Creating a
Universal Design for Learning
Lesson

Good instruction begins with a good plan. The E3T project works with teaching teams to develop sound Universally Designed Lesson Plans. The following Universal Design for Learning principles serve as the underlying framework to these lessons.

Multiple Means of Recognition
Multiple Means of Expression
Multiple Means of Engagement

All E3T lessons follow the structure below.

Big Idea (s)
The concepts or principles central to this lesson that anchor or connect the smaller ideas.


Essential Questions:
Questions that help students probe for deeper meaning. Essential questions relate to major issues, problems, concerns, interests, or themes relevant to students' lives and set the stage for further questioning.


Michigan Content Expectations:
The MI Content Expectations that are addressed in this lesson.


Objectives:
Two to four learning targets that reflect the understandings or insights students are expected to develop by the end of this lesson. Objectives should relate directly to the summative assessment.


Brief Description of Summative Assessment
The final assessment used to provide evidence that students have met the learning objective. It should provide choices related to interest and multiple, flexible means for completion that support learning preferences. All summative assessment assignments should include an explicit description of the criteria for quality work.


Lesson Opening:
The opening activity should establish a purpose, be engaging and activate prior knowledge.
Include a plan for explicitly sharing learning objectives, summative assessment and learning outcome expectations.


Exploration:
Describe activities that will enable students to make discoveries related to the big idea and t
hat promote student inquiry.

Check for Understanding
Describe how you will determine the student's level of understanding as it relates to the big idea, essential questions and learning objectives. Be sure to include multiple means to demonstrate understanding, include methods that assess all learners and describe the next steps you will take based on the assessment results.

Explanation:
Describe how you plan to deliver the content to help students develop a mastery of the objectives. Be sure to provide: explicit learning strategies, multiple representations of information provided, direct instruction to address new vocabulary, frequent opportunities for response and practice, content summary, variety of student centered learning activities.


Extended Practice:
Describe the extended practice activities that will help to deepen understanding and provide for greater fluency and accuracy with the new skill. Practice should include both supervised and unsupervised opportunities and have a clear purpose that’s shared with the learner. When possible, activities should be authentic and include multiple ways to practice new material.

Closing
Describe the review of big ideas for the purpose of tying ideas together, transitioning to next lesson or continuing practice.

The lesson framework was adapted from the work of :
Price, Nelson; Planning Effective Instruction, 2007