Differentiation in the Mandarin Chinese Classroom

Hello Friends,

In one of my classrooms, I have the following groups of students:  

1. Heritage learners who want to learn more characters

2. Asian students whose language also uses Chinese orthography, so they find character writing quite easy.

3. GIEP students (Gifted Individualized Educational Program) who want to learn more characters

4. IEP students with autisim and reading disabilities who need special accomodations with writing.  They find character recognition and writing very difficult.

5. Non-IEP students who wrestle with learning characters

6. Non-IEP students who like the challenge of learning characters

Given this configuration, I'm wondering how you would differentiate and make accomodations for these groups of students as it relates to learning, writing, and reading characters.  Specifically, I'm interested in hearing how you would approach character learning and pinyin use.  If you have any specific examples from your own contexts, I'd be interested in hearing your findings and experiences.

Thank you,

BKF