Name what every response must demonstrate
This original illustrative lesson compares two invented accounts of a neighborhood cleanup. The goal is to explain one similarity and one difference using evidence from both sources.
Source A, volunteer account: “On Saturday, we collected litter beside the library. We filled three bags before the rain started.”
Source B, organizer account: “Saturday's cleanup took place beside the library. Rain ended the event early, and the team planned another cleanup for next month.”
A supported similarity is the location beside the library. A difference is that A reports the bag count, while B reports a plan for another event. Both mention rain; do not label rain as a difference. These passages and the comparison are original teaching examples. Replace them with your checked materials and keep actual student responses unfilled.
The common criterion is: identify a supported similarity and difference, reference both sources, and explain how the evidence supports the comparison. Handwriting speed is not part of that content criterion. If your actual goal is handwriting or written composition, changing to an oral response would change what you can assess; rewrite the plan accordingly.
A useful planning cycle considers the goal, anticipates barriers, plans choices, observes implementation, and redesigns from evidence. The Marshall-hosted UDL planner organizes proactive design, implementation, and reflection. It is a historical planning resource, not a claim about the latest guideline version.
Build a barrier-to-choice map
| Part of the task | Anticipated barrier to examine | Planned design choice | Criterion that stays fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Begin the comparison | Spoken directions disappear before a student can refer back to them. | Supply printed directions and read them aloud; keep the task steps visible. | Compare both sources using evidence. |
| Understand the sources | An unfamiliar key word may obscure a passage needed for the comparison. | Clarify essential vocabulary beside the text using checked meanings and examples. | Use the source's meaning accurately. |
| Sustain the work | A student may lose track of which source a detail came from. | Offer a two-column evidence organizer and a midpoint self-check. | Cite evidence from each source. |
| Explain the comparison | Producing a handwritten paragraph may interfere with showing the target reasoning. | Allow a written explanation or a recorded spoken explanation, using approved tools. | Identify and explain the same similarity and difference. |
These are anticipated task barriers, not diagnoses of students. Offer the choices without sorting children into presumed ability types. Ask learners which option helps them work on the goal and watch whether they can use it.
For engagement, start with a question that gives the comparison a purpose: “What would a reader miss if they saw only one source?” Let students choose which source to examine first. Both sources still have to contribute to the final explanation.
Make response choices comparable
Use the same three check prompts for written and recorded explanations:
- What similarity can you support from both sources?
- What difference can you support from both sources?
- Which details led you to those conclusions?
Put the written and recorded routes beside the unchanged criterion in your plan. A written response can label its evidence A and B; a spoken response can name each source aloud. Changing the route changes the response instructions, not the evidence requirement. Keep directions and vocabulary supports distinguishable from the goal itself.
Do not fill in sample findings until you have the actual sources. “Both authors agree” is not a usable comparison when the authors' positions have not been supplied.
Leave room for what happens in class
Add three empty fields to the plan: option used; evidence of progress or a remaining barrier; next design change. After teaching, record what you actually observed. “Student used the organizer” describes use; it does not yet establish that the comparison was supported.
If both response routes produce unsupported claims, inspect the evidence-selection step. If the content reasoning is visible but the recording procedure consumes the work time, inspect the response tool and directions. Let the observed difficulty determine the redesign rather than adding more choices everywhere.
Prompt for your own barrier review
Draft a UDL lesson planning map in US English using my inputs.
Grade/course: [grade/course]
Learning goal: [goal]
Evidence that would demonstrate the goal: [criterion]
Texts/materials, with source labels: [paste materials]
Planned task and directions: [paste task]
Available time and approved tools: [time/tools]
Anticipated task barriers based on my observations: [barriers or blank]
Required accommodations already established: [authorized requirements; omit private details]
Required school plan format: [format]
Separate the goal from the means of engagement, representation, and action/expression. For each proposed design choice, name the barrier it addresses and the learning criterion that remains unchanged. Do not recommend a response alternative that removes a skill I am explicitly assessing. Show both response instructions and their common evidence criteria. Include student choice and a practical self-check. Leave observation, student feedback, and redesign fields empty for use after teaching.
Use [NEEDED: specific input] when evidence, materials, or constraints are absent. Do not invent diagnoses, learner profiles, source findings, standards, tool permissions, or learning outcomes. Distinguish my observed barriers from your clearly labeled planning hypotheses. Fit the sequence to my time and flag conflicts. Return a plan I can transfer to the required school format.
Check the choices before teaching
Have a co-teacher read the two response routes and point to the evidence each will produce. An existing HTML barrier map can be saved and rendered in NOS for that planning review; keep student records and the official plan in school-approved systems. Choose the observation you need to collect next, so the plan ends with a question you can answer after the lesson rather than a claim that every barrier has been solved.