Link: Curriculum Planning for All Learners, by Grace Meo

Take the time to read the article, Curriculum Planning for All Learners, written by Grace Meo, an advocate of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This article provides a good framework for implementing UDL at the high school level by the use of a PAL (Planning for All Learners) team. The author looks at ways that the PAL process can be applied to support vocabulary and reading comprehension, which is important, given the high numbers of students at the high school level who struggle with reading.

Be sure to scroll down to the Appendix section of the article, where you'll find a variety of references, resources, and links. If you work at the high school level, consider sharing the article with your colleagues.

Here is the abstract from the article:

"The universal design for learning (UDL) principles provide a blueprint for designing a curriculum that addresses the diverse needs of all learners. The author provides an overview of UDL, connections to curriculum planning, and practical techniques that guide general and special education teachers in planning and implementing curriculum, using the planning for all learners (PAL) procedures. PAL is a 4-step process for designing and implementing a curriculum (goals, methods, materials, and assessments) that is accessible and effective for all learners. In this article, the author focuses on high school social studies content with a goal of supporting all students' understanding of the content by bringing together principles of UDL, the PAL process, and research-based reading comprehension strategies. KEYWORDS: accessibility, curriculum planning and instruction, reading comprehension, secondary school, universal design for learning"