Name: Jeremie Smith Content Area: Social Studies

Instructional Strategy and Accommodations Selection:

Brainstorming Checklist for Differentiation/Universal Design/Accommodations

Student for whom plan is being made: Jenna

Student Description Refinement
Jenna’s strengths of organization and motivation are assets that can help her be successful as a student. It is important that
teachers help her gain confidence in her abilities by tapping into these strengths.

Input: Student Characteristic(s) Suggested Rationale / Explanation of

(What is Taught) which pose(s) a challenge Differentiation/Universal Expected Benefits for
Design/Accommodation(s) Differentiation/Universal
Design/Accommodation

Students will be provided a
“Document Based Question”
packet that includes a general
introductory essay, and a
variety of primary source
documents. These documents
will be summarily reviewed as
a class discussion by putting
each on the overhead projector
one at a time.
Jenna’s difficulties in reading
comprehension, understanding
directions, and expressing her
ideas may make this assignment
a challenge.
Decreasing the reading difficulty of
the Introductory Essay and reducing
the number of Documents in her
packet will make the assignment less
challenging without detracting from
the instructional goals of the Lesson.
By using the Flesch-Kincaid reading level
function in Word to reduce the reading
difficulty of the opening essay, I will allow
Jenna to have access to the information given
to other students in a more approachable text
format. Additionally, Jenna will have fewer
documents to analyze and these will be chosen
to eliminate the documents that are
particularly difficult to read. Some documents
will also be revised using the Flesch-Kincaid
reading level function in Word to reduce the
reading difficulty level.

Finally, this project allows for a good portion

of independent student work. This has two
strong benefits for Jenna, she will be able to
work at her own pace and she will have ample
opportunity to have one on one assistance
from the teacher.
 Output: Student Characteristic(s)
(What the student does) which pose(s) a challenge
Clarifying Questions Jenna’s reading ability may
present difficulties in
understanding the
questions and interpreting
the corresponding Primary
Sources.
Jenna’s difficulty
Essay expressing her ideas in
writing could be a
significant obstacle in
completing the essay
assignment.
Peer Review The Peer Review
requirement may be the
most difficult part of the
project for Jenna because
of her shyness and
difficulty processing oral
language.
Suggested
Differentiation/Universal
Design/Accommodation(s)
Some Primary Source
Documents should be
eliminated because of high
reading difficulty level. The
corresponding Scaffolding
questions should also be
eliminated.
This aspect of the project will
be differentiated for Jenna by
providing a detailed Graphic
Organizer that helps her
connect the Scaffolding
Questions with organizing her
essay.
A document that lists in detail
the steps for conducting the
Peer Review will be added for
all students. The teacher will
choose a student that Jenna has
worked well with in the past to
partner with her on the Peer
Review.
Rationale / Explanation of
Expected Benefits for
Differentiation/Universal
Design/Accommodation
The modifications of the assignment
will allow Jenna to be fully engaged in
the assignment without becoming
frustrated by the intelligibility of some
text. Furthermore, the Scaffolding
Questions will allow her to begin to
organize her thoughts as she interprets
and analyzes each Document.
The addition of a graphic organizer
will help Jenna use her strong
organizational skills to improve her
written expression abilities.
The addition of a Peer Review Guide
will allow Jenna to have a written and
easy to understand guide to conducting
the Peer Review and not make her
dependent on the instructions given
orally to the class. Choosing a student
that is comfortable with Jenna and that
Jenna is familiar working with
increases the chance that each will
benefit from the peer review
experience.
Managing Behavior &
Support (Includes
scheduling/grouping changes)
Students will be given 5 days
to complete all aspects of the
project.
Student Testing / Evaluation:
(How you know what the
student can do)
The Document Based Essay
Project will be evaluated as
three different assignments that
are turned in: Scaffolding
Questions, Peer Review Sheet,
and the Essay.
Student Characteristic(s)
which pose(s) a challenge
Jenna may find the final
editing of her essay, taking
the peer review into
account, a daunting
assignment for weekend
homework because of
processing and expression
difficulties.
Student Characteristic(s)
which pose(s) a challenge
Jenna may find all three of
these assignments a
challenge because of her
deficits in processing
information and expressing
ideas. Of the three, the
essay would likely be the
most difficult assignment
for her.
Suggested
Differentiation/Universal
Design/Accommodation(s)
The Project will be extended
one day for the entire class.
This means that specifically,
students will have the
following Monday to work on
their final draft in class and
solicit help from the teacher in
incorporating peer review
suggestions.
Suggested
Differentiation/Universal
Design/Accommodation(s)
The students will be provided
a rubric that explains exactly
how the essay assignment will
be evaluated. Additionally,
the Scaffolding Questions and
Peer Review Sheet will be
weighted heavier than the
essay, emphasizing the
process of organizing an
essay over the final product.
Rationale / Explanation of
Expected Benefits for
Differentiation/Universal
Design/Accommodation
By adding an additional day, all
students will benefit from being able
to ask questions during class time
while making final essay revisions.
Jenna will especially benefit from this
accommodation because she will have
additional support during the final
stages of essay writing.
Rationale / Explanation of
Expected Benefits for
Differentiation/Universal
Design/Accommodation
Jenna will benefit from a rubric
greatly because she would struggle if
directions and guidelines were
delivered only as oral instructions.
Also, the emphasis being placed on
the other two assignments should
alleviate some of the anxiety
associated with essay writing.