** | Strongly recommended via [Quickstart: Connect Knowledge Graph](/agent-skills/getting-started/quickstart#connect-knowledge-graph) | | **Repository** | [skills/k12-lesson-differentiation/](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/k12-lesson-differentiation?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills) ↗ | ## Getting started Follow the [Quickstart](/agent-skills/getting-started/quickstart) to start using this skill: | Access method | | | :---------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Knowledge Graph MCP** | [Quickstart: Connect Knowledge Graph](/agent-skills/getting-started/quickstart#connect-knowledge-graph) | | **Example prompts** | [example-prompts.md](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/example-prompts.md?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills#lesson-differentiation) ↗ | | **Skill instructions** | [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/k12-lesson-differentiation/SKILL.md?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills) ↗ | ## Triggers Your LLM will programmatically load this skill when explicitly or implicitly prompted to differentiate, tier, or scaffold an existing K-12 lesson: * **Explicitly**: "differentiate this lesson," "tier for below/at/above," "scaffold for struggling and advanced students" * **Implicitly**: "my students are at different levels," "I have struggling and advanced students" ## Output | Artifact | Description | | :-------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Teacher-facing differentiation plan** | Plan explaining tier design, preserved core content, and scaffolding choices | | **Below-level student materials** | Tier with scaffolding that preserves grade-level standard demand | | **At-level student materials** | On-grade tier aligned to the source lesson | | **Above-level student materials** | Extension tier with increased depth or complexity | | **Rendered files** | Editable `.docx` Word documents on confirmation | ## Rubrics The K-12 Lesson Differentiation skill's outputs are scored by the folllowing [rubrics](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/tree/main/evals/k12-lesson-differentiation/rubrics?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills) ↗. | | | | :------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Subjects** | Math, ELA, science, social studies | | **Repository** | [evals/k12-lesson-differentiation/rubrics/](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/tree/main/evals/k12-lesson-differentiation/rubrics?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills) ↗ | | File | Description | GitHub | | :--------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **differentiation.csv** | Tiered differentiation criteria — below / at / above proficiency design, preserved core content, and grade-level demand across tiers | [View in GitHub](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-differentiation/rubrics/differentiation.csv?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills) ↗ | | **clarifying\_question.csv** | Scorer for model clarification behavior before generating tiered materials | [View in GitHub](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-differentiation/rubrics/clarifying_question.csv?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills) ↗ | ### How to score 1. Generate differentiated materials using this skill. 2. Apply `differentiation.csv` to the tiered artifacts and `clarifying_question.csv` to evaluate the model's pre-generation clarification behavior. 3. Run LLM-as-judge or human review against each criterion. See [Evaluating outputs](/agent-skills/getting-started/evaluating-outputs). See [ATTRIBUTION.md](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-differentiation/ATTRIBUTION.md?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills) ↗ in the repository for source credits. ## Skill release history | Date | Changed | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | July 14, 2026 | First release, co-developed with Anthropic |