UDL Case Study

A CASE STUDY

Universal Design for Learning

Select your grade level span:

Lower Elementary

Middle School

Upper Elementary

High School

Meet Kentrell- Prepare for an Activity

Make a trifold.​ Read the Scenario​ on the next slide. Jot your thoughts in the first column about what you need to know about Kentrell​. Based on the lesson goal, in column 2 write down the barriers that need to be proactively removed so that Kentrell can participate in a mathematic lessons​. In column 3, what are options (tasks/strategies) that can be provided for Kentrell to engage, take in information and show what he knows.

Meet Kentrell

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​ Kentrell, is a kindergartener at ABC Elementary School. He is one of the younger students in Mrs. Jackson’s class. Kentrell enjoys many aspects of school. He loves to listen to stories and participate in art. He is also interested in learning about animals and loves music. Kentrell speaks both English and Spanish, but his instruction is in English only. He speaks Spanish with his family at home, and his parents read with him in Spanish to maintain his bilingualism. ​ Since Kentrell enjoys reading, he does well in his phonics lessons, in small group reading and in the writing centers. However, Kentrell does struggle with mathematics. He is quick to start a lesson but has a difficult time completing a math task or activity, especially if it is a worksheet. Somehow, his work seems to get “lost” and he rarely turns in his math work. His teacher has noticed that Kentrell’s ability to understand and work with numbers is a challenge for him. ​ His teacher has assigned the class to work independently on a math assignment. He is being asked to use these number cards to practice identifying, counting and ordering numbers from 1-20. After five minutes of working, Kentrell begins to disturb the other students around him.

Meet Mateo- Prepare for an Activity

Make a trifold.​ Read the Scenario​ on the next slide. Jot your thoughts in the first column about what you need to know about Mateo​. Based on the lesson goal, in column 2 write down the barriers that need to be proactively removed so that Mateo can get a basic understanding of the causes of the Revolutionary War.​ In column 3, what are options (tasks/strategies) that can be provided for Mateo to engage, take in information and show what he knows.

Meet Mateo

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​Mateo, a fifth grader at Dolores Huerta Elementary School, has many interests and talents. Mateo is bilingual in Spanish and English. His family immigrated to the US the summer before he started first grade, and he has been in the same California school district for over four years. The language of instruction in Mateo’s classrooms has been English. His language proficiency level is at Bridging. He speaks Spanish with his family at home, and his parents read with him in Spanish to maintain his bilingualism. He also sustains his academic Spanish by participating in an after-school engineering club, which is conducted in Spanish by bilingual college students who were former migratory students. ​ Mateo‘s transition to decoding in English was swift. Toward the end of third grade, his teachers began to observe that Mateo was finding reading more challenging than his English learner peers, who had similar backgrounds and levels of English language proficiency and finding it more difficult to comprehend complex texts and write coherent and cohesive informational and literary texts. ​ His teacher has assigned the class to read and take notes on the key details in a chapter of the Social Studies book to get a basic understanding of the causes of the Revolutionary War.

Meet Julia- Prepare for an Activity

Make a trifold.​ Read the Scenario​ on the next slide. Jot your thoughts in the first column about what you need to know about Julia​. Based on the lesson goal, in column 2 write down the barriers that need to be proactively removed so that Julia can get a basic understanding of the causes of the Civil War.​ In column 3, what are options (tasks/strategies) that can be provided for Julia to engage, take in information and show what he knows.

Meet Julia

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​Julia, an eighth-grader at Dolores Huerta Middle School, has many interests and talents. Julia is bilingual in Spanish and English. Her family immigrated to the US the summer before she started first grade, and she has been in the same California school district for over seven years. The language of instruction in Julia’s classrooms has been English. Her language proficiency level is at Expanding. She speaks Spanish with her family at home. Her parents encourage her to read in Spanish to maintain her bilingualism. She also sustains her academic Spanish by participating in an after-school engineering club, which is conducted in Spanish by bilingual college students who were former migratory students. Julia's transition to decoding in English was swift. Toward the end of the elementary grades, her teachers began to observe that Julia was finding reading more challenging than her English learner peers, who had similar backgrounds and levels of English language proficiency and finding it more difficult to comprehend complex texts and write coherent and cohesive informational and literary texts. Her teacher has assigned the class to read and take notes on the key details in a chapter of the 8th grade Social Studies book to get a basic understanding of the causes of the Civil War.

Meet Rosa- Prepare for an Activity

Make a trifold.​ Read the Scenario​ on the next slide. Jot your thoughts in the first column about what you need to know about Rosa​. Based on the lesson goal, in column 2 write down the barriers that need to be proactively removed so that Rosa can get a basic understanding of the causes of the Revolutionary War.​ In column 3, what are options (tasks/strategies) that can be provided for Rosa to engage, take in information and show what he knows.

Meet Rosa

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​Rosa, an eleventh-grader at Mountain West High School, has many interests and talents. Rosa is bilingual in Spanish and English. Her family immigrated to the US the summer before she started fourth grade, and she has been in the same California school district for over seven years. The language of instruction in Rosa’s classrooms has been English. Her language proficiency level is at Expanding. She speaks Spanish with her family at home to maintain her bilingualism. She visits the public library and reads Spanish novels in her spare time. She also sustains her academic Spanish by participating in an after-school coding club, which is conducted in Spanish by bilingual college students. Rosa is currently struggling when asked to read and write in the content areas of math, history and science. Her teacher has asked her to complete a project about climate change, integrating all content areas. She will have to research, collect data, and write an argumentative paper justifiying her position on the matter.