Common Core Significant Disabilities

A Unit-Based Approach
to Adaptations in
Inclusive Classrooms

TEACHING Exceptional Children, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 34-43 Copyright 2013 CEC.

Jennifer A. Kurth

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Ms. Lawson is an inclusive special

education teacher at Ortega Middle
School. She has realized that to make
inclusion work for her students she
needs to make the curriculum accessible for them through collaboration and
adaptations. This year, Ms. Lawson
will be collaborating with Mr. Jackson,
an eighth-grade English teacher. Mr.
Jacksons class includes Amanda, who
has an intellectual disability and is
learning content at a different grade
level than her peers, and John, who
has autism and also works at a different grade level than his peers.
Amanda and John have been included
in general education classes since preschool, but with each passing year
their need for differentiated instruction
and curriculum has increased. Ms.
Lawson has been working to design
curriculum that meets the needs of
each student individually, but wonders
if this piece-meal, one-student-at-atime approach is effective or efficient
for her, her students, or her general
education colleagues.
As more and more students with disabilities are educated in general education settings, Ms. Lawsons dilemma is
becoming more common. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA, 2006) defines low-incidence
disabilities as visual or hearing
impairments; a significant cognitive
impairment; or any impairment for
which a small number of personnel
with highly specialized skills and
knowledge are needed in order for
children with that impairment to
receive early intervention services or a
free appropriate public education (20
U.S.C. 1462[c][3]). Schools must
support students with low-incidence
disabilities in accessing and participating in the general education curriculum, and also design an education program that addresses their unique
needs (34 C.F.R. 300.320[B])which
often includes adaptations made to the
general education curriculum.
Adaptations can take many forms,
including individualizing student learning goals, instructional strategies, and
student supports (Lee et al., 2006).

What Does the Research Say About Adaptations?

The use of adaptations varies widely, based on the severity of a students disability and level of inclusion. Teachers have reported using adaptations for students with low-incidence disabilities between 61% and 80% of the time (Kurth,
Gross, Lovinger, & Catalano, 2012); others have noted that adaptations are more
widely available for students with low-incidence disabilities than for students
with high-incidence disabilities (Dymond & Russell, 2004). The use of adaptations is greater for students who spend more time in inclusive settings (Soukup,
Wehmeyer, Bashinski, & Bovaird, 2007).
The use of adaptations is associated with a range of positive characteristics,
including higher student engagement, fewer student competing behaviors, and
less teacher time dedicated to classroom management (Lee, Wehmeyer, Soukup,
& Palmer, 2010). Teachers have reported that their students learn more and participate better in class activities through the use of adaptations (Kurth &
Keegan, in press). Curricular adaptations also improve student on-task behavior
and work production (Kern, Delaney, Clarke, Dunlap, & Childs, 2001). In addition, many educators support the idea of adaptations (Idol, 2006). Adaptations
facilitate access to the general education curriculum (Fisher & Frey, 2001); for
inclusion to be successful, its essential to implement adaptations that meet
individual student needs (Cross, Traub, Hutter-Pishgahi, & Shelton, 2004).

Adaptations is an umbrella term that

includes accommodations and modifications. Instructional accommodations
can be (a) access accommodations that
provide access to the curriculum and
do not affect the mastery level expected of students; (b) low-impact accommodations that alter how students are
taught, but do not require significant
adjustments in the structure or content
of the curriculum; and (c) high-impact
accommodations (also called modifications) that alter the content of the curriculum as well as the ways students
are taught (Stough, 2002). All adaptations require adjustments in the structure and content of the educational
program, as well as the level of curricular mastery expected of students.
Adaptations can be thought of as
general or specific (Janney & Snell,
2006). A general adaptation can be
used by many students and can
address routine classroom activities.
For example, providing students access
to graphic organizers, text enlargement,
calculators, and peer tutors are general
adaptations that many students may
access in a variety of routines and
activities. On the other hand, specific
adaptations apply to particular students and lessons or activities. For
example, the worksheet and activities
for a science lab may be adapted for

individual students based on their

unique physical, sensory, or cognitive
needs. (See box, What Does the
Research Say About Adaptations?)
Implementing general classroom
adaptations (see box, General Classroom Adaptations; Janney & Snell,
2004) helps address the unique learning needs of many studentsincluding
those with identified special education
needs. It also leaves more time for
teachers to create specific adaptations
for individual students who need them.
Adaptations and the
Universal Design for
Learning Framework
Universal design for learning (UDL) is
an instructional approach in which
teachers design instruction with the
needs of diverse learners in mind,
rather than making adjustments for
individual students with specific special education needs (Pisha & Coyne,
2001). A hallmark of UDL is providing
students with many different ways to
represent knowledge (how content and
directions are presented to students),
express knowledge (how students
demonstrate their knowledge), and
engage in the classroom (how students
stay motivated and involved in learning). UDL requires teachers to anticipate how their instruction supports

TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN NOV/DEC 2013

35

General Classroom Adaptations

Magnification or text enlargement

Graphic organizers
Slot notes/cloze notes
Peer tutors or paired learning
Audio books
Colored overlays or rulers for
keeping place while reading
Visuals or pictures supplementing
key ideas

Creating Specific Adaptations

Step 1: Determine Student
Learning Support Needs

The first step in creating a specific

adaptation, determining the students
unique learning support needs, is
essential in avoiding over-adapting
materials, which could lead to stigmatization or isolation of the student.
Instead, tailored adaptations should be
used only when necessary. A useful
strategy for identifying needs is to

Examples embedded in
assignments
Color coding, highlighting, or
bolding key words
Manipulatives or counters

If there is a discrepancy, consider

adaptations that might be used, or
cues to prompt student performance, with the goal being supporting students so that they may complete classroom activities correctly
with the least intrusive level of
support.
Step 2: Evaluate Classroom
Routines

Understanding the routines and activities that are typical of the classroom

UDL requires teachers to anticipate how their instruction

supports different ways of learning, expressing, and engaging.

Resource guide or toolkit

Word banks
Assignment check list
Planner or organizational tool
Alternate responses (e.g., oral,
typewritten, pictorial)
Assistive technology (e.g., calculator, word processor, dictation
recorder, communication device)
Alternate writing utensils (e.g.,
weighted pencils, pencil grips,
fat markers, stamps)
Alternate paper (e.g., paper with
raised lines, paper with varied
margins, paper with varied line
width or length)

different ways of learning, expressing,

and engaging; within a UDL approach
to instruction, general adaptations are
available to all students (e.g., all students have the choice to type or handwrite a written response) and are considered during lesson planning. Any
specific modifications that may be
needed for specific tasks by specific
students are also considered proactively for the small percentage of students
who need these additional supports
(e.g., the provision of a scribe for written work). Both general and specific
adaptations should be created collaboratively (e.g., general and special education teachers, paraeducators, and
families).
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complete an ecological assessment

(Downing, 2010), identifying the activities in which the student participates,
along with the skills required to be
successful in these activities. This
assessment highlights discrepancies
between skills and needs, leading to
the identification of appropriate specific individual adaptations. Ms. Lawsons
ecological assessment (see Table 1)
highlighted for Mr. Jackson John and
Amandas needs for support in English
8 (Downing, 2010).
When completing an ecological
assessment, a series of questions
guides observation and provides a
framework for identifying student
needs:
What are peers without special education needs doing in this activity
or setting? Completing a step-bystep task analysis of how a peer
successfully completes the activity
or lesson is often useful.
What are the naturally occurring
cues for performance? That is, how
do peers know what to do, and
when?
What does the target student do at
each step? In other words, how
does this student complete (or fail
to complete) each step?
Is there a discrepancy between
what a peer does and what the student with low-incidence disabilities
does?

helps identify the skills that are necessary for learning and participation, and
therefore what adaptations may be
required. This can be done through
classroom observation, ecological
assessment, and collaboration.
Educators should note general routines
such as the typical daily schedule and
which general adaptations may be
needed for each part of the routine. For
example, Mr. Jacksons English class is
beginning a 6-week lesson unit on Lois
Lowrys novel The Giver (1993). The
general routine for each class period in
this unit consists of warm-ups, editing,
lecture, group work, and a wrap-up.
Table 2 illustrates how Ms. Lawson
helped Mr. Jackson adapt the classs
typical routine, implementing both general and specific adaptations (see
Downing, 2010).
In addition to classroom routines,
lessons and individual study units also
need to be evaluated to identify specific adaptations students might need.
Collaborating with general education
teachers is essential; teacher talk
sheets (see Figure 1) can assist in this
collaboration, particularly in identifying in advance specific adaptations that
need to be in place for the lesson. The
talk sheets are used as a joint planning
session, in which the general education
teacher shares plans for the upcoming
week, lesson, or unit, including worksheets or chapters that may need to be
adapted as well as any tests or longterm assignments.

Table 1. Sample Ecological Assessment, English 8

Student
John

Amanda

Peers Activities

Students
Performance

Skills or
Support Needed

Adaptations

Peers take out

pencils and paper
from backpacks.

John takes out pencil

and paper from his
backpack.

None

None

Peers listen to music

John places his

fingers in his ears.

John may be sensitive

to the loudness or
intensity of the music;
requires dimming of
loudness.

Peer tutor will prompt John to use

his earplugs while listening.

Peers free write

about their feelings
or thoughts while
listening to the
music selection.

John writes
incomplete
sentences, without
any adjectives.

John needs assistance

in identifying adjectives to add.

Provide John with a word bank of

emotion words from which he
can select when writing.

John needs support

in composing
complete sentences.

Provide John a cloze (fill-inthe-blank) template for writing

sentences (e.g., This music
makes me feel ____.)

Peers take out

pencils and paper
from backpacks.

Amanda takes out

her AlphaSmart, but
does not turn it on.

Amanda requires
support in task
initiation.

Peer tutor will point to start

button to remind Amanda to turn
on AlphaSmart.

Peers identify and

correct grammatical
and spelling errors.

Amanda sits quietly

and does not type
the sentence.

Amanda needs to
be able to identify
errors and type her
responses.

Peer tutor will help Amanda

navigate to blank page in English 8
file on Alphasmart.

Step 3: Define Student

Learning Outcomes

During the teacher talk collaboration

discussion, learning outcomes for students receiving special education services should be determined. Sometimes,
all students will have the same learn-

reading the novel, learning key vocabulary, making inferences to demonstrate

reading comprehension, and passing
weekly tests. A long-term assignment
includes writing a memoir of important
events in the students own life, including a description of why these memo-

Talk sheets are used as a joint planning session, in which

the general education teacher shares plans for the upcoming
week, lesson, or unit, including worksheets or chapters that may
need to be adapted as well as any tests or long-term assignments.
ing outcomes (e.g., reading a novel,
learning vocabulary words, writing a
five-paragraph essay). Other times, students with identified special education
needs will have modified learning outcomes. Mr. Jackson has decided that
most students will be responsible for

ries are important and should be

shared with others.
Learning outcomes for Amanda and
John, within this unit of study, will be
based on their individualized education
program (IEP) goals, curricular activi-

Provide Amanda a sentence strip

with most errors already corrected,
and appropriate errors highlighted
with choices provided (e.g., i or I).
ties to facilitate meaningful participation, and Mr. Jacksons content expertise. Through collaboration, Amandas
teachers have decided that she will be
responsible for reading the novel modified to her level (see Figure 2), which
contains pictures with one-sentence
statements, answering appropriate
questions about the novel to demonstrate comprehension, and learning key
vocabulary by matching words and pictures. The teachers have also decided
that Amanda will complete the memoir
assignment. Ms. Lawson will ask
Amandas parents for photographs and
some memorable stories, and Amanda
will write about these in her own
words, using word banks, scribes, and
other assistive technology as necessary.
Similarly, John will be responsible for
reading a version of the novel at a
fourth-grade readability level (see
Figure 2), with abstract concepts

TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN NOV/DEC 2013

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Table 2. Classroom Routines With Adaptations

Activity
Writing
warm-up

Typical Routine and Adaptations

Typical routine:
Students take turns bringing in a musical selection on CD. While listening to music, students write their
thoughts, impressions, and ideas generated by the music selection (free write).
General adaptations (for all students):

Word bank of impression words (e.g., happy, scared, sad, angry)

Adapted writing utensils
Adapted paper
Voice recorder
Magazine pictures
Word processor

Specific adaptations for Amanda:

Cloze sentences
Tailored word bank
Assistive technology (Alphasmart)
These adaptations address Amandas individualized education program (IEP) goals for dictating and
writing sentences.
Specific adaptations for John:
Sentence starters
Word bank with adjectives
These adaptations address Johns IEP goals for writing complete sentences with adjectives and combining
sentences into a paragraph.
Grammar

Typical routine:
All students have 3 minutes to complete a grammar exercise of editing a passage that is projected in the
front of the classroom.
General adaptations (for all students):

Adapted writing utensils

Adapted paper
Voice recorder
Magazine pictures
Word processor
Highlighters
Peer tutors/paired learning

Specific adaptations for Amanda:

Provide correct sentence
Amanda will type the sentence on her Alphasmart (and share, as needed)
These adaptations address Amandas IEP goals for writing her name and typing a sentence.
Specific adaptations for John:
Provide John with specific number of errors to locate
Tell John what type of errors exist (e.g., spelling, capitalization, punctuation)
Highlight words that are incorrect
These adaptations address Johns IEP goals for writing complete sentences and identifying and adding
adjectives.
continues
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Table 2. Continued.

Activity
In-class lecture
and notetaking

Typical Routine and Adaptations

Typical routine:
The teacher describes assignments, lectures the class about the novel, or teaches new concepts to the
class. Students take notes.
General adaptations (for all students):

Copies of notes provided to students

Adapted paper and writing utensils
Word processor
Whiteboard presenting key words and events

Specific adaptations for Amanda:

Slot notes (fill in the blanks)

Draw a picturewhat is the teacher talking about?
Select a picture (e.g., characters, places) from an array to demonstrate listening comprehension
Copy what teacher writes on the board

These adaptations address Amandas IEP goals for answering literal comprehension questions.
Specific adaptations for John:

Slot notes (fill in the blanks)

Story squares (draw picture sequences while listening)
Copy what teacher writes on the board
Select emotionhow do you/character feel after reading this passage?

These adaptations address Johns IEP goals for answering comprehension questions.
In-class reading

Typical routine:
The teacher reads aloud to the class, or calls on students to read aloud sections of the novel.
General adaptations (for all students):

Colored overlays or rulers

Whiteboard presenting key words and events
Enlarged text
Paper to draw key events

Specific adaptations for Amanda:

Primingprepare ahead of time a passage Amanda will read by playing a digital recording
Find and highlight sight words in the novel
Create a dictionary of sight words
Book box (collection of items related to text)

These adaptations address Amandas IEP goals for reading high-frequency words.
Specific adaptations for John:

Story squares (draw picture sequences while listening)

Copy what teacher writes on the board
Select emotionhow do you/character feel after reading this passage?
Follow text using magnifying bar or ruler
Create story envelopes (draw a picture or write a note of major events)

These adaptations address Johns IEP goals for answering comprehension questions and reading at
fourth-grade level.

continues
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Table 2. Continued.

Activity

Typical Routine and Adaptations

In-class writing

Typical routine:
The teacher provides a writing prompt for students to respond to, or time to practice new literary techniques or editing.
General adaptations (for all students):

Adapted paper and writing utensils

Word processor
Magazine pictures
Word bank

Specific adaptations for Amanda:

Use of tailored word bank

Use of assistive technology
Peer tutor
Cloze writing procedures
Dictate and copy
Use of modified book
Label makers with preprinted words to fill in worksheets

These adaptations address Amandas IEP goals for dictating and typing sentences and reading sight
words.
Specific adaptations for John:

Use story envelopes to sort characters, problems, solutions, and settings

Make chapter summaries (with pictures)
Use modified novel
Provide topic and/or length supports (e.g., visual representation of how much to write)
Use of prepared graphic organizers (for John to fill in)

These adaptations address Johns IEP goals for writing complete sentences.
Wrap-up

Typical routine:
The teacher describes homework, long-term projects, and upcoming exams.
General adaptations (for all students):
Planner or calendar
Specific adaptations for Amanda:
Large-print planner
Label makers to fill in homework
These adaptations address Amandas IEP goals for writing her name and reading sight words.
Specific adaptations for John:
Copy homework from board
Teacher signs off homework is copied correctly
These adaptations address Johns IEP social and communication goals.

highlighted and defined (e.g., they

acted like animals means the people
were messy and rude, not that they
growled or walked on four legs). John
will write his memoir using photographs, word banks, and word-processing software.
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Step 4: Gather Materials and

Create Specific Adaptations

As Amandas and Johns case manager,

Ms. Lawson needs to create or obtain
any supplementary materials to support them in completing Mr. Jacksons

assignments and quizzes. Although it

may seem time consuming to create
modified versions of novels such as
The Giver (Lowry, 1993), major
changes to core curriculum (e.g.,
novels read in a class) are relatively
uncommon. Modifications can be

Figure 1. Sample Teacher Talk Sheet

TEACHER/SUPPORT STAFF TALK SHEET

Teacher: ___________________________

Week of:__________________________________

Class: _____________________________

Student(s): ________________________________

Subject/skills you will be covering next week (include chapters, topic, and any worksheets you will be using)

Tests you will be having next week:

Date:
Chapter or skills:
Study guide/worksheets:

Long-term reports/projects
Due date:

Schedule changes next week (Field trips, assemblies, etc.):

Concerns? Comments?

Figure 2. Sample Text Modifications

Picture-based adaptation
(for Amanda)
Jonas rode his bike very fast.

Lower readability version

(for John)
They acted like animals. This means that they were
rude and messy.
Father asked, Where were the visitors from?
Lily said, I cant remember. They were from another
community. They had to leave early, and they had lunch
on the bus.
Mother nodded in agreement. Do you think they had
different rules in their community? And so they didnt
know what your rules were?

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Specific adaptations implemented for

Amanda support her language arts IEP
goals to read 10 high-frequency sight
words, answer literal comprehension
questions, write her name, and dictate
and type a complete sentence on a curricular topic. Similarly, Johns adaptations support his IEP goals to read at a
fourth-grade level; answer literal and
inferential comprehension questions;
write two-sentence passages containing
nouns, verbs, and adjectives; and to
combine his sentences to create a foursentence paragraph, as well as his
social and communication goals.

Figure 3. Amandas Book Box

Step 6: Evaluate Adaptations

created and maintained in an online

storage bank (e.g., as Word or
PowerPoint documents), and then
modified as needed for other students
in the class or for use in the future.
Because Amanda is a kinesthetic
and visual learner, Ms. Lawson creates
a book box that contains key elements
from the novel, including a representation of release (a food jar with a
small plastic animal inside), an airplane, a bicycle, a photo album containing photographs from Amandas
life to represent memories, and a
wooden massager to represent soothing
stress (See Figure 3). While reading the
novel, or listening to the novel being
read in class, Amanda can refer to her
book box to aid her comprehension.
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Step 5: Implement Adaptations

General adaptations, based on UDL

principles, will assist all students in
Mr. Jacksons English 8 class. As indicated in Table 2, all students may
choose to draw pictures to supplement
their reading comprehension and have
access to various forms of the novel,
including audio books and adapted
books. When adaptations are created
with the idea that anyone may use
them, it is often easier to keep age and
cultural appropriateness in mind.
Specific adaptations need to support
both students learning needs and their
IEP goals. Table 2, which presents
adaptations for John and Amanda
within the classs regular routines,
illustrates how IEP goals can be naturally addressed (Downing, 2005).

Finally, the effectiveness of general and

specific adaptations should be evaluated during and following instruction.
Guiding questions can support teachers
in evaluating adaptations, ensuring that
they meet students needs, and making
any necessary changes or modifications.
Was the student actively engaged
in the lesson, passively engaged, or
distracted? For example, Ms. Lawson
and Mr. Jackson ensure that Amanda
and John have accessible materials and
supports in place so that they can
answer questions, engage in discussions with classmates, take notes, write
responses, and read the novel in class
to facilitate their on-task engagement.
Was the student meaningfully
involved in the lesson, or was he or
she doing work that was substantially different from peers? Ms. Lawson
and Mr. Jackson will continue to complete ecological assessments to make
sure that any discrepancies between
skills required and student support
needs are addressed. Ms. Lawson will
be able to use information gathered
from the teacher talk sheets to prepare
any necessary adaptations (such as
modified novels) in advance of study
units.
Did the lesson address IEP goals,
and did the student make progress
on those IEP goals (based on data
collected)? Ms. Lawson collects
progress-monitoring data to determine
if Amanda and John are making
progress on IEP goals. This type of frequent, ongoing data collection is essen-

tial to making sure that instructional

time is maximized and that students
are making adequate progress. Both
summative and formative data assessment should be completed to determine the effectiveness of adaptations.
Was the student a true member of
the lesson, with similar activities and
work products as peers? For example,
the use of a modified novel could isolate John and Amanda if they are
sequestered in a corner reading their
modified books with a paraeducator.
Instead, their teachers plan their supports and adaptations in advance to
ensure that both students can meaningfully participate in class.
Did the lesson facilitate student
relationship development, or was the
student primarily working alone or
with an adult? Often, adult supports
act as an inadvertent barrier to social
participation and interaction; by
assigning the adult paraeducator to
walk around and assist all students,
and assigning peer buddies who happen to be sitting near John or Amanda
to assist as needed, the lessons in the
general education classroom become
much more facilitating of social relationship development.
Did the lesson facilitate student
independence, self-advocacy, and
problem-solving skills? Ms. Lawson
facilitates independence by assigning
paraeducator support on a roving
basis, and teaches Amanda and John
the classroom rule ask three then
me, so that they learn to problem
solve by first asking three peers for
assistance, then to raise a hand for
adult assistance if still needed.
Is the adaptation acceptable to
the student, peers, families, and
teachers? Ms. Lawson collaborates
with peers and families to make sure
that the adaptation is age and culturally appropriate. She avoids using childish pictures and activities, and general
adaptations are widely available in
the classroom.
Final Thoughts
A wide range of strategies can be
employed to facilitate the meaningful
participation of all students in general
education classrooms. Adaptations are

often essential to meaningful participation, but these tools should be used

with caution. To avoid islands in the
mainstream (Biklen, 1992, p. 148),
educators must be careful to create
adaptations that do not isolate students. Adaptations based on UDL principles will help ensure that the curriculum is age and culturally appropriate
for and available to all students. Last,
educators must be careful not to overadapt, and instead develop a rich array
of general adaptations in all classrooms
so that all students have the supports
in place to promote their participation
and learning (Janney & Snell, 2004).
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variables and access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities.
Exceptional Children, 74, 101120.
Jennifer A. Kurth (Arizona CEC), Assistant
Professor, Department of Special Education,
University of Kansas, Lawrence.
Address correspondence concerning this
article to Jennifer A. Kurth, Department
of Special Education, Joseph R. Pearson
Hall, Room 521, 1122 West Campus Rd.,
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045
(e-mail: jkurth@ku.edu).
TEACHING Exceptional Children, Vol. 46,
No. 2, pp. 3443.
Copyright 2013 CEC.

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