UDL Guidelines

Engagement

• Checkpoint 7.1 (optimize individual choice and autonomy) and 7.2 (optimize relevance, value, and authenticity) as it gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in a way that is relevant to them socially and gives them another option to choose from when practicing a skill.

• Checkpoint 7.3 (minimize threats and distractions) as it allows all students to participate in class discussions by having them do so through their videos instead of speaking out in front of the classroom.

• Checkpoint 8.3 (foster collaboration and community) as it allows students to be grouped together, which can be decided based factors such as interests.

Action and Expression

• Checkpoint 5.1 (use multiple media for communication) and 5.2 (use multiple tools for construction and composition) as it gives students the opportunity to reply to prompts, engage with other students, and express their knowledge in video format on the web.

• Checkpoint 5.3 (build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance) as teachers can give feedback to students on their videos through comments on the video.

It can be used to address learners who are ELL’s by allowing them to share their knowledge verbally where they don’t have to be concerned about speaking in front of a group or in writing the information down incorrectly.

UDL Guidelines

Engagement

• Checkpoint 7.2 (optimize relevance, value, and authenticity): the videos and activities that present the information are presented through hip-hop, making them culturally relevant and appropriate for different gender, racial, and cultural groups.

Representation

• Guideline 2.1 (clarify vocabulary and symbols): every lesson includes multiple exercises that focus on the vocabulary of the lesson and allow students to engage with learning the meaning of vocabulary words in multiple ways.

• Checkpoint 2.3 (support decoding of text, mathematical notation, and symbols): it includes text-to-speech as a feature in the videos to provide verbal scaffolding.

• Checkpoint 2.4 (promote understanding across languages): pictures and videos are used to support vocabulary clarification.

• Guideline 2.5 (illustrate through multiple media): presents information via video and song.

Action and Expression

• Checkpoint 5.1 (use multiple media for communication): students can compose projects using hip hop, which they could present in various ways.

It can be used to address learners who are ELL’s by breaking down vocabulary that they don’t know in multiple creative ways that will clearly define their meaning for them.

UDL Guidelines

Representation

• Checkpoint 1.1 (offer ways of customizing the display of information): teachers can edit the resources found on the site and can change how the information is displayed to make it more accessible for the various needs of students before printing it out.

• Guideline 2.1 (clarify vocabulary and symbols): the lessons include questions on vocabulary and what the meaning of words are.

• Checkpoint 3.2 (Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships): each lesson plan involves reading comprehension questions that are asked as the story is read to summarize what has been read so far and check for student understanding.

• Checkpoint 3.3 (Guide information processing and visualization): students use graphic organizers to process and visualize information.

• Checkpoint 3.4 (maximize transfer and generalization): many of the lessons include graphic organizers that support note taking so that students can revisit concepts later.

Action and Expression

• Checkpoint 5.2 (use multiple tools for construction and composition): many of the lesson plans involve tools such as concept maps and story webs for students to use to organize information.

It can be used to address learners who have information processing disorders by giving them graphic organizers to keep track of the characters and events that are happening in the story as they happen.

UDL Guidelines

Engagement

• Checkpoint 7.3 (minimize threats and distractions): participation in the review games is web-based and anonymous, ensuring that students who are hesitant to speak up in front of their peers can freely express their understanding of a concept. It also allows the whole class to participant in discussions by giving everyone equal opportunity to weigh in.

Representation

• Checkpoint 1.2 (offer alternatives for auditory information): students can follow along with mini lessons and quizzes as the text is presented in written format.

• Checkpoint 2.1 (clarify vocabulary and symbols): interactive quizzes can involve multiple choice questions on the meaning of a vocabulary word and the teacher can discuss the correct meaning after students weigh in.

• 3.1 (activate or supply background knowledge): quizzes can be created based on previously taught information or on information that a students have yet to learn as a way for the teacher to know what they are familiar with already.

Action and Expression

• 4.1 (vary the methods for response and navigation): students answer using their computer devices instead of raising their hands, which is useful for students of all types but for those with physical disabilities in particular.

• 5.1 (use multiple media for communication) and 5.2 (use multiple tools for construction and composition): students can show what they know using their own presentations on a subject and the quizzes give students the ability to showcase their knowledge in an alternative way.

It can be used to address learners with physical disabilities, those who are nonverbal, and those who are reluctant to participate verbally by giving them an alternate way to demonstrate their knowledge. It can also keep easily distracted learners engaged by game-ifying their involvement through frequent quiz check-ins.

UDL Guidelines

Engagement

• 7.1 (optimize individual choice and autonomy): students who are using the app to schedule in break times can choose what kind of activity they are working toward is built into their schedule.

• 7.3 (minimize threats and distractions): students know exactly what step of an assignment they are working on, what is required of them for that step, and how much time they need to actively spend on the step.

• 9.1 (promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation) and 9.2 (facilitate coping skills and strategies) as it supports students who may be anxious or have difficulty focusing by scheduling in break times to work toward or managing their workload by breaking down a task into simpler steps.

Representation

• 3.3 (guide information processing and visualization): it can help to “chunk” information into smaller sections so as not to overwhelm students and tells them explicitly what to do for each step.

• 3.4 (maximize transfer and generalization): provides a schedule for students to follow, which teaches them how to break steps of a task down, how to set reminders for themselves about where they are in a task, and keep track of what they still need to accomplish.

Action and Expression

• 6.1 (guide appropriate goal setting): the schedule teaches students how to set goals and check off objectives.

It can be used to address learner variability in students who are anxious about long term projects or who have behaviors that make staying on task difficult by breaking tasks down into more manageable parts and giving them scheduled times to disengage from the task. It can also help learners with memory issues keep track of where they are in a task and what they need to focus on.

UDL Guidelines

Engagement

• Checkpoint 9.1 (promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation): it supports self-reflection and identification of personal goals by allowing students or teachers to create quizzes that a student can take to test their understanding of story elements and then set goals based on the results.

• Checkpoint 9.3 (develop self-assessment and reflection): it allows students to track their progress through the quiz tool by comparing their different results over time.

Representation

• Checkpoint 3.2 (highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships): allows students to use graphic organizers like mind maps to highlight specific ideas such as differences in stories and flow charts to emphasize key elements in a story.

• 3.4 (maximize transfer and generalization): provides a template for note taking.

Action and Expression

• 5.2 (use multiple tools for construction and composition): provides concept mapping tools to help students compose their own stories or thoughts about a story.

• 6.3 (facilitate managing information and resources): provides graphic organizers such as mind maps and flow charts to organize information from the stories they read or plan to write.

• Checkpoint 6.4 (enhance capacity for monitoring progress): allows students to track their progress through the quiz tool by comparing their different results over time

It can be used to address learner variability in students with information processing issues by allowing them to visualize information in graphic organizers.

UDL Guidelines

Engagement

• Checkpoint 7.3 (minimize threats and distractions): allows students who do not know the meaning of a word or phrase to be able to look it up instead of having to speak up and ask, which may be uncomfortable for them.

Representation

• Checkpoint 2.1 (clarify vocabulary and symbols): embeds support for unfamiliar references in a text by explaining the meaning as well as then connecting it to similar phrases or words. It can also give the definition of simple words.

• Checkpoint 3.1 (activate or supply background knowledge), checkpoint 3.2 (highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships) and checkpoint 3.4 (maximize transfer and generalization) by using visual imagery in the form of a word diagram to show the connection between words and phrases with those words.

Action and Expression

• Checkpoint 5.3 (build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance): acts as a scaffolding tool to assist students with learning words while they are learning to speak English.

It can be used to address learner variability in students who are ELL’s as it not only gives them the ability to look up words that are unfamiliar to them, but also allows them to see the various other uses of that word and how they are connected to each other, strengthening their vocabulary.

UDL Guidelines

Engagement

• Checkpoint 8.2 (vary demands and resources to optimize challenge): provides alternatives in permissible scaffolds through graphic organizers that students can use to collect their thoughts and explore elements of a story.

Representation

• Checkpoint 1.2 (offer alternatives for auditory information): provides visual diagrams that students can follow along with to keep track of the story elements.

• Checkpoint 2.1 (clarify vocabulary and symbols): provides a dictionary for embedded vocabulary support.

• Checkpoint 2.4 (promote understanding across languages): includes a language translation feature for students who need further help on understanding the meaning of a word.

• Checkpoint 3.2 (highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships): teachers are able to use graphic organizers to make connections between different stories or compare and contrast characters and stories.

Action and Expression

• Checkpoint 5.2 (use multiple tools for construction and composition) and checkpoint 5.3 (build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance) as the use of graphic organizers helps students to organize their thoughts and keep track of stories and explain their understanding of a story.

It can be used to address learner variability in students with learning disabilities who have a difficult time keeping track of information and noticing the connections between things without visualization.

UDL Guidelines

Representation

• Checkpoint 1.3 (offer alternatives for visual information): offers text-to-speech options so that students can listen to text when it suits them.

• Checkpoint 2.1 (clarify vocabulary and symbols): students can use the built in dictionary to both read a definition of a word and see an associated picture that helps them to further understand.

• Checkpoint 2.3 (support decoding of text, mathematical notation, and symbols): offers a text-to-speech feature to help students decode unfamiliar words.

• Checkpoint 2.4 (promote understanding across languages): students can use the picture dictionary to look up unfamiliar words.

Action and Expression

• Checkpoint 5.1 (use multiple media for communication): students can compose their thoughts in an audio format using the audio maker.

• Checkpoint 5.2 (use multiple tools for construction and composition): the app has text-to-speech software and gives students the ability to check their spelling and grammar.

• Checkpoint 5.3 (build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance): the spelling and grammar software that is built into the app can assist students with their writing skills until they have mastered them and no longer need to use it.

It can be used to address learner variability in students with dyslexia through the Screen Mask tool, which functions as a line reader so that the student can more easily keep track of the words they are reading.

UDL Guidelines

Engagement

• Checkpoint 7.1 (optimize individual choice and autonomy) as students are given choices for expressing their learning using a variety of project templates.

• Checkpoint 8.1 (heighten salience of goals and objectives) as the teacher can provide rubrics on the website under each student’s project that the student can refer back to.

• Checkpoint 8.3 (foster collaboration and community) as the students can be grouped according to their interests and can collaborate with each other on the projects they create.

Action and Expression

• Checkpoint 5.1 (use multiple media for communication) as students can demonstrate their knowledge through paintings, animations, videos, writing, and comic books.

• Checkpoint 5.2 (use multiple tools for construction and composition) as students can record their voices and use the recordings in their projects instead of strictly using text.

It can be used to address learners with poor writing skills such as ELL’s or those with learning disabilities by allowing them to create projects that demonstrate their knowledge in creative ways.