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EDS 543
Dr. Squires
UDL Mini Unit Critique
Dr. Squires,
I was unable to copy and paste the lesson into word so I have provided the link to the mini-unit I
found online: http://www.readyhoustontx.gov/schoolready/pdfs/ReadyHou_LessonPlans_K-
1.pdf
SIMULATION
3. Options for 3.
Comprehension a) This is clearly shown in the first lesson when the students are asked to brainstorm a list of
a) Activate or supply emergencies that they are already familiar with (I.e. real-life examples) and what they want
background knowledge to know about such emergencies that they may not already know. Additionally, this occurs in
b) Highlight patterns, lesson 2 when they are asked to discuss and list community helpers that should be trusted
critical features, big ideas, during an emergency. Perhaps the only suggestion here is that the teacher could have /4
and relationships provided pictures to represent more emergency situations or community helpers to activate
c) Guide information background knowledge, particularly if students know the words but do not make the
processing, visualization, connection. In lesson 3, the teacher again satisfies this component by asking students if they
and manipulation know ways in which they can be safe. In lesson 4, background knowledge is activated when
d) Maximize transfer and students are given the opportunity to put their own information into the song. In lesson 5,
generalization students are asked to remember the important things in making a plan for an emergency and
are then asked to list items that would belong in an emergency kit after having viewed the
video. It is also important to use a K-W-L chart when activating background knowledge and
the teacher utilized this fully in each lesson of the mini unit. Also useful for this checkpoint
is the pre-teaching of important concepts through demonstration or models. The teacher
could have incorporated this by showing acting out an emergency situation with multiple
actors to represent the community helpers.
b) This checkpoint appears to be satisfied as well. The big picture in this mini unit is to to
make sure students know safety protocols, who to call/trust, and what to do in the event of an
emergency. In each lesson, the teacher constantly highlights big ideas by asking students to
recall information from the previous lesson to ensure the learning of the information and to
connect it to that day’s lesson. For instance, students begin by learning what an emergency is
by naming different emergency situations. They also learn who helps them in the
community, especially during emergency situations by listing such helpers. Critical features
addressed in lesson 3 include the learning of a song that instills the students phone number,
their own name, and their parents’ names. Finally, students connect their prior learning to
create paper-made emergency kits in lesson 5. To further support this UDL checkpoint, the
teacher could have used concept organizer routines to demonstrate the connection between
each of the lessons. The teacher also could have included more examples relative to the mini
unit topic to illustrate to his/her students.
c) Students are able to successfully visualize and manipulate the information in the mini unit.
They are shown videos that relay the important information of each lesson and are asked to
add their own information into the “I’m Ready” song as well as practice dialing their
number, writing their address and drawing a picture of their house, and finally, by choosing
the items to cut out that will go into their paper-made emergency kit. The teacher provides
explicit prompts about what is to be completed in each lesson and each step is sequential,
building towards the final lesson which is an overview of the whole process and a look into
creating a family emergency kit. As mentioned previously, I would have liked the teacher to
provide some sort of interactive activity, either interactive between the students or an online
interactive activity, that would help tie in the entire mini unit. Furthermore, as noted above,
Trish Breault
EDS 543
Dr. Squires
UDL Mini Unit Critique
the teacher should have allowed for optional pathways to understand the content. Rather than
having everyone cut out pieces of emergency kit items, for example, she could have given
the students an opportunity to show what would go in through a comic strip or a short acted-
out play/skit.
d) Although students are learning some emergency strategies specific to them (e.g. learning
their number, address, and parents names), the teacher provides them with many different
lessons that are generalizable and transferable to a variety of different locations. For
instance, if a student can recognize an emergency situation and the community members they
can trust, it will not matter if it occurs in school or at the grocery store. Additionally, if a
student knows what should go into building an emergency kit, they should be able to
recognize that the kit can be used anywhere and is not specific to one dwelling. The teacher
in this unit is constantly providing the students with explicit opportunities to review the
previously learned material by asking them to remember what was discussed the previous
day. However, it would be one more step in the right direction if the teacher had provided the
students with concept maps or scaffolds connecting new information to prior knowledge to
deepen their understanding.
References
CAST (2011). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield, MA: Author.
Hall, T., Meyer, A., & Strangman, N. UDL Implementation: Examples Using Best Practices and
Curriculum Enhancements. In The Universally Designed Classroom: Accessible
Curriculum and Digital Technologies (149-193).