Effective lessons can be created by taking into account the various factors that can influence the learning of each individual child and the class as a whole. Planning a lesson is a rigorous process carried out by the teacher, in which he or she analyzes children and their ability level, depending on the subject, in order to provide lessons that can provide a valuable educational experience for all. When introducing a topic for the first time, the teacher must first surface the children's prior learning, and then build on their existing knowledge using scaffolding, in relation to Principle 4. Scaffolding “essentially consists of ' adult control of those elements of the task that are initially beyond the student's capacity” (Wood, Bruner, and Ross 1976:90). Teachers provide a temporary support structure, scaffolding, by breaking the topic down into simple steps for children to understand, in order to “help students develop new understandings, new concepts and new skills” (Hammond and Gibbons 2001: 8) . The scaffolding can then be removed when children no longer need appropriate guidance to understand the topic. Scaffolding has been used effectively in my teaching, where the topic was non-fiction texts and the aim was for children to write a biography. We studied an eBook on the life of Neil Armstrong and identified the specific characteristics of a nonfiction biography. After examining the grammar, structure and key aspects of the text, the final assignment involved writing a biography of a fictional character. The children explored the qualities an astronaut needs, concluding with a lively debate about which imaginary candidate should be chosen to go on a secret mission to Mars. They voted and decided on a fighter p...... middle of paper ...... and aware of their capabilities, when given the opportunity to complete the same undifferentiated task, lower-level players performed as well as higher-level ones and wrote an imaginative biography, as the label disappeared when sitting at mixed-ability tables. The setting often means that students can become “disillusioned and demotivated by the limits placed on their achievement within their sets” however in a mixed ability context, the possibilities for achievement are endless, as children are not limited by their group (Boaler 1997: 592). . Children in "low-ability groups" are often aware of the low expectations adults have of them, and streaming children creates distance between ability groups, while cooperative learning allows children of different abilities to work together effectively, and I witnessed this during the lesson (Sapon Shevin 2005).