Jeremie Smith

SPED 405
12/2/2010
Summary of Decision Making on Accommodations:

The Document Based Question Unit is designed to get students acquainted with

analyzing primary source documents to construct a historical essay. Jenna has a

disability that would, at first glance, make this a daunting task. Specifically, Jenna has

minor reading problems that demand simplified texts, difficulty expressing her ideas in

writing, and difficulties processing oral directions. These are all obstacles that can be

overcome in a way that allows Jenna to be fully engaged in the same material and

curriculum as her peers.

Jenna has some strengths that will be to her advantage for this particular

assignment. Jenna is genuinely motivated to do well at school and is very well

organized. These are both assets that will help her be successful completing the

assignments necessary for the Unit.

The Document Based Question Unit is designed around a packet that includes an

introductory essay, 19 primary source documents, and clarifying questions for each

document. Some aspects of the assignment, including Peer Review instructions, grading

guidelines, essay rubric, and essay organization were originally planned to be instructed

orally. To compensate for Jenna’s difficulty processing oral directions, I have created

several items that would provide written guidance to augment verbal instruction. These

items include a Peer Review guide worksheet, a grading guide, an essay rubric, and a

graphic organizer to help Jenna plan her essay.

Jenna can decode and comprehend written language fluently that is at or below a

7th grade level. Much of the DBQ packet, including the introductory essay, was
 Jeremie Smith
SPED 405
12/2/2010

originally written at a much higher reading level than this. Using the Flesch-Kincaid

readability system. The introductory essay was rewritten to be more accessible for Jenna.

Of the 19 Primary Source documents, I determined that 8 (Documents 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 16,

17, and 18) were ok as originally constructed and 5 (Documents were revised to have a

lower reading difficulty level. I decided to omit 6 documents from Jenna’s packet

because they included very long text, or text that would be impossible to revise while

respecting the integrity of the primary source. I think that the reduction of the packet

from 19 to 13 documents will allow Jenna to focus more closely on the assignment. The

corresponding questions for these omitted documents were also omitted and a few

questions were revised for readability purposes. The packet Jenna would receive would

not include any text that is in strikethrough font. Instead, the text in red colored font

would be added.

Co-Teaching Explanation:

There is ample opportunity for co-teachers to assist in this unit. Since most of the

work is student lead, individually or in small groups, a paraprofessional would be a

substantial asset to the class. In addition to providing clarifying instruction of DBQ

directions and expectations, the co-teacher could help each individual student understand

and interpret documents. Furthermore, a co-teacher could provide insight to students

about essay planning and Peer Review writing.