Madison Nittinger

UDL Lesson Plan Reflection

This lesson has a variety of checkpoints included and gives all students the opportunity

to learn about the three regions of the thirteen colonies. I chose two main checkpoints from

engagement that I thought enhanced the lesson. Allowing students to participate in class

discussions is part of the checkpoint that minimizes risks or threats. Within the lesson, every

student gets a chance to be heard and validated throughout the lesson created. I value the

student’s input and the student’s love to share what they know. This improves the lesson

because it involves each student, which leads to higher levels of engagement. I also chose to

include the checkpoint of fostering collaboration and community. Within the lesson, the students

have clear roles in their group. They know that they will become an expert in whatever region

they chose and are responsible for sharing their findings with their group members. It improves

the lesson because it has the students taking responsibility for their learning and working

together to achieve a common goal. These two checkpoints overall, enhanced the engagement

of the lesson.

I also included two checkpoints from representation because a lot of my students are low

readers. I was able to clarify vocabulary and symbols used within the lesson. I had a review of

the important terms in the beginning of the lesson to ensure the students knew what we were

going to be talking about. I also included a video that has captions as well as visuals to help all

the students interpret the new information. This is related to the checkpoint of offering

alternative to auditory information. This is the most important checkpoint included in this lesson

because it benefits the most students. I used the video as a way to introduce the new

information so the students can then build upon the information they captured from the video. It

improves the lesson because it offers a different and more appealing way to learn about the

different regions rather than reading a book about it. It also helps those who are musically
inclined! Overall, having a variety of ways to represent information allows students more

chances to understand the information being taught.

The notes the students take are related to the checkpoint of facilitating and managing

information and resources. The notes provide a template for the students to follow so they can

being to practice how to take notes that are relevant to the topic. This improves the lesson

because the students are recognizing what is really important out of all the information in the

article they read or listened to. They could also be considered a guide for note-taking. This

guide allows the students to stay on task and reach the goal.

Throughout the lesson I was constantly thinking about how vastly different each student

is. I tried to think about my artistic students and have options available for them as well as my

students who struggle to read and those who are above grade level. Each student has options

available to them from drawing to listening to articles. They way they demonstrate their learning

also is up to them. If they are “overachievers,” they will be able to choose something that suits

them. If they struggle to write, they have the ability to choose a different way to demonstrate

their learning. This ensures that each student will be able to gain the information in some way

by the time the lesson is complete.

Plickers is a great way to quickly assess your students and see how they are doing.

Being able to see who needs further clarification on the vocabulary necessary for the lesson

allows the teacher to immediately review the vocabulary in a way that will benefit the student

that needs it. The way plickers works is each student has their own unique code and as you

scan the codes, you can see immediately who answered correctly and who still needs help. It is

appropriate for the learners because they are able to show what they know or don’t know

without worrying about their peers seeing if they got it right or wrong. The immediate feedback is

also beneficial for the students because they will get the reinforcement and further clarification

they need in order to be successful for the rest of the lesson.