In terms of making accommodations and revisions for exceptional learners, I think I do a pretty good job of automatically thinking about how my students would be able to (or not be able to) access certain projects, websites or readings. After so many years working with students in special education, this comes fairly naturally to me. It was fun to write this unit with general ed students in mind, with the accommodations in place that would help the students feel a part of the group and be able to fully participate with learning goals.

I found rubistar.4teachers.org to be of great help in creating the rubrics/assessments for the unit. I probably put in too many items for grading (rows) but I think more is better than less. I can always go back and remove some items, but I probably would not have time to add more items in. After I talk with more members of my group about the entire plan, I hope that I will have more direction about what I should exclude on the rubrics vs. include. I do like the concept of being able to indicate to certain students that they MUST consider specific points (or not, depending upon their ability levels).

Some accommodations I have considered with project based learning would be to provide resource students with clear templates for the project at hand. More able students would create their own projects from scratch whereas resource students would have more direction. Also, the rubrics would be specific to the student's needs. Reading material can be placed on tape. Websites can be highlighted that offer click and listen for material. I am in the process now of rewriting the stories for my unit at a "lower" level for more accessibility when students have to reread the stories (I will be reading them aloud at the beginning). The use of peers and partners will provide additional guidance or editing assistance.

I have enjoyed placing hyperlinks in both the brochure and PowerPoint presentations. I like the fact that a created story can also be used as a teaching tool by simply allowing students to explore key concepts or vocabulary to reach into the web.