Possible Barriers

Engagement Representation Action & Expression

✓ All of the assignments are
text-based with no
accommodations made
for my students who are
below reading level or
otherwise struggle with
the text.
✓ The lessons call for group
discussions and projects in
which some students will
be reluctant to participate
and/or share out.
✓ There is a lack of
differentiation in the
degree of difficulty or
complexity for any of the
activities. Some students
may be bored because
they’re too easy while
others may find them too
challenging.
✓ All of the assignments
come from the same
textbook with no
accommodations to
change how it is
displayed/presented
visually.
✓ There are no
accommodations made
for those who may have
auditory or visual
difficulties interacting with
written text
✓ The textbook only uses
traditional rote
memorization strategies
for the teaching of
vocabulary that students
may find boring or
unrelatable.
✓ Some students may not be
able to write or type the
written assignments and
will need alternative
methods to complete
them.
✓ The lessons are “one-size-
fits-all” and do not offer
alternative media for
expression
✓ Some students will need
help in the writing process
to complete the fictional
writing assignments

✓ The textbook does not

✓ There are no rubrics offer enough scaffolding
provided for guidance in for students who may
the Unit’s group struggle with decoding
assignments written text

✓ Several of my students are

English language learners
and will require
translation of the text and
activities
 UDL Adaptations: ENGAGEMENT
GUIDELINE 7: Recruiting Interest
 CHECKPOINT 7.1: Optimize individual choice and autonomy
✓ Throughout the Unit, students will have the choice to read the textbook online or in
printed form.
✓ Students will have the choice to complete each lesson’s note-taking graphic organizer
online using the textbook platform, as a Google Doc, or on paper. They can work
independently or with a partner of their choice.

 CHECKPOINT 7.3: Minimize threats and distractions

✓ To encourage participation, I will continue to maintain a classroom that is very
structured with a set of expectations, policies, and procedures that make it a safe space
for learning.
✓ For the LESSON 3 Main Idea Activity, I will facilitate a whole group discussion by asking
questions using the Collaborate Board, open-ended question, and poll features of the
Nearpod platform, which allows for anonymous participation and encourages 100%
student participation.

GUIDELINE 8: Sustaining Effort & Persistence

 CHECKPOINT 8.2: Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge
✓ For the map activity in LESSON 1, I will replace the book’s map exercises with custom
interactive map quizzes on the Seterra geography website. This will allow students to
choose from nine different modes to vary the level of difficulty of the quiz.
✓ Students will be given a choice board of research projects, with varying degrees of
difficulty, for the LESSON 1 Main Idea Activity.

 CHECKPOINT 8.3: Foster collaboration and community

✓ For the LESSON 1 Main Idea Activity group discussion and project, I will provide a Group
Work Rubric and Group Discussion Procedures which clearly detail jobs/roles, behavioral
expectations, assignment components and requirements, and scoring criteria.
 UDL Adaptations: REPRESENTATION
GUIDELINE 1: Perception
 CHECKPOINT 1.1: Offer ways of customizing the display of information
 CHECKPOINT 1.3: Offer alternatives for visual information
 CHECKPOINT 2.3: Support decoding of text, mathematical notation, and symbols
✓ The online HMH textbook has a read aloud feature, but it is limited. By copying & pasting
the text onto a slide in the Nearpod platform, I will enable student use of the Microsoft
Immersive Reader text-to-speech tool, which allows them to vary the text size, font, rate
of speech, line spacing, line focus and volume. Nearpod also has the Immersive Reader
integrated into most of its activities.
✓ Graphic organizers and other written materials can be enlarged and printed out as needed.
✓ I will read text aloud during the Pre-teaching part of the lesson to model decoding and
fluency.
✓ The Seterra geography has a “voice” function that reads the names of locations.

 CHECKPOINT 1.2: Offer alternatives for auditory information

✓ PowerPoint will be used for direct instruction of each lesson with the subtitle speech-to-
text tool enabled.
✓ Pictures will be used along with text to pre-teach vocabulary.
✓ All videos used in class will have closed captioning enabled.

GUIDELINE 2: Language & Symbols

 CHECKPOINT 2.1: Clarify vocabulary and symbols
✓ I will pre-teach vocabulary by creating hyper docs with links to interactive Edpuzzle or
Nearpod videos with questions embedded to check for understanding.
✓ I will create vocabulary matching activities in Nearpod using images and text. Correct
choices turn green, incorrect red, and the number of tries is displayed at completion so
that students can track their progress as they learn.
✓ I will also pre-teach vocabulary using the Flocabulary platform, which sets concepts to hip-
hop music and uses contemporary references that are relatable to students.

 CHECKPOINT 2.4: Promote understanding across languages

✓ The Microsoft Immersive Reader text-to-speech tool I use in class translates text into
several languages.
✓ I will use PowerPoint’s subtitle speech-to-text tool to translate my direct instruction into
Spanish for my ELL/ELD students as needed.
✓ The Seterra geography website I will use for the map exercise in LESSON 1 can be
translated into various languages by right clicking on the screen, choosing “translate,” and
the desired language. Once translation is engaged, the “voice” function will read the
location names in that language.
✓ For each lesson, I will provide assignment links to the Spanish language version of the HMH
online textbook, as well as download and print it in PDF form as needed. The Spanish
online textbook also has a read aloud text-to-speech feature
✓ I will use Google Translate to provide translated versions of all printed material as needed.
 UDL Adaptations: ACTION & EXPRESSION

GUIDELINE 4: Physical Action

 CHECKPOINT 4.1: Vary the methods for response and navigation
✓ Students will be given the choice to use Google's voice typing speech-to-text tool to complete
each lesson’s graphic organizers, the Main Idea Activity in LESSON 2, and the Applying What
You've Learned Activity in LESSON 3.
✓ Nearpod, which I will use to facilitate whole group discussion in the LESSON 3 Main Idea
Activity, allows students to record their response.
✓ Edpuzzle, which I will use to pre-teach vocabulary, also allows students to record their answers.

GUIDELINE 5: Expression and Communication

 CHECKPOINT 5.1: Use multiple media for communication
✓ The project choice board for the lesson 1 main idea activity will include options to create a
comic strip, collage, slideshow, or short video using the Pixton platform, Nearpod’s Draw It
tool, Google Slides, Canva, or PowerPoint.
 CHECKPOINT 5.2: Use multiple tools for construction and composition
✓ I will provide students with sentence starters for their fictional writing assignments in LESSONS
2 and 3.
✓ I will provide students with outline and story web graphic organizers for their fictional writing
assignments in LESSONS 2 and 3.