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Name: Ronie Daniels

Date: 11/16/14
Instructor: Lindsay Oram
Section: SPC_ED 4020-03
Differentiating Instruction Using Universal Design for Learning
Lesson Plan Project (150 points)
This assignment has 6 Parts:
Part 1: Lesson Plan Critique: You will find and critique an existing lesson plan
Part 2: Analyzing the Barriers and Considering Solutions: You will consider how
this lesson plan will meet the needs of students with disabilities (See Target Student
descriptions) and complete the UDL Chart
Part 3: Preparing Your UDL/DI Lesson Plan: You will respond to a series of
questions that demonstrate your understanding of curriculum design using the principles
of differentiated instruction and universal design for learning
Part 4: Presenting Your UDL/DI Lesson Plan: You will develop a revised lesson plan
by applying the principles of differentiated instruction and universal design to your
original lesson plan to make significant improvements to it.
Part 5: Explaining and Defending Your Instructional Decision-Making: You will
explain and defend your instructional decision making as it relates to students with
disabilities.
Part 6: Extra Credit Opportunity: Extra Credit Opportunity: Include 2 special
education resources that you find/discover yourself and include the recommendations in
your lesson plan
PART 1: LESSON PLAN CRITIQUE
First, find a lesson plan!
It should be a lesson that you would like to teach in the future.
It must be on the same topic as your journal research project
It can be a lesson you have developed or taught (including one that has been turned in to
another class for a grade), one you have watched someone else teach, or a lesson you
have found on the internet
BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE ACTIVITY, PLEASE BRING YOUR LESSON
PLAN TO CLASS AND ASK YOUR INSTRUCTOR OR TA TO APPROVE IT.
ACTIVITY 1: LESSON PLAN CRITIQUE DIRECTIONS:
Please type your responses directly on this page under each item.
Attach a copy of the lesson plan that you will be critiquing and adapting.
Answer all questions fully using complete sentences and detailed explanations.

________________________________________________________________

Rules Of Forces And Motion

Objectives
Students will
Demonstrate an understanding of the terms force, gravity, friction, and speed
Experiment with the effects of mass and friction on speed and motion
Understand that friction and other forces have an effect on speed and motion
Materials

Forces and Motion video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
Books, blocks, or other stacking materials
36" x 12" (1 m x 30.5 cm) pieces of smooth plywood or other sturdy, flat material, 1 per
group
Small toy cars with moving wheels, one per student group
Pennies, washers, or other small uniform objects with weight, 6 per group
Tape
1-foot sheets of heavy duty sand paper, 3 per student group
3-foot (1 m) sheets of wax paper, 1 per student group
3-foot (1 m) sheets of bubble wrap, 1 per student group
Pencils and erasers
Science journals or writing paper
Stop watch (or watch with second hand), 1 per student group
Meter stick, 1 per student group
Computer with Internet access (optional)

Procedures
Talk about the concept of motion. How do objects move? A good way to
introduce this topic is to review Forces and Motion . After watching the program, discuss
the different types of forces at work in the world. How do they help or hinder motion?
Ask students to describe examples of gravity and friction.
Tell students that they will be conducting an experiment with motion and forces.
Demonstrate making a ramp by placing one or more books under one end of the plywood.
Show students how to gently push the toy car down the ramp and then measure the speed
and distance it traveled with a meter stick and stopwatch. Talk about ways to make the

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car travel faster or go farther. Discuss the forces at work on the car. What makes it move
toward the bottom of the ramp? What keeps it from moving faster? Discuss the effects of
gravity and friction on the toy car.
Divide the class into groups of 3-5. Give each group about 5 books, blocks, or
other stacking materials, the plywood, and a toy car and ask them to find an open space in
the classroom to set up their ramps. Allow the groups a few minutes to experiment with
their ramps, rolling their cars down different height ramps to see what height allows the
car to go the fastest and farthest. What does increasing or decreasing the angle of the
ramp do for the motion of the car?
After this initial exploration, ask groups to stick to the angle of ramp they found
works the best for the remainder of the lesson. Have them record a drawing of their ramp
in their science journals or on a piece of paper, and, next to the illustration, ask them to
write the amount of stacking materials they used to create the ramp and the height of the
ramp. Tell them to gently push the car down the ramp three times and record the distance
and speed at which it traveled each time. What is the fastest and farthest their cars
traveled? Have them find the average speed and distance their cars traveled down the set
ramp and record this in their journals (or on the paper).
Give each group six pennies, washers, or other uniform metal objects. Have them
all feel one and talk about the weight of it. Then, have them tape three pennies or washers
onto the top of their toy car. Ask them to hypothesize whether they think this added
weight would make the car move faster or slower. Tell students to again roll the car down
the ramp three times, recording the speed and distance for each separately. Then have
them find the average of the three trials. Did the car move faster or slower with the added
weight? Why do you think this is? Talk about mass and how it affects speed.
Have students tape the remaining three metal objects to the top of the car. What
will happen this time? Ask them to record their hypotheses before conducting three more
trials, remembering to record the speed and distance from each trial and then find the
average. What happened this time? Was the hypothesis correct? What forces are at work
making the car move differently with the added weight? Ask them to explain the effect a
greater mass had on the movement of the car and have an open discussion about gravity
and friction.
Give each group pieces of sand paper, wax paper, and bubble wrap. Tell the
groups that they will now be experimenting with friction. Have them remove the metal
objects taped to the car and tape the wax paper to the ramp. Ask them to refer back to
their earlier recordings of the speed and distance their cars traveled down the ramp
without the added weight. Do you think the car will move faster or slower on the waxy
surface? Will it travel as far or farther than on the plywood? After recording their
hypotheses, have students conduct three trials on the wax paper ramp, recording the
speed and distance their cars traveled each time. Then have them find the average speed
and distance. Was the hypothesis correct? Did the waxy surface make a difference in the
way the car traveled? Was more or less friction at work?
Have students remove the wax paper and attach the sand paper to the ramp. Ask
them to hypothesize whether the rough surface will create more or less friction for the
car. Will their car move faster or slower on the sand paper? Have students conduct three
trials on the sand paper ramp, recording the speed and distance their cars traveled each
time. Then have them find the average speed and distance. Was the hypothesis correct?

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Did the sand paper surface make a difference in the way the car traveled? Was more or
less friction at work?
Repeat the tasks in Step 8, this time using bubble wrap instead of sand paper. Did
the toy car move faster or slower when riding on the bubble wrap? Which of the four
surfaces (wood, wax paper, sand paper, or bubble wrap) provided the most friction?
Which provided the least? Ask students provide examples of friction. How does rain
affect the roads? How does the traction on different tires change how a car moves?
Reexamine what they have learned about motion, mass, forces, speed, and friction. If
there's time, allow students to continue the experimentation online with an interactive
activity on the following Web site: http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/KineticEnergy/

Evaluation
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
Three points: Students were highly engaged in class discussions; were highly focused and
worked well in their experiment groups; followed directions well and successfully
completed the experiments; and were able to demonstrate a solid understanding of the
effects friction, gravity, and mass have on motion and speed.
Two points: Students were somewhat engaged in class discussions; were somewhat
focused and participated in their experiment groups; followed directions for the most part
and successfully completed the experiments with little outside assistance; and were able
to demonstrate a basic understanding of the effects friction, gravity, and mass have on
motion and speed.
One point: Students participated minimally in class discussions; were unfocused and did
not participate in their group experiments; were unable to follow directions without
outside assistance; and were unable to demonstrate a basic understanding of the effects
friction, gravity, and mass have on motion and speed.
________________________________________________________________________
1. Describe the source of the lesson plan. (Where did you get the plan? If you retrieved it
from the Internet, cite your source.)
I found my lesson plan on the Internet. First, I went to google.com and searched for lessons
plans on force and motion. Then, I explored the different lessons that were shown to me via
Google. I decided on a lesson plan called Rules of Forces and Motion. You can find this
lesson on discoveryeducation.com.
"Lesson Plan Library." Rules Of Forces And Motion. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/rules-of-forces-andmotion.cfm>.
2. Standards - Does the lesson meet grade level or common core standards? If yes, how do
you know? What standards will be met in this lesson? (Give the content area, number,
citation, etc. for the standard so someone could find the standard from your information).

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This lesson relates to some NGSS 3rd grade science standards. Students who understand motion
and forces can demonstrate understanding of how to plan and conduct and investigation to
provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
(3-PS2-1.) Each force acts on one particular object and has both strength and a direction. An
object at rest typically has multiple forces acting on it, but they add to give zero net force on the
object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the objects speed or direction of
motion. (PS2.A) Objects in contact exert forces on each other. (PS2.B)

3. Instructional Objectives:
Read the article by Winegarden before completing this part.
List the instructional objective(s) from your lesson plan below.
Underline the performance.
Italicize the conditions.
Bold the criterion.
After conducting an investigation on forces and motion, students will we able to, understand
key terms such as: force, gravity, friction and speed. Students will also be able to understand that
friction and other forces have an effect on speed and motion, receiving a grade of 85% or
better.
See my example:

Following lecture and readings on UDL, students in this class will be able to
complete an inclusive lesson plan, receiving grades of 80% or better.

Critique the objective(s) using the criteria set in the Winegarden article.
Do the instructional objectives in your lesson plan meet the criteria set by
Winegarden? Describe why they do or do not. (For example, your instructional
objective may be missing one of the parts, may use wording that is not
observable, etc).

4. Assessment: Fully discuss the following:

How is student learning being assessed?
Students are being graded on whether they were highly engaged in the class discussions, if
they followed directions well and completed the assignment, and if they were able to
demonstrate a proficient understanding of the effects friction, gravity, and mass have on
motion and speed. I believe that this grading will take place as the teacher goes through
their science journals and inspects their work.

Is there more than one assessment?

One could infer, that the students will be mostly formatively assessed during this investigation.
The teacher must simply observe the students to see if they are highly engaged in the class
discussion. In order to see if the students have completed the assignment, the teacher may look in
their science journals and see if the students answered every questions and explained their
procedures in detail. So, there are likely two assessment in this investigation, the first one is
formative and the second one is summative.

Does the assessment (outcome measure) fully address the instructional objective?

The assessment will fully address the instructional objective if the students are required to
make inferences about their data. The lesson doesnt require this of students. Moreover, the
lesson plan assessment is a little vague, it states that the students will be graded on whether they
can demonstrate a deep understanding of forces and motion but doesnt go in to detail of how a
student might demonstrate this. If I were the teacher, I would assess this by looking at the
conclusions students drew from their findings.

Does the assessment align with the standards?

I believe that the overall lesson or investigation aligns with the standards. However, the
assessment portion does not directly relate to the standards I listed above. The evaluation
assesses whether or not the students understand how force and motion work. If the lesson
explained how to assess this criteria it would align with the standards.

Is it logical that the instructional activities prepare students to complete the

assessment?
Yes, it is logical that the instructional activities prepare student to complete the assessment. This
is because students will be conducting an investigation and they should be able to make
inferences based on the date they find. The teacher should act more as a facilitator during this
lesson. For example, as the students are recording the time it takes for the car to run down their
ramps, the teacher should ask, What happens if we put wax paper on our ramps?..Will are cars
more faster or slower? After asking students questions, the teacher should ask them to conduct
an experiment to support or defend your answers.

What barriers do you see for students with disabilities based on the assessment
plan in your lesson plan?

It may be difficult for student with disabilities to make inferences based on their
findings/data. It also may be frustrating for students with disabilities to stay focused on one part
of this assignment for too long. Also, it may be difficult (for someone who doesnt know their
basic number facts) to graph/record their data in this experiment. Lastly, it may be hard for

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someone who struggles in English to understand and follow verbal directions alone. Some
students may need verbal and written language in order to feel comfortable with the assignement.

5. What comments/concerns do you have about the appropriateness of this lesson for
students with disabilities?
I am concerned that students with disabilities will think this lesson is too difficult for them
to complete. Also, I am concerned that students with disabilities will not be able to finish to
lesson in the time allotted and will depend on their group members increasingly.

PART 2: ANALYZING THE BARRIERS AND CONSIDERING SOLUTIONS

Target Students: Please keep these students (and and other students who may struggle to learn)
in mind when completing the following activities and improving your lesson plan.
Elementary Students
Sherry is a friendly little girl. She likes to help the teacher. But, many of her skills are below
grade level. She doesnt know all of her letter sounds and still confuses similar sounds like i/e,
b/p, and this can be seen in her reading and spelling. Similarly, she does not know her basic
number facts. She has a more limited vocabulary than her same age peers and struggles with
comprehension, not just in reading, but also in listening and following directions.
Jimmy is an active little boy! He fidgets with things on his desk, talks to himself and his
neighbors throughout class, calls out without raising his hand, and is out of his seat. He can get
very frustrated with long activities and assignments. But, Jimmy is very smart and he likes to do
well. He gets very excited to start new books/math skills, but he rarely finishes his work or turns
in homework.
Terrance likes routines. He becomes agitated when the class schedule changes. He likes to be
near his peers, but does not make eye contact or interact. He does not seem to know how to play
or converse at grade level. While he has a lot of vocabulary, his comprehension is weak and he
doesnt understand figurative language and is not able to make inferences. He excels in math and
has a great memory for facts. Every once in awhile, Terrance has a melt down and then he is
hard to console.
Regina is a second language learner. Her everyday English skills are good, and she has many
friends. She is quiet, polite, a hard worker, and obviously cares about school. But, in her home
country, Alicia did not attend school regularly, and her literacy in her primary language is
limited. In academic studies, Alicia struggles with vocabulary and complex content area
concepts. Alicia rarely speaks in class, and seems shy to ask for teacher time, even when it is
clear she does not understand the material. Her grades in all of her subjects are quite low.
ACTIVITY 2: COMPLETING THE UDL CHART: DIRECTIONS:
1. From the assignment folder in Blackboard, please print the UDL Chart.

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2. Complete the UDL Chart and attach it to your assignment.
3. For barriers list and describe any barriers to learning for students with disabilities (and
other students who may struggle to learn) posed by your original lesson plan and for your
particular content.
4. For solutions, that you will recommend to address the barriers, please:
a. consider the target students,
b. consider your original lesson plan,
c. refer to the UDL principles, including guidelines and checkpoints available at
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines, and
d. consider evidence-based practices for students with disabilities that you have
learned about through your readings, online and in class-activities in this course.
e. If you refer to other resources, please provide full citations that demonstrate their
effectiveness for students with disabilities.
***Information pulled from class discussions and the following website:
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines,
PART 3: PREPARING YOUR UDL/DI LESSON PLAN
In Part 3, you will begin making instructional decisions and planning for your students with
disabilities. You will answer a series of questions and complete activities to help you complete
Part 4.
First:
1. Please describe your previous experience in completing lesson plans (how many, what
content, planning for students with disabilities):
I have completed a lesson for each of my courses this semester. This includes a science
lesson, math lesson, health lesson, and literacy lesson. I have not created any lessons that involve
planning for students with disabilities ever. In fact, when asked to create lessons in my courses
this year, students with disabilities arent discussed. This is the first lesson I will create while
keeping in mind potential students with disabilities.

2. Please describe your Phase II teaching experiences (how many lessons have you taught?
who did you teacher? what did you teach?):
As stated above, I have created a science, math, health, and literacy lesson this semester. I
have taught various grade levels. I taught kindergarteners and first grades a literacy lesson. Ive
taught fourth and fifth graders science. Ive taught third graders health and second graders math.
Moreover, Ive taught all of these lessons at Benton Elementary, which is a TITLE I school.
ACTIVITY 3: IDENTIFYING STANDARDS: DIRECTIONS
1. Standards: List the state standards/common core standards/other standards specific to
your discipline (e.g. NCTM for math or NEA for art) that will be addressed as a result of
student learning in this lesson (You may copy, cut, and paste them directly into this

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document)
I would like for my students, in a third grade class, to learn the standards I addressed in Part I of
this activity. Fortunately, this lesson meets some of the NGSS science standards listed regarding
force and motion. I would like to change the way this lesson is implemented instead of changing
the standards it meets.
The standards meet: Students who understand motion and forces can demonstrate understanding
of how to plan and conduct and investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and
unbalanced forces on the motion of an object. (3-PS2-1.) Each force acts on one particular
object and has both strength and a direction. An object at rest typically has multiple forces acting
on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause
changes in the objects speed or direction of motion. (PS2.A) Objects in contact exert forces
on each other. (PS2.B)

ACTIVITY 4: PLANNING FOR INCLUSIVE INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. Read the article by Schumm, Vaughn, & Harris
2. Print the Planning Pyramid document from your Blackboard folder and review the
example.
a. *Remember that the bottom of the pyramid meets your standards and that you are
planning up so that each student will be challenged and reach their potential for
learning.
3. As you complete the Planning Pyramid, consider,
a. the standards you have identified
b. your original lesson plan
c. every student in your class meets the standards (the bottom of the pyramid)
d. your brightest students are challenged in your curriculum (the tip of the pyramid)
i. How can you challenge these students without giving them more work?
4. Attach your Planning Pyramid to your assignment

ACTIVITY 5: PLANNING FOR INCLUSIVE INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. Review the Winegarden article
2. Consider the standards you have identified
3. Refer to your Planning Pyramid
4. Develop 3 instructional objectives and list them below. To receive full credit, your
instructional objectives must:
a. be observable and measurable
b. include a performance, condition, and criterion
c. align with standards
d. align with your planning pyramid

After conducting an investigation on forces and motion, students will we able to, understand

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key terms such as: force, gravity, friction and speed. Students will also be able to understand that
friction and other forces have an effect on speed and motion, receiving a grade of 85% or
better.

INSTRUCTIIONAL OBJECTIVE 1: Before conducting an investigation on forces and motion,

Students will be able to form a testable question and then plan an investigation of the forces that
cause an objects motion. Students will be formally assessed on whether they prepared a
testable question or not, receiving full credit or no credit.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVE 2: After conducting an investigation on forces and motion,
students will understand that some forces can cause changes in the objects speed or direction of
motion and that they exert forces on each other and will display this new knowledge in a group
presentation, receiving a grade of 85% or higher.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVE 3: After conducting an investigation on forces and motion,

students will understand that objects move when there is an outside force affecting the object.
Student will be assessed on their knowledge through the work they do with their groups and their
recordings, receive a grade of 85% or higher.
ACTIVITY 6: PROVIDING ACCOMMODATIONS TO STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
Under federal law (IDEA and Section 504) students with disabilities are entitled to
accommodations specified in their IEP plansall day, every day, in every single lesson!!
As you will be a future member of IEP teams, in this activity, you will identify accommodations
to support target students and prepare to include those accommodations in your lesson planning.
1. Refer to the Accommodations List in your Blackboard folder.
2. From this list, select one reasonable accommodation for each of the target students (either
elementary or middle/secondary) that you will include in your UDL Lesson Plan.
3. Below, next to the students name, type the fair accommodation you believe matches the
students needs
Elementary Students
Sherry: This student may need to be accommodated by being provided instruction in writing for
various assignments. All homework instruction and assignments need to be clear and provided in
writing. Write down key words on the board to help this student take notes when you are
providing instruction and provide a legible outline before a lesson/lecture and with legible
teachers notes of the lesson/lecture.
Jimmy: Break instructions into short, sequential steps; dividing work into smaller short "miniassignments," building reinforcement and opportunities for feedback at the end of each segment;

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handing out longer assignments in segments; and, consider scheduling shorter work periods.
Provide regular guidance and appropriate supervision on planning assignments, especially
extended projects that take several days or weeks to complete.
Allow the student to move around. Provide opportunities for physical action pace in the rear of
the classroom, do an errand, wash the blackboard, get a drink of water, go to the bathroom, etc.
Make sure the student is always provided opportunities for physical activities. Do not use daily
recess as a time to make-up missed schoolwork. Do not remove daily recess as punishment.
Terrance: Prepare the student for transitions. Tell the student in advance when there is an
upcoming change to the routine. For example, tell the students when there are upcoming field
trips, transitions from one activity to another, etc. Also, supervise the child during transitions.
And finally, prepare the student in preparing for the end of the day and going home, supervise
the students book bag for necessary items needed to homework.

Regina: Make sure all homework instruction and assignments be clear and provided in writing
(not simply aloud). Provide this student with information that is clear and in writing Write down
key words on the board to aid in note-taking during sections that are "lecture-based." Provide this
student with a note-taker at all times to record classroom discussions and lectures.

ACTIVITY 7: INCLUDING EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES

In instructional planning for students with disabilities, you must include evidence-based practices
to ensure that they have access to your curriculum and the opportunity to learn.
1. Below, please describe your plans for including the required EBPs briefly.
a. For example, for cognitive strategy instruction, please tell the purpose of the
strategy and describe how you will teach it to your students.
2. To help you include these components, supportive readings and web-based resources are
posted in your Blackboard assignment folder.
In this lesson, to receive full credit, you must include each of the following in your lesson:
INSTRUCTION THAT IS NOT LECTURE OR TEXT-BASED (although you can include
lecture and text in your lessons as components):
My lesson is being conducted using the 5Es. This means that instead of the learning being
teacher directed, it is kid directed. The 5Es give children a chance to think and explore on their
own. This allows for children to be engaged with the days activities, because children seem to be
more interested when they are allowed to search for answers to their own questions.

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GROUPING FOR INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES (e.g. not all instruction will be delivered by
the teacher to the whole class):
The article entitled, Creating Learning Opportunities for Students With Severe Disabilities in
Inclusive Classrooms suggests allowing a student with special needs to get out materials, get into
groups, and clean up to include them in the days activities. When the class is doing working on
writing or story, the student can use pictures or items and parts of items to illustrate their work
and then add words or sentences to their picture. The article basically suggests that teachers
should get students with special needs involved in the days activities so that they have an
opportunity to learn.
There are multiple opportunities for students to work in groups in my revised lesson plan.
However, this article suggests for students with disabilities to be allowed to work in groups as
well as get out materials and help clean. I will provide these opportunities in my revised lesson
plan. Moreover, I will also give these students the option to draw pictures to demonstrate their
understanding of force and matter.

A COGNITIVE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY (Please attach a copy of the strategy to your

lesson plan):
I plan on providing an outline to my students during the lesson. This outline will go over every
step of the process and will provide many examples. I will use kid friendly language and provide
definitions to many of the new words we will be discussing.
The article, Reading Comprehension Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities has
shown that integration of instruction devices allows teachers to select, organize, and present
difficult to understand material and make the text more meaningful for the students including
students with LD. Research indicated that instruction using graphic organizers, story maps that
emphasize story grammar elements in narrative texts, outlines, and story lines, etc., increase text
comprehension and recall for students with LD.

A GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (Please attach a copy of the graphic organizer to your lesson plan):
I plan on using a graphic organized in my lesson to help students gather their thoughts and began
to plan their investigations.
After reading the article entitled, Strategies for Adapting Science Textbooks for Youth with
Learning Disabilities, I learned that it is a great idea to go over the graphic organizer as I teach
the lesson. Then after the instruction, give students an empty graphic organizer and asked them
to fill it out independently this time. According to the article above, if these graphic organizers
are used corrected, then the students average test scores across the board should be higher.

A FORM OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

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In the article, Can Assistive Technology Help Us to Not Leave Any Child Behind, I learned many
ways to that I could use assistive technology to help my students. To meet physical therapy
goals, the students could use the computer for teaching bilateral hand control, impulse control,
visual scanning, visual discrimination, prewriting, and developing spatial skills. Computers can
also be used in teaching such cognitive skills like sequencing, problem-solving, making choices,
and improving memory.
CD-ROM storybooks are a good option for children. The article mentions that CD-ROMS offer a
means to close the gap between experienced readers and not so experienced readers.
In my revised lesson, I plan on using a CD-ROM storybook that will allow students whose
comprehension and literacy skills arent up to part. This should help close the gap between the
experiences and not so experienced readers.

ACTIVITY 8: PLANNING FOR ASSESSMENT

1. Please attach copies of your planned assessments to your lesson plan.
2. Below please address the following questions:
a. Are your assessments aligned with (a) your planning pyramid, (b) your
instructional objectives, (c) the standards, and (d) your activities?
Yes, the rubric assesses the objective of the lesson plan, and the objectives were
created using the standards that were met by the lesson plan. The rubric I will create
will assess the knowledge students learned from their investigations and the graphic
organizer I will provide assesses the students abilities to create/plan an investigation.

b. Are your assessments inclusive for students with disabilities? Do you anticipate
any barriers? If so, how will you either accommodate students or use principles of
UDL to enable students to demonstrate their learning?
My assessment of the students show-and-tell presentations has been modeled to
accommodate students with disabilities. One UDL principle states that teachers
should foster collaboration by allowing students to work in groups and build off of
each others thoughts and opinions. I allowed for students to work in groups during
this lesson so that hopefully their peers may help students with disabilities. The
assessment also allows for students to draw a picture to demonstrate their understand
of force and motion. I am worried that some students will be afraid to speak in front
of their peers, if this happens, I plan to take a look at the childs picture and gently
ask him/her to explain what certain things mean.

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PART 4: PRESENTING YOUR UDL LESSON PLAN

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Please select a lesson plan format that is appropriate to your discipline.

You may use the format provided by your department, program, etc.
You may keep the format of the lesson you chose to critique.
You may use a format common to the schools you are working in.
You may find a template that you like on the internet.
*Please be sure to include student accommodations in your lesson plans
Now, create an improved, differentiated lesson plan
a. consider your original lesson plan
b. integrate all of the elements you have developed in previous activities
8. Attach your lesson plan to the assignment!
Here are a few example lesson plan formats:
5 Es is commonly used in Science:
http://rmmsmsp.ucdenver.edu/files/5_e_lesson_plan_template.pdf
The Hunter model is another commonly used lesson plan
http://raider.mountunion.edu/~schnelpl/ED%20355ME345/MadelineHEightSte.pdf
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/132226777/Madeline-Hunter-Model-Lesson-Plan-Form
PART 5: EXPLAINING AND DEFENDING YOUR INSTRUCTIONAL DECISION
MAKING
1. Connections to Research:
a. Below describe how you included the findings from your research journal project
in your lesson plan.
i. *Be very specific in this response, citing the references and page numbers
from the articles in your journal research project. You may include quotes,
diagrams, or documents to support your response to this question.

I included many of the findings from my research journal project in my lesson plan by creating
activities, allowing students options when demonstrating their learning, providing assistive
technology, and grouping my student for instructional purposes. I used four evidence based
resources from my project and implemented many of the strategies that were discussed within
the articles.
The article entitled, Creating Learning Opportunities for Students With Severe Disabilities in
Inclusive Classrooms suggests allowing a student with special needs to get out materials, get into
groups, and clean up to include them in the days activities. When the class is doing working on
writing or story, the student can use pictures or items and parts of items to illustrate their work
and then add words or sentences to their picture. The article basically suggests that teachers
should get students with special needs involved in the days activities so that they have an
opportunity to learn. There are multiple opportunities for students to work in groups in my

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revised lesson plan. However, this article suggests for students with disabilities to be allowed to
work in groups as well as get out materials and help clean. I will provide these opportunities in
my revised lesson plan. Moreover, I will also give these students the option to draw pictures to
demonstrate their understanding of force and matter.

The article, Reading Comprehension Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities has
shown that integration of instruction devices allows teachers to select, organize, and present
difficult to understand material and make the text more meaningful for the students including
students with LD. Research indicated that instruction using graphic organizers, story maps that
emphasize story grammar elements in narrative texts, outlines, and story lines, etc., increase text
comprehension and recall for students with LD. I used graphic organized in my lesson to help
students gather their thoughts and began to plan their investigations.
After reading the article entitled, Strategies for Adapting Science Textbooks for Youth with
Learning Disabilities, I learned that it is a great idea to go over the graphic organizer as I teach
the lesson. Then after the instruction, give students an empty graphic organizer and asked them
to fill it out independently this time. According to the article above, if these graphic organizers
are used corrected, then the students average test scores across the board should be higher.

In the article, Can Assistive Technology Help Us to Not Leave Any Child Behind, I learned many
ways to that I could use assistive technology to help my students. To meet physical therapy
goals, the students could use the computer for teaching bilateral hand control, impulse control,
visual scanning, visual discrimination, prewriting, and developing spatial skills. Computers can
also be used in teaching such cognitive skills like sequencing, problem-solving, making choices,
and improving memory. In my revised lesson, I plan on using a CD-ROM storybook that will
allow students whose comprehension and literacy skills arent up to part. This should help close
the gap between the experiences and not so experienced readers.

EBR Citations:
Downing, J. E., & Eichinger, J. (2003). Creating Learning Opportunites for Students
With Severe Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms. Teaching Exceptional Children, 36(1), 26.
(Jitendra, A. K., & Gajria, M. (2011). Reading Comprehension Instruction for Students
with Learning Disabilities. Focus On Exceptional Children, 43(8), 1-16.)
Lovitt, T. C., & Horton, S. V. (1994). Strategies for adapting science textbooks for youth
with learning disabilities. Remedial & Special Education, 15(2), 105.
(Weikle, B., & Hadadian, A. (2003). Can Assistive Technology Help Us to Not Leave
Any Child Behind?. Preventing School Failure, 47(4), 181-186.)

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2. Target Students: Describe how your lesson plan meets the needs of the target students
for the content. Include specific information for each student.
a. What features of UDL were most helpful to each student?
My lesson plan accommodates students because it calls for an outline to be provided
to the students of the lesson. This way those students who struggle with
comprehension, will be give the opportunity to see written instructions. However, the
outline will be separated into sections and not given to students at once to
accommodate student who may fell overwhelmed by seeing a big assignment.
Providing an outline to students may also help build fluencies with graduated levels
of support for practice and performance. Furthermore, it will provide many
definitions for those students who are struggling with literacy. The outline will be in
kid friendly language and will support students who are struggling with
comprehension of instructions.
My lesson plan accommodates students by fostering collaboration between students
and their peers. I allowed for the students to work in groups for their investigations as
well as for their presentations.
The graphic organizer I used in my lesson should help to activate or supply
background knowledge. As well as guide information processing, visualization, and
manipulation by highlighting big ideas or concepts.
Also, my lesson allows the students opportunities to be physically active. Children are
able to active during the motion walk that we will take as a class. It also allows
children to use tools and assistive technology. These things will help a student who
has a disability to be better engaged with the lesson

b. Describe how and when the accommodation you assigned to each student was
implemented.
Accommodations are implemented in the lesson sporadically. The accommodations
shouldnt just be implementing during the assessment, but should be implemented
through out the entire lesson to foster an environment of learning for ALL students. I
do simple things through out the lesson to accommodate students. For example, in the
engage phase of the lesson, I distribute an outline to students so that they may hear
the instruction verbally and see them written.
During the explore phase of the lesson we will work through a graphic organizer
together as a class. I will accommodate students with disabilities by written the things
the children say on the board and/or projector. And in the explain phase, I offer
students with disabilities the option of drawing their results and writing and a few
words or sentences about their pictures.

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3. Describe how you have used principles of UDL to make your lesson plan more inclusive.
Include at least 2 examples for each principle, list the guideline (include the number) and
the checkpoint (include the number) and describe how you used it and why:
Multiple Means of Representation
Example 1:
Guideline 1: Provide option for perception
Checkpoint 1.2: Offer alternatives for auditory information
I used this in my lesson by allowing students to extend their knowledge by listening to a CDROM storybook. This is an alternative to providing visual information and it incorporates a
difference media source. I did this in order to ensure that all learners have access to learning,
options should be available for any information, including emphasis, presented aurally.
Example 2:
Guideline 3: Provide options for comprehension
Checkpoint 3.1: Activate or supply background knowledge. Guide information
processing, visualization, and manipulation.
How I used it and why:

I did this by offering to give students an outline that explains the directions once more and offers
definitions to students who are struggling with literacy and ready comprehension. I also stated
that I would use kid friendly language. Also, during the explore phase, I activated and supplied
background knowledge by asking students questions and completing the what do you already
know section of my graphic organizer.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression
Example 1:
Guideline 4: Provide options for physical action
Checkpoint 4.1: Vary the methods for response and navigation
How I used it and why:
As stated above, I incorporated many opportunities for physical action through out my lesson
plan. The most noticeable activity that incorporated physical action was the motion walk we
did during the explore phase. This gave children an opportunity to explore and build on their
previous knowledge. I did this because learners differ widely in their capacity to navigate their
physical environment. In addition, learners differ widely in their optimal means for navigating
through information and activities. To provide equal opportunity for interaction with learning
experiences, an instructor must ensure that there are multiple means for navigation and control is
accessible

Example 2:
Guideline 5: Provide options for expressions and communication

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Checkpoint 5.3: Build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and
performance
How I used it and why:

In my lesson I offer multiple ways through which the students knowledge can be assessed.
Students are encouraged to demonstrate their learning through a presentation known as a showand-tell. Students who arent comfortable with the English language may choose to draw a
picture instead and discuss it with the class. I did this to accommodate students with disabilities
while also allowing children the experience of performing or speaking in front of their peers.
Fluency is also built through many opportunities for performance, be it in the form of an essay or
a dramatic production. Performance helps learners because it allows them to synthesize their
learning in personally relevant ways. Overall, it is important to provide options that build
learners fluencies.

Multiple Means of Engagement

Example 1:
Guideline 9: Provide option for self-regulation
Checkpoint 9.3: Develop self-assessment and reflection
How I used it and why:
Students are given the opportunity to reflect on their work during the explain phase of my lesson.
Some students will draw pictures and some will write out detailed explanation to explain their
investigations to the class. The big idea here is that we share results with each other and discuss
them just as scientist do. One important aspect of self-regulation is the personal knowledge each
learner has about what he or she finds motivating, be it intrinsic or extrinsic. By providing a
prompt for the show-and-tell assignment I am encouraging the students to self assess their
projects before presenting to their peers.
Example 2:
Guideline 7: Provide options for recruiting interest
Checkpoint 7.1: Optimize individual choice and autonomy
How I used it and why:
This lesson optimizes individual choice and autonomy by providing students the opportunity to
choose their own testable questions. Students will be more engaged in the assignment if they are
allowed to work on something that they find interesting themselves. I did this because, offering
learners choices can develop self-determination, pride in accomplishment, and increase the
degree to which they feel connected to their learning. Moreover, The right kind of choice and
level of independence must be optimized to ensure engagement.

4. Do you have any final questions or comments about this assignment?

Comment: Upon completing this lesson, I have learned that accommodating students is a lot of

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work. Moreover, you dont have to completely change your lesson to accommodate student with
disabilities, but you have make many accommodations. The accommodations that you will
implement need to be well planned out and you need to be prepared to use them before you being
your lessons.
Comment 2: I would suggest breaking this assignment up into three different parts. It is hard to
continue to add to the assignment when we havent discussed how to actually go about
implementing these guidelines into a lesson plan.