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KristaKyker
Edu Exceptionalities
ProfessorVarner
May 3, 2015
“WrittenAnalysisof MyUDL Plan”
Whena teacherthinksabouthow she will teachherlessontoherstudents,she needsto
considerall variablesof intelligence andthe differentwaysinwhicheachindividual studentlearns.
Teachersplanningalessonneedtocreate measurable goalsof assessmentforthe studentstoreachin a
reasonable time frame. Theyalsoneedtobe flexibleintheirplanningwiththe realizationthatissues
may arise where one ormore studentsare not graspingthe conceptat hand andneedadditional time in
orderto masterthe benchmark. Creativityisthe largestobstacle thatIfaced as a future educatorwhile
planningmyUniversallyDesignedLessonplan. Iwantedtocreate a lessonthatwouldbe enjoyable for
all studentsandgive the studentsdifferentwaystolearnthe same material. Atthe same time I needed
to incorporate the fourcomponentsof a UDL and keepinmindstate educational requirementsforall
students.Ididnot struggle withcreatingdifferentactivitiesinwhichtouse as stationstoteach my
“students”the 50 statesof America,whatI struggledwithwasnarrowingthose lessondownandfitting
themintoa lessonthatwouldlastabouta week. Finally,Ibreachedthisissue bycreatinganenrichment
projectforthe entire classinwhichtheywouldspendseveral monthsgatheringdatafromdifferent
sourcesand compilingthatdataintoan organizedgrouppresentationforthe restof the class. In
essence,thisenrichmentproject,wouldhelptosupportthe fundamental conceptsof the geographyof
the UnitedStatesof America,while incorporatingaCivicsLesson,AnEnglishLesson,aTechnologylesson
and a lessononinclusionandacceptance of differencesintheircommunityascomparedto
communitiesindifferentstates. Basicallyincorporatingscaffoldingintothe mix andmakingsure my
studentswouldlearntouse informationfromall of theirsubjectsinordertocreate theirfinal
presentationtothe class. The greaterlessonhere beingtonotonlyacceptdifferencesamongus,butto

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embrace andlearnfrom those differences. Mygoal in thislessonwastonot onlyteachchildrenthe 50
statesof America,butto showthemthatdifferencesinpeopleare notonlyo.k.,butimperative tothis
humanrace. The goalsthat I hope eachstudentwill achieve inthislessonincludesgeography,
communication,andultimatelyacceptanceof all individuals.
G. K. Chestonsaid“Itisn’tthat theycan’t see the solution.Itisthattheycan’t see the problem.”
Maybe thisisbecause asadultswe fail to findcreative waysinwhichtoteachstandard conceptsinstead
gettinglockedintothe “norm”of memorizationandtestingtechniquesthatfail toteach“The Bigger
Picture.” The four componentsof the UDL Curricularare: Goals-withBigIdeas,Assessment-different
waysto testmemoryand higherlevelsof thinkingaboutthe lessonslearned,Methods-pyramidplanning
that considersnotonlywhatall studentsormoststudentswill dobutalsoconsideringwhatafew
studentswill do. Byconsideringthe exceptionsandnot the rule,teacherswillremainmore flexible in
planningthose methodswithvariousoptions,andthe lastcomponentsisthe MaterialsandResources
used-includinglow-techandhightechdevices,think/pair/sharegroupingetc. Buteventhe Universal
LessonPlanlacksone major component,Reflection. Teachersneedtobe constantlyreflectingontheir
lessonssotheycan determinewhatworks,whatdoesn’twork,whatkindof works,andwhatmay work
better.
In creatingmylessonplanIdecidedtouse the “Flat Stanley”lessonplanandadaptitto a high
school inclusionsettingwhereIcreateddifferentstationsanddifferentwaysinwhichtoteachthe same
information. Iuseddryerase pocketfolderswithblankmaps,mapswiththe statesfilledinandalso a
listof all the statesinalphabetical orderincludedin the firststation. The students canthenuse all of
the resourcesinthe folder,andplace the blankmapinside the clearfolderto practice fillinginthe
correct statesontothe blankmapwith dry erase markers. Anotherstationincludesahanddrawnmap
by me,whichisenlargedforvision impairedstudentsandwhichtheycanuse as a guide increatingtheir
ownbrail map or large map. Anotherstationhas blankindex cardsanda mapwithall of the statesso

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the studentscan write the name of the state on one side of the index card andrecord the capitol onthe
otherside alongwithothermajorpointsaboutthat state. Anotherstationallowsforstudentstopicka
state in whichtocontact anotherstudentthroughthe FlatStanley’sprojectandwrite themaletterin
whichtheywill use the informationtheyreceive fromthatstudentabouttheirstate to present
interestingfactstothe restof the class. Thenthe studentswill trackall statesinwhichtheywrote
lettersandreceivedletters bytrackingthisdataon the large map of the U.S. Theycan use colored
thumbtacks withsmall coloredflagsinwhichtheyrecordtheirnamesandpinpointtheirdata. Another
stationinthe classroomincorporatesartand creativityintothe lesson. Each studentisresponsible for
creatingtheirownFlatStanleycharacterby usingone of my templatestodecorate orcreatingtheirown
designof flatStanley todecorate inwhichtheywill mail tothe student inthe otherstate. Once they
receive theirletterandFlatstalelyback,theycanutilize thisareatocreate a projectforthe class.
Studentswill be encouragedtocreate a poster,a collage,apowerpoint…etc. asa visual aide fortheir
presentation.
The lessoninwhichI createdhasall levelsof educationinmindalongsidedifferentwaystolearn
the lessonsoas to reach all learningstyles. Itallowsforflexibility,small groupingwhere Icanhave
more personal interactionswiththe students whileencouragesuniqueindividualstoworktogetherasa
team. The extensive goal tocreate a collaborativepresentationtothe classwill enable studentsto
incorporate all of the subjectsinthe curriculumtocomplete thisproject. The demandsof creatinga
flexible lessonplanthatwasuniversal indesigntookalotof time,planning,brainstorming,reflecting,
editingandtestingonmyownkidsto findsage appropriate activitiesthatwouldinterestall students.