UDL Checklist

This past week, I posted a updated lesson plan.  This was a revision of a previous lesson I had created awhile back.  The changes that I made were in response to the concepts that I learned about Universal Design for Learning.  These are simple modifications used to make your lesson work for any student.  This is a checklist that I used to evaluate the lesson.  It is accessible here!  I highlighted the barriers to my previous lesson and made the changes.  I also identified some features that my original plan highlighted.  Do you use UDL?

UDL Guidelines – Educator Checklist
I.      Provide Multiple Means of Representation:	Your notes
1.     Provide options for perception
1.1  Customize the display of information
1.2  Provide alternatives for auditory information	Barrier: The students only received the content verbally.  By showing the students examples of the torn book, they can visually see which words had letters and which ones didn’t.
1.3  Provide alternatives for visual information
2.     Provide options for language and symbols	Barrier:  The students only have the knowledge from what I told them earlier, so if they have some confusion about concepts, they didn’t have support.  To prevent this barrier, I could provide an anchor chart that remains in my classroom that we create together.  This will remind the students of what needs capitalizing.
2.1  Define vocabulary and symbols
2.2  Clarify syntax and structure
2.3  Decode text and mathematical notation
2.4  Promote cross-linguistic understanding
2.5  Illustrate key concepts non-linguistically
3.     Provide options for comprehension
3.1  Provide or activate background knowledge	Features:  The students know a lot about writing stories and they know that their name needs to be capital and the start of sentences.  I’m activating this, and then teaching them about the new content.
3.2  Highlight critical features, big ideas, and relationships
3.3  Guide information processing	Barrier:  We worked together, but I never allowed them support in their processing.  An easy modification would be to have mini-conferences with each student.
3.4  Support memory and transfer
II.    Provide Multiple Means for Action and Expression:	Your notes
4.     Provide options for physical actions
4.1  Provide varied ways to respond
4.2  Provide varied ways to interact with materials
4.3  Integrate assistive technologies
5.     Provide options for expressive skills and fluency
5.1  Allow choices of media for communication	Feature: The children will use the digital story book to tell the story.  They will record their voice and upload their image.
5.2  Provide appropriate tools for composition and problem solving
5.3  Provide ways to scaffold practice and performance
6.     Provide options for executive functions
6.1  Guide effective goal setting
6.2  Support planning and strategy development
6.3  Facilitate managing information and resources
6.4  Enhance capacity for monitoring progress
III.   Provide Multiple Means for Engagement:	Your notes
7.     Provide options for recruiting interest
7.1  Increase individual choice and autonomy	Barrier:  The students do not get a choice throughout.  I assign the letters of the alphabet and the assignment.  An easy modification would be to allow them to choose which letter they write a page for.
7.2  Enhance relevance, value, and authenticity	Feature:  The students love my son.  They get very excited anytime I use him in my teaching.  Therefore, they will be more likely to be engaged if they have an authentic audience.
7.3  Reduce threats and distractions
8.     Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
8.1  Heighten salience of goals and objectives
8.2  Vary levels of challenge and support	Barrier:  The lesson had only one expectation for sentence creation.  By conferencing with the students, I could use that time to vary the challenge for individual students.
8.3  Foster collaboration and communication	Barrier:  This lesson had minimal peer to peer communication.  To change that, the children can share and review their completed sentence to guarantee that it makes sense and it correct.
8.4  Increase mastery-oriented feedback
9.     Provide options for self-regulation
9.1  Guide personal goal-setting and expectations
9.2  Scaffold coping skills and strategies
9.3  Develop self-assessment and reflection	Barrier:  The students never assessed themselves.  The children can look at their work during the conference.  As a whole class, we can assess the accuracy while watching the story book.

© CAST 2009