Course Content

Understanding Access Methods and Designing Access Points

Inclusive education requires that all students can access the curriculum, not only in theory, but in daily practice. This course explores how educators can recognize and design for diverse access needs, including physical, sensory, cognitive, communicative, and cultural considerations. Participants will learn how to identify student access methods, reduce environmental and instructional barriers, and create multiple, meaningful points of entry into learning for all.

This course blends storytelling with practical learning. As you move through the course, you will alternate between reading your chosen story and engaging in Learning Interludes that deepen your understanding of inclusive education.

To view the course content, click on each section header below. This will reveal the readings and materials for that part of the course.

How the Course Flows

The course follows a consistent sequence:
Prologue → Learning Interlude 1 → Chapter 1 → Learning Interlude 2 → Chapter 2 → Learning Interlude 3 → Chapter 3 → Learning Interlude 4 → Chapter 4 → Learning Interlude 5 → Epilogue → Learning Interlude 6

Each chapter of your story highlights key ideas in action. After each chapter, you will complete a Learning Interlude that unpacks those ideas through guided content, tools, and activities.

What’s in a Learning Interlude?

Each Learning Interlude contains three Learning Links. A Learning Link is a short, focused learning unit that includes:

A short video explaining an essential concept.
A follow-up activity to help you apply what you have learned.

After each Learning Link, you will find both individual and group activities. Choose the activities that are most meaningful and relevant to your role, goals, and context. There is no requirement to complete them all.

If you are facilitating this course for a group, Facilitator Notes are included at the beginning of each Learning Interlude. These provide guidance, timing suggestions, and tips for leading group discussions and activities.

You will also find:

Printable tools and templates to support your planning.
Reflection prompts to help connect new ideas to your own practice.

These interludes help you make sense of what you have read and offer practical strategies you can use right away, whether you are learning individually or with a group.

▶ Inside the Story: Prologue

Inside the Story: Prologue

As you move through this course, we encourage you to return to the story you selected during the “Inside the Story” sections. Each chapter aligns with the learning interludes and offers a vivid, contextualized look at inclusive design in action. Feel free to explore additional stories if you're curious how the same principles play out in different contexts. Short overviews of the chapter are included here to help you discern if you want to explore other stories.

Samir’s Story: Tactile Paths to Participation

Prologue: Listening With New Eyes ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At Harvest Hill Elementary, Grade 1 teacher Ms. Kendall meets her new student Samir, who is blind. She has never taught a student without vision before. The classroom she prepared suddenly feels full of barriers. She watches Samir carefully and notices how he listens, explores, and responds. When he identifies his cubby by counting steps and touching the name tag with braille, Ms. Kendall realizes this year will stretch her. Not because of Samir’s disability, but because of what she needs to unlearn and reimagine.

A School That Speaks Together

Prologue: A Language We All Can Share ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At Riverstone Elementary, a new student arrives midyear. Arin is nonspeaking and uses a speech-generating device and core boards to communicate. The team is eager but unsure. During recess, Arin tries to join a game but is misunderstood. Ms. Kim, a seasoned educational assistant, sits beside him and models words on the playground board. Arin taps “I want play” and smiles when a peer responds. Ms. Kim realizes this is not just about helping Arin. It is about helping everyone learn a shared language.

Tanya’s Story: Coaching for Energy, Access, and Autonomy

Prologue: Not Just a Diagnosis ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Tanya, a learning coach in the division, reviews a referral for a student named Anika, recently diagnosed with a chronic health condition. The notes are clinical and focused on missed school days and academic gaps. But when Tanya visits Anika’s home, she sees a bright, artistic child painting vibrant landscapes. “Do they know you’re an artist?” Tanya asks. Anika shrugs. Tanya makes a quiet decision: whatever plan they build will start with who Anika is, not just what she has.

Jeremy’s Story: Designing with, Not For

Prologue: Beyond the Ramp ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At Summit Grove Secondary, a new student named Jeremy is set to start Grade 10. He uses a power wheelchair and has complex mobility needs. The school is technically barrier free, but as the team walks through his schedule, they realize much of the access is theoretical. Science tables are too tall. Class transitions are tight. Group work often happens on the floor. “We say he belongs here,” says Mr. Wallace, “but what have we actually changed?”

Language, Land, and Learning

Prologue: Walking Between Worlds ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Sherry, a Cree educational assistant, supports several students at Prairie View School. One day, she sits with Lily, who is struggling to participate in a story about Thanksgiving. “It doesn’t feel right,” Lily whispers. Sherry listens and feels her own discomfort too. Later, she gently brings it up with the teacher. “Could we tell a different story?” That question opens a conversation about representation, cultural access, and whose stories are centered in the classroom.

Finding His Way In: Jordan’s Journey With Print-Based Access

Prologue: Why Can’t I Read Like Everyone Else? ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Jordan’s struggle with reading has been a quiet storm building throughout his elementary years. He’s eager to learn, but often defeated before he even begins. His teacher, Ms. Lang, starts noticing how he avoids tasks that require heavy reading and instead excels in verbal discussions or hands-on activities. After a few brave conversations with Jordan and a meeting with his family, she begins to see that this isn’t a motivation issue. It's an access issue. Together, they agree to seek further assessment. The question shifts from “Why won’t he try?” to “What might help him thrive?”

The Power of Passion and Predictability

Prologue: Finding His Rhythm ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Mateo arrives at Wayfinder Middle School after a turbulent transition from his last school. He is nonspeaking, has high sensory sensitivity, and often retreats under tables or paces during class. Many staff are nervous. But in the music room, something shifts. When Mr. Iqbal begins drumming, Mateo sits up, sways, and begins tapping in time. Mr. Iqbal starts wondering what if rhythm could be Mateo’s access point into connection and learning?

The Dino Lens: Designing Through Deep Interests

Prologue: Why Is It Always Dinosaurs? ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Nia is a vibrant Grade 4 student at Emmaus Catholic School. She is known for her curiosity and enthusiasm but also for her intense focus on specific topics like trains and dinosaur taxonomy. During class discussions, she often redirects the topic or repeats information at length. Her teachers worry about peer reactions and classroom flow. But during a science fair, when Nia presents a stunning interactive model of a Jurassic ecosystem, her teacher pauses. Maybe her focused interests are not a challenge to manage but a doorway in.

Starting Somewhere: Executive Function as an Access Point

Prologue: A File Full of Deficits ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Elias joins Grade 6 with a file that paints a bleak picture: poor reading fluency, weak organization, inconsistent work completion. But during the first week of school, Ms. Clarke watches him spend 20 minutes explaining moon phases, complete with diagrams and a homemade clay model. None of this brilliance is in the file. She begins to question what is missing in how we document students and whose stories get told.

▶ Learning Interlude 1: What is Access?

Learning Interlude 1: What Is Access?

Occurs After Prologue → Before Chapter 1

Module Name: Defining Access in Inclusive Classrooms

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria

I can define what “access” means in the context of inclusive education.
I can describe at least three types of barriers students may face.

🎬 Learning Link 1: Understanding Access: Beyond the Ramp

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Access Definitions Sorting Task (📄PDF): Sort and critique different definitions of access across education, disability studies, and inclusion.
Inclusive Access Reflection Sheet (📄PDF): Journal about a time you observed or experienced limited access. What was the impact?
Barriers in My Setting Inventory (📄PDF): Walk through your physical or digital classroom space to identify visible and invisible access points.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Access Roundtable (📄PDF): In small groups, share examples of access in action and generate working definitions that reflect your context.
Access Myth-Busting Protocol (📄PDF): Analyze common misconceptions (e.g., “We already have ramps”) and reframe access more holistically.
Learning Space Accessibility Audit (📄PDF): Conduct a team-based audit using prompts related to universal access dimensions.

🎬 Learning Link 2: Types of Barriers

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Barrier Spotting Log (📄PDF): Track barriers you observe in your context across five domains (physical, sensory, cognitive, communicative, cultural).
Persona-Based Barrier Mapping (📄PDF): Use fictional student profiles to identify layered access challenges.
Access as Intersectionality Journal (📄PDF): Reflect on how access barriers intersect with culture, language, disability, or trauma history.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Barrier Mapping Carousel (📄PDF): In rotating groups, map out examples of different barrier types across the school system.
Access Profiles Case Study (📄PDF): Analyze real or fictional student stories to discuss layered barriers and emerging strategies.
Systems Lens Discussion Protocol (📄PDF): Explore how policies, schedules, or expectations may unintentionally exclude.

🎬 Learning Link 3: Why Access Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

My Access Equity Statement (📄PDF): Write a personal access philosophy to guide your inclusive practice.
Inclusive Design Reflection (📄PDF): Review one of your classroom materials or activities through an access lens. What would need to change?
Barriers and Strengths Sketch Map (📄PDF): Draw or map the ways in which certain barriers limit or enable different learners.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Access Isn’t the Same for Everyone Simulation (📄PDF): Try navigating a task under varying constraints (e.g., vision, mobility, processing) and debrief.
Responsive Design Jam (📄PDF): Co-create a lesson or space redesign using principles of access variability.
Schoolwide Access Visioning (📄PDF): As a team, describe what a fully accessible learning environment would look and feel like.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Barriers & Entry Points Mapping Tool (📄PDF): A graphic organizer for analyzing different types of barriers and designing points of access.
Dimensions of Access Reflection Chart (📄PDF): A guided chart for evaluating classroom design and instruction across key access categories.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes research and frameworks on universal design, access and equity in education, intersectional barriers, and inclusive classroom practices.

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 1

Inside the Story: Chapter 1

Samir’s Story: Tactile Paths to Participation

Chapter 1: Rebuilding the Classroom ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Kendall starts looking at her classroom differently. She notices all the visuals on the walls but realizes Samir cannot access any of them. She begins adding textured labels, auditory cues, and consistent routines. A student volunteer describes the morning message aloud each day. Ms. Kendall invites Samir to help choose materials with different tactile features. As she adapts, she sees other students engaging more too. A classroom designed for one becomes more usable for all.

A School That Speaks Together

Chapter 1: Everyone Needs a Way In ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Kim meets with the speech-language pathologist to review AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) supports. They identify key locations where core boards can be added: the library, gym, and music room. With staff input, they create a plan for modeling language across contexts. In the staff room, Ms. Kim shares how peers responded to Arin’s use of his device. “They didn’t need to be trained,” she says. “They just needed tools and permission.” Communication access becomes a schoolwide priority.

Tanya’s Story: Coaching for Energy, Access, and Autonomy

Chapter 1: Piecing Together the Day ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Tanya maps out Anika’s typical week, identifying access barriers: early mornings are difficult after treatment days, stairs limit mobility on fatigue days, and substitute routines cause anxiety. She meets with Anika to co-plan alternatives. Together, they create a visual calendar with flexible options for participation. Some days, Anika joins art virtually. Other days, she rests in the sensory room before joining literacy. The plan is fluid, honoring both Anika’s energy and her right to belong.

Jeremy’s Story: Designing with, Not For

Chapter 1: The Space Between ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

The school team walks through Jeremy’s schedule, measuring clearances and observing transition times. They move one class to a different room to reduce travel strain and rearrange science tables to allow access. But the biggest shift comes when Mr. Wallace redesigns group work. Instead of floor activities, students collaborate on whiteboards and vertical spaces. Jeremy’s contributions increase immediately. The question becomes less about accommodation and more about shared access for all.

Language, Land, and Learning

Chapter 1: More Than a Moment ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

After her conversation with Lily, Sherry visits the classroom and gently observes. She notices other students fidgeting or whispering during the same story. She meets with the teacher and suggests offering multiple stories and encouraging reflection from different perspectives. Together, they plan a mini-inquiry: “How do different cultures tell the same story?” Students explore creation stories from Indigenous and global traditions. The classroom becomes a space of dialogue rather than discomfort.

Finding His Way In: Jordan’s Journey With Print-Based Access

Chapter 1: Discovering Jordan’s Access Needs ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

After a psychoeducational assessment, Jordan is identified as having a specific learning disability that impacts his ability to decode text. Ms. Lang is surprised to learn that comprehension and decoding are separate skills and that Jordan’s comprehension is actually above grade level when content is spoken aloud. She begins exploring assistive tools like text-to-speech software, audiobooks, and digital platforms that support multimodal learning. At the same time, she starts noticing other students who might benefit from similar tools. Jordan, cautiously at first, starts using the tools with guidance and realizes he can finally focus on what he understands, not just what he can decode.

The Power of Passion and Predictability

Chapter 1: Rhythm and Regulation ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Mr. Iqbal begins integrating percussion into daily warmups and transitions. He notices that when rhythms are predictable, Mateo is calmer and more engaged. He collaborates with the occupational therapist to co-create a rhythm break routine for the class. Soon, Mateo begins initiating the drumming, tapping twice when the energy in the room feels high. What started as sensory support becomes a community ritual. Rhythm is no longer just access for Mateo; it centers the whole class.

The Dino Lens: Designing Through Deep Interests

Chapter 1: An Invitation In ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Nia’s teacher, Ms. Lau, decides to experiment. During a unit on habitats, she invites students to choose their focus and how they will show their learning. Nia creates a diorama of a prehistoric swamp, complete with detailed labels and a hand-drawn food web. Her peers are captivated. Ms. Lau begins offering “passion windows” during projects—short periods when students connect content to their own interests. Nia thrives, and so do others. Engagement rises. Access, it turns out, is personal.

Starting Somewhere: Executive Function as an Access Point

Chapter 1: Curiosity as Compass ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Clarke begins intentionally observing Elias’s strengths. He uses advanced vocabulary when talking about science and lights up during inquiry-based learning. She documents these strengths using sticky notes, voice memos, and strength-spotting templates. In team meetings, she starts sharing not just what Elias cannot do but what he does brilliantly.

▶ Learning Interlude 2: Designing Entry Points

Learning Interlude 2: Designing Entry Points

Occurs After Chapter 1 → Before Chapter 2

Module Name: Creating First Steps into Learning

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria

I can identify a current lesson or task that may limit access.
I can create at least one low-barrier entry point into learning.

🎬 Learning Link 1: What is an Entry Point?

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Lesson Barrier Reflection (📄PDF): Select a current lesson and identify possible entry barriers across cognitive, sensory, and cultural dimensions.
Entry Point Brainstorm Sheet (📄PDF): List different ways to enter a concept, such as stories, visuals, tactile tools, or lived experience.
My Learning Threshold Map (📄PDF): Reflect on your own experiences of learning. What helped you cross the threshold into understanding?

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Low-Barrier Brainstorm Carousel (📄PDF): In rotating groups, reimagine traditional tasks to include multiple starting points.
What’s Missing at the Start? Protocol (📄PDF): Review sample tasks and discuss who might be excluded by the way learning begins.
Access Redesign Challenge (📄PDF): Collaboratively redesign a lesson start using visuals, gestures, AAC, or hands-on exploration.

🎬 Learning Link 2: Reducing Complexity Without Reducing Depth

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Cognitive Load Audit (📄 PDF): Break down a lesson or instruction set into steps and evaluate for clarity, load, and visual support.
Depth Through Simplicity Design Sheet (📄 PDF): Identify one concept and plan a simple but rich task to introduce it.
“Too Much, Too Soon” Reflection (📄 PDF): Write about a time when a student was overwhelmed at the beginning of a lesson and what you could have changed.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Step-Back Strategy Swap (📄 PDF): Share go-to strategies for simplifying instruction while preserving conceptual depth.
Instructional Rewrite Workshop (📄 PDF): In teams, take a dense instructional script and rewrite it using UDL-aligned principles.
Design for Curiosity Jam (📄 PDF): Co-create low-barrier lesson openings that hook students through relevance, sensory input, or personal connection.

🎬 Learning Link 3: Examples of Inclusive Design for Entry

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Lesson Entry Builder Template (📄PDF): Use the template to design an inclusive opening for an upcoming lesson.
Entry Point Success Reflection (📄PDF): Reflect on a time when an inclusive entry helped a student engage. What made it work?
Access Persona Design (📄PDF): Design an entry point based on a fictional student with specific access needs.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Lesson Makeover Studio (📄PDF): Collaboratively redesign the start of a lesson using a UDL checklist and persona-based design.
Success Story Share Circle (📄PDF): Share stories of entry points that supported learner engagement across different needs.
Entry Point Exemplar Gallery Walk (📄PDF): Bring in artifacts or plans and give peer feedback using inclusive design criteria.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Lesson Entry Point Builder (📄PDF): Design tool for brainstorming low-barrier ways into academic tasks.
Access-Friendly Task Audit (📄PDF): Checklist to assess how learning tasks accommodate a range of access needs.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes research and resources on Universal Design for Learning, scaffolding strategies, cognitive load theory, and inclusive instructional design.

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 2

Inside the Story: Chapter 2

Samir’s Story: Tactile Paths to Participation

Chapter 2: Expanding the Toolkit ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

The team brings in an itinerant specialist for students with visual impairments. Ms. Kendall learns how to use tactile graphics and raised-line drawings to supplement science and math lessons. She introduces braille labels with Samir’s help and begins narrating her own actions aloud more consistently. Other students follow her lead. When Samir navigates a new math center independently using tactile cues, his peers cheer. Tools once seen as specialized now feel like part of the classroom’s shared language.

A School That Speaks Together

Chapter 2: Shared Language ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At a staff meeting, Ms. Kim introduces a “core word of the week” initiative. Each classroom models the target word using low-tech AAC boards and gestures. Posters go up in common areas, and students begin noticing and using the words with each other. In gym class, a peer points to the word “go” before a relay race. In music, a student taps “like” after a performance. AAC becomes less about a few students and more about a shared language that opens doors for everyone.

Tanya’s Story: Coaching for Energy, Access, and Autonomy

Chapter 2: More Than One Way ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Tanya gathers materials that support multiple ways to show understanding: voice notes, drawing tools, speech-to-text apps, manipulatives, and video reflections. She partners with teachers to embed these options into tasks. Anika, who struggles with writing on fatigue days, uses voice notes to explain her thinking in math. A classmate uses visuals and oral storytelling. Assessment becomes more inclusive, not just for Anika, but for all students. “We’ve started planning for difference,” one teacher says, “instead of reacting to it.”

Jeremy’s Story: Designing with, Not For

Chapter 2: Tools That Travel ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Jeremy and the occupational therapist co-design a mobile work tray with height-adjustable surfaces, magnetic organizers, and visual labels. They add a small voice recorder so Jeremy can dictate ideas when writing takes too long. The tray moves with him throughout the day. Jeremy begins initiating transitions independently, using a visual schedule app paired with audio reminders. His confidence grows. Assistive tools are no longer seen as extra—they are recognized as essential design elements.

Language, Land, and Learning

Chapter 2: The Blanket Shelf ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Sherry builds a classroom resource shelf with items suggested by students: weighted blankets, scent jars, clay, sketch pads, cultural books, and communication cards. She introduces the shelf as a class gift from last year’s students to this year’s learners. Access becomes part of the classroom identity. When a child is overwhelmed, another quietly offers the lavender jar. Sherry notices students supporting one another in ways that feel natural and respectful. The tools become vehicles of empathy.

Finding His Way In: Jordan’s Journey With Print-Based Access

Chapter 2: Redesigning Learning Materials ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Lang revisits her lesson materials and notices how much of her instruction relies on dense handouts, long written directions, and group reading tasks. She redesigns her lessons with visual anchors, chunked text, video summaries, and options for listening. In reading groups, students can now choose to follow along in print, audio, or paired reading formats. Jordan no longer dreads the start of literacy block—he’s able to engage from the beginning and participate with more confidence. Other students also express appreciation for the changes, and the classroom becomes a more flexible, responsive space.

The Power of Passion and Predictability

Chapter 2: Customizing Tools ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Mr. Iqbal works with the school’s tech coach to explore digital tools that align with Mateo’s rhythm-based processing. They experiment with loop-based composition software and video modeling apps. Mateo begins using visual timers with built-in percussion cues to regulate transitions. For a social studies project, he creates a rhythm poem using a drum loop to express his learning. The class loves it. What began as accommodation becomes a new way for all students to access curriculum creatively.

The Dino Lens: Designing Through Deep Interests

Chapter 2: Designing Access Through Interests ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Lau realizes that Nia struggles most when learning feels decontextualized. She starts using visual agendas, graphic organizers, and inquiry boards to make lessons more transparent. She invites students to brainstorm “hooks” for upcoming units. Nia suggests building a prehistoric swamp model before a science unit on habitats. Her idea is adopted. When the unit begins, Nia already has an anchor. She is no longer waiting on the margins. She’s leading the entry.

Starting Somewhere: Executive Function as an Access Point

Chapter 2: Rethinking the Problem ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Rather than zeroing in on Elias’s messy binder and below-level reading scores, Ms. Clarke reframes him as a divergent thinker with strong verbal reasoning and deep content knowledge. She introduces a reading intervention anchored in space-related texts and allows audio-assisted comprehension. Elias starts finishing books and talking about them with pride.

▶ Learning Interlude 3: Tools for Access

Learning Interlude 3: Tools for Access

Occurs After Chapter 2 → Before Chapter 3

Module Name: Assistive Tools, Strategies, and Scaffolds

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria

I can name at least three tools or strategies that support access.
I can match tools to specific access needs.

🎬 Learning Link 1: Tools that Support Sensory and Physical Access

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Access Walk Reflection (📄PDF): Reflect on a student in your setting with sensory or mobility-related access needs and audit your learning environment.
Tool Familiarity Self-Check (📄PDF): List tools you've used (e.g., noise-cancelling headphones, slant boards, adapted seating) and rate your confidence using them.
Try It and Track It Challenge (📄PDF): Choose one new physical or sensory support and trial it in your classroom. Journal about the outcome.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Barrier-to-Tool Brainstorm (📄PDF): In small groups, list physical and sensory barriers and brainstorm matching tools.
Tool Demos and Stations (📄PDF): Explore and test a variety of sensory-friendly and physically adaptive tools together.
Access-First Room Design Challenge (📄PDF): In groups, redesign a sample classroom map to support physical and sensory access.

🎬 Learning Link 2: Tools that Support Communication and Processing

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Processing Support Case Study (📄PDF): Read a student scenario and match communication or cognitive processing supports.
Communication Tool Inventory (📄PDF): Audit which tools (AAC, visual schedules, sentence frames) are available in your classroom.
Visual Anchor Planning Sheet (📄PDF): Choose a task and design a visual or language scaffold to support student understanding.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

AAC and More: Tool Matching Relay (📄PDF): In teams, match fictional students to communication tools and justify your match.
Processing-Friendly Environment Brainstorm (📄PDF): Identify environmental and instructional changes to reduce overload.
Tool-to-Need Jigsaw (📄PDF): Each group explores tools for a specific need (e.g., communication, processing) and shares key takeaways.

🎬 Learning Link 3: Balancing Universal and Personalized Supports

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Universal Design Reflection Sheet (📄PDF): Reflect on how you currently use universal tools and where more personal support is needed.
Personalization Spectrum Planner (📄PDF): Choose a student and identify where universal strategies end and individualized supports begin.
Support Map Sketch (📄PDF): Map how different learners access a task using a mix of shared and individual tools.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

UDL + Personalization Sorting Protocol (📄PDF): Sort sample supports into universal, targeted, and individualized categories and discuss overlap.
Support Stacking Case Study (📄PDF): Work through a case study to design a layered set of supports for a learning activity.
Inclusive Toolkit Share-Out (📄PDF): Each team brings and explains 1–2 favorite classroom access tools, then builds a shared toolkit resource.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Access Tools Matching Chart (📄PDF): Match tools and strategies to access domains such as sensory, physical, communicative, cognitive, and cultural.
Inclusive Materials Builder (📄PDF): A planning template to adapt materials for varied access needs using principles of UDL and scaffolding.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes resources on assistive technology, Universal Design for Learning, AAC, processing supports, and inclusive classroom strategies.

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 3

Inside the Story: Chapter 3

Samir’s Story: Tactile Paths to Participation

Chapter 3: Partnering for Access ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Kendall sets up a planning meeting that includes Samir’s parents, the vision specialist, and another Grade 1 student’s family who have expressed interest in learning more about inclusion. Together, they explore how peers can be part of the access story. One family offers to create braille labels at home. Another student brings in a raised map from a sibling’s social studies class. Ms. Kendall is struck by how access expands when families feel invited into the journey.

A School That Speaks Together

Chapter 3: Everyone Means Everyone ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

The school receives an influx of new refugee students, some of whom are non-speaking. Ms. Kim organizes a lunch and learn for staff on culturally responsive AAC practices. The team realizes they need symbols that reflect diverse foods, names, and experiences. With student and family input, they co-create an expanded symbol set. When a student uses a newly added symbol to share their favorite dish, their entire table lights up. AAC is no longer a special education strategy; it is a language of belonging.

Tanya’s Story: Coaching for Energy, Access, and Autonomy

Chapter 3: Side by Side Planning ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Tanya co-plans a unit with Mr. Bains, a Grade 5 teacher. Together, they build access points from the start: visual timelines, voice recording options, tactile resources, and stamina choice menus. They ask students to co-design a reflection rubric. Anika suggests including “How my body felt during learning” as a prompt. The team embraces it. Tanya realizes that planning for access is not just about reducing barriers; it is about honoring lived experience.

Jeremy’s Story: Designing with, Not For

Chapter 3: Designing Together ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

In a circle meeting, the class brainstorms how everyone can participate in an upcoming science fair. Jeremy shares that he wants to build a volcano but needs help with fine motor tasks. A classmate volunteers to be his hands if Jeremy is the voice. They form a team. Another student asks if they can make their display multimodal. The class agrees. With Ms. Landry’s guidance, the science fair becomes a celebration of creative access, co-designed rather than retrofitted.

Language, Land, and Learning

Chapter 3: Listening to the Land ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Sherry invites Knowledge Keeper Marie Louise to speak with staff about creating culturally accessible spaces. Marie Louise suggests beginning each day with a gratitude circle and offering a nature-based quiet space. Sherry brings this idea to her classroom. The students help design a small reflection nook with cedar boughs, river rocks, and journals. When one student has a hard morning, another gently says, “Want to go to the quiet place?” Access becomes sacred.

Finding His Way In: Jordan’s Journey With Print-Based Access

Chapter 3: New Ways to Show What He Knows ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

With reading less of a barrier, Jordan begins to shine in class discussions. Ms. Lang encourages him to share his ideas through podcasts, voice notes, diagrams, and oral presentations. One day, after a powerful oral explanation of a science concept, his classmates applaud. He’s seen not just as capable, but as a leader. Ms. Lang reflects on how shifting output options allows all students to demonstrate understanding in ways that align with their strengths.

The Power of Passion and Predictability

Chapter 3: Shared Rhythms ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Mr. Iqbal co-creates a buddy system where students with different learning rhythms collaborate on shared projects. Mateo is paired with a classmate who prefers to write but struggles with focus. Mateo brings structure through drumming sequences; his partner brings elaboration through text. Their final project blends sound, movement, and narrative. “This is what learning feels like,” Mateo says. The collaboration shows that access can emerge through difference rather than in spite of it.

The Dino Lens: Designing Through Deep Interests

Chapter 3: Tuning In ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Lau notices that Nia’s engagement fluctuates. She begins checking in at the start of each day, inviting Nia to choose from multiple participation options. Some days Nia writes. Other days she draws or discusses orally. During a class discussion on emotions in literature, Nia quietly places a sticky note with a character analysis on the class chart. It is brilliant. Later, she says, “Sometimes I just need time to think first.” Ms. Lau realizes that access also means time.

Starting Somewhere: Executive Function as an Access Point

Chapter 3: Voices That Matter( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Clarke invites Elias and his parents to co-create a learner profile. She asks Elias what excites him, what he is proud of, and how he wants to grow. He shares his dream of becoming an astronaut and suggests they call his profile “Scientist in Progress.” The process is empowering for Elias and his family.

▶ Learning Interlude 4: Co-Creating Access

Learning Interlude 4: Co-Creating Access

Occurs After Chapter 3 → Before Chapter 4

Module Name: Collaboration and Voice in Access Planning

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria

I can describe how to include students and families in access design.
I can co-create one access plan or tool with a student.

🎬 Learning Link 1: Name

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Access Planning Reflection Journal (📄PDF): Reflect on past planning experiences. When was the student’s voice included, and when was it missing?
Planning Roles Self-Assessment (📄PDF): Assess your current role in collaborative access planning and set a goal for deeper co-creation.
Access Needs Interview Prep Sheet (📄PDF): Draft 3–5 questions you could ask a student to better understand their experience of access.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Who’s at the Table? Simulation Protocol (📄PDF): Map out a collaborative planning meeting. Who’s there, what do they offer, and who speaks when?
Barrier Busters Planning Challenge (📄PDF): Work in teams to co-create a plan for a fictional student using input from multiple voices.
Collaborative Access Audit (📄PDF): Audit a sample planning document for inclusion of student/family voice. What’s missing?

🎬 Learning Link 2: Working with Families and Specialists

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Partnership Reflection Sheet (📄 PDF): Reflect on how you currently engage families and specialists in support planning.
Collaborative Communication Planner (📄 PDF): Plan one communication or meeting to strengthen family–school–specialist collaboration.
From Forms to Relationships (📄 PDF): Review a standard planning form and rewrite a section in more family-friendly, relational language.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Triad Scenarios: Teacher, Family, Specialist (📄 PDF): Work through realistic role-play scenarios to strengthen collaboration.
Cross-Discipline Strengths Exchange (📄 PDF): Share knowledge across specialties. What unique insights do different partners offer?
Team-Based Planning Map (📄 PDF): Create a map of who contributes what to access planning in your context.

🎬 Learning Link 3: Centering Student Voice and Dignity

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Dignity Reflection Tool (📄PDF): Reflect on how your access supports uphold or unintentionally diminish student dignity.
Student Input Tracker (📄PDF): Track opportunities for student input in your current support plans. Where is voice absent?
One-Page Access Plan Design (📄PDF): Co-create a draft of a one-page, student-friendly access plan with a focus on dignity and empowerment.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Inclusive Language Rewrite (📄PDF): In teams, identify deficit-oriented language in sample plans and rewrite with a dignity-centered lens.
Student Voice Integration Carousel (📄PDF): Rotate through stations exploring tools and strategies to amplify student voice in planning.
Case Study: Rebuilding Trust (📄PDF): Examine a case where a student felt unheard. What went wrong, and how could it be rebuilt?

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Access Collaboration Planner (📄PDF): A guided planning tool for co-creating access strategies with students, families, and specialists.
Student Voice Integration Guide (📄PDF): Strategies and prompts to meaningfully involve students in identifying and shaping their own access needs.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes resources on co-planning, student-led support strategies, family engagement, and dignity-centered inclusive practice

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 4

Inside the Story: Chapter 4

Samir’s Story: Tactile Paths to Participation

Chapter 4: Partnering for Growth ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Peters and Ms. Noor begin co-creating social stories with Samir, using tactile books and Braille labels that explain events like school assemblies or field trips. They also start teaching other students about Samir’s tools and access needs, modeling how to be partners in inclusion. At a storytelling circle, Samir helps retell the class story using a Braille map and sound buttons. His peers watch with fascination and then cheer. What began as adult scaffolding is now growing into community.

A School That Speaks Together

Chapter 4: Language Embedded ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Communication tools become part of the culture at Riverstone. Word walls now include symbols, group norms are displayed visually, and even school assemblies include visual supports. During a science fair, Leo and his partner present a simple experiment using a tactile board and step-by-step visuals. His partner explains how Leo contributed by designing the layout and choosing the symbols. Parents and staff are moved. The question is no longer, “Can Leo do this?” but “How did Leo help lead this?”

Tanya’s Story: Coaching for Energy, Access, and Autonomy

Chapter 4: Community of Care ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Tanya works with her school team to establish a Chronic Health Access Protocol that outlines flexible communication, attendance practices, and wellness plans for students with recurring conditions. She helps coordinate a peer mentoring program that includes students with medical needs, highlighting leadership and empathy as valued contributions. When one of her students leads a classroom discussion on empathy, the teacher later tells Tanya, “He didn’t just participate. He changed the tone of the room.”

Jeremy’s Story: Designing with, Not For

Chapter 4: Community in Motion ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Jeremy presents with his classmates at a school-wide Celebration of Learning. Their station showcases collaborative engineering projects using switches and recycled materials. Jeremy uses his access button to activate a cardboard elevator he helped design. Students and visitors take turns trying out different adapted switches. His peers explain with pride, “We all made this together.” What started as adaptation is now innovation. Jeremy’s learning is no longer parallel. It is shared.

Language, Land, and Learning

Chapter 4: Threads of Belonging ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Sherry works with teachers to braid cultural access into daily routines. Morning meetings now include Cree greetings, art projects center on land and story, and the school library features books in multiple Indigenous languages. One teacher who had once hesitated says, “It’s not just her presence. It’s her weaving of identity into how we teach.” When Sherry leads a beading circle open to all grades, students from every background join. Inclusion is no longer a goal. It is a rhythm.

Finding His Way In: Jordan’s Journey With Print-Based Access

Chapter 4: Independence and Advocacy ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Ms. Lang wants Jordan to be prepared for future classrooms that may not yet be as flexible. She works with him to develop a personal advocacy template: a short letter explaining his learning profile and what supports help him succeed. They practice together, and Jordan begins using the letter during group work and when starting new subjects. He even shares his strategies during a class “access showcase,” where students present tools and methods that help them learn best. The experience empowers Jordan and opens a conversation among his peers about how everyone benefits from choice and voice in learning.

The Power of Passion and Predictability

Chapter 4: Designing With, Not For ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Mateo joins a student design team focused on improving sensory spaces in the school. He helps draft a proposal for a calm corner in the music room, complete with dimmable lights and headphones. His voice leads the planning, and his story helps shift the narrative. During the next school assembly, Mateo uses his voice-output app to thank the team. His message ends with, “I belong here.” The room erupts in applause.

The Dino Lens: Designing Through Deep Interests

Chapter 4: Beyond the Wall ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Nia’s art exhibit goes up in the school atrium. It includes mixed media portraits with QR codes that link to student-recorded stories. Her piece titled “Unspoken” includes layered textures and a whispered voice track. It is about her experiences with selective mutism. Peers stop, listen, and talk about it. A student writes, “Thank you for helping me understand my sister better.” Nia is not just included. She is understood.

Starting Somewhere: Executive Function as an Access Point

Chapter 4: Designing Around Strength ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Building on his passion, Elias co-plans a space exploration unit with Ms. Clarke. He takes on leadership roles, guiding peers in model building, researching mission designs, and presenting using visual aids. What began as accommodation becomes aspiration. He is now scaffolding his own writing and learning through his strengths.

▶ Learning Interlude 5: Designing for All

Learning Interlude 5: Designing for All

Occurs After Chapter 4 → Before Epilogue

Module Name: Building Inclusive Learning Environments

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria

I can reflect on how my environment supports diverse access needs.
I can redesign a space, material, or lesson to increase access for all.

🎬 Learning Link 1: Environments that Invite Participation

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Participation Walkthrough Log (📄PDF): Reflect on who engages in different classroom areas or routines. Who is invited in, and who may be left out?
Student Perspective Sketch (📄PDF): Sketch a room layout or material setup from the perspective of a student with a specific access need.
What If? Design Reflection (📄PDF): Write a reflective “what if” paragraph imagining your classroom through the lens of access-first design.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Barrier Hunt Walkabout (📄PDF): In teams, tour a learning space and identify subtle or unintentional access barriers.
Access Reframe Circle (📄PDF): Use a modified circle protocol to explore how the same environment may feel different to different students.
Design With, Not For Scenario (📄PDF): Work in groups to redesign a classroom space using fictional student profiles and needs.

🎬 Learning Link 2: Checking for Unintended Barriers

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Barrier Reflection Checklist (📄PDF): Use a checklist to audit your materials, routines, and spaces for common invisible barriers.
Redesign Journal Entry (📄PDF): Write a journal reflection on a time when access was unintentionally limited—and how you’d redesign it.
Peer Swap Audit (📄PDF): Exchange a task or material with a colleague and review each other’s work using the barrier checklist.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Barrier Mapping Workshop (📄PDF): In groups, map typical student journeys through the school day and locate potential friction points.
Redesign Challenge Station (📄PDF): Collaboratively redesign a high-barrier activity into one with multiple access pathways.
Access Review Roundtable (📄PDF): Hold a discussion using anonymous artifacts or classroom plans and examine them for equity and access.

🎬 Learning Link 3: Inclusive Design in Practice

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Lesson Redesign Template (📄PDF): Choose a current lesson and apply inclusive design strategies to increase accessibility.
Environment Reflection Grid (📄PDF): Complete a grid evaluating multiple dimensions of access within your learning space.
Access Anchor Reflection (📄PDF): Identify one “anchor” strategy or mindset you will carry forward into future design decisions.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

UDL Gallery Walk (📄PDF): Share and discuss inclusive redesigns in small groups, offering feedback and inspiration.
Inclusive Design Pair Coaching (📄PDF): Partner with a colleague to walk through each other’s inclusive redesign plans.
Team UDL Commitments (📄PDF): As a group, create a set of team-wide inclusive design principles or commitments.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Access Environment Walkthrough (📄PDF): A guided observation tool to evaluate and improve the inclusivity of your physical environment.
Universal Design Redesign Template (📄PDF): A scaffolded planner to help redesign lessons or materials using UDL and access principles.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes foundational UDL resources, inclusive classroom design research, and equity-focused planning tools.

▶ Inside the Story: Epilogue

Inside the Story: Epilogue

Samir’s Story: Tactile Paths to Participation

Epilogue: Seeing in New Ways ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At the end of the year celebration, Samir hands out Braille-embossed bookmarks he made with the help of a tactile printer. As his classmates proudly show them off, Ms. Peters smiles at Ms. Noor and says, “This is more than access. This is agency.” Samir’s story becomes part of the school’s orientation for new staff, a reminder that access is not a checklist. It is a way of seeing, designing, and building community.

A School That Speaks Together

Epilogue: Building a Culture of Access ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At a staff meeting in June, the Riverstone team reflects on what has shifted. One teacher says, “We used to see communication needs as something to accommodate. Now we see them as part of how we all learn.” Word tiles, core boards, and visuals are now part of every classroom. Students like Leo are not the exception. They are helping redefine what learning looks like.

Tanya’s Story: Coaching for Energy, Access, and Autonomy

Epilogue: A Widened Circle ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At the final staff meeting of the year, Tanya shares a portfolio of student work highlighting learning that happened from home, from hospital beds, and from in between. “These students are not absent,” she says. “They are present in different ways.” The room is quiet, reflective. A new teacher whispers, “I want to be part of this kind of school.” The circle has widened.

Jeremy’s Story: Designing with, Not For

Epilogue: A Different Kind of Leader ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At the school’s year-end celebration, Jeremy is given a Student Leadership Award. His classmates erupt into cheers. As he presses his access button to say “Thank you,” his eyes shine. His mother stands beside him, tearful. Later, a teacher reflects, “He didn’t become a leader despite his disability. He led us into a new understanding of what learning can be.”

Language, Land, and Learning

Epilogue: A Place for All of Us ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

The year ends with a community feast in the gym. Elders, families, staff, and students gather to share food, stories, and songs. A Grade 1 student runs up to Sherry and says, “My kokum says thank you for the drum song.” Sherry places a hand on her heart. For the first time in a long time, she does not feel like she is bridging two worlds. She is home in both.

Finding His Way In: Jordan’s Journey With Print-Based Access

Epilogue: I Can Do This My Way ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

As a final project, Jordan writes a digital story titled “My Brain Works Differently, and That’s Okay.” Using visuals, voice narration, and carefully selected music, he explains his learning journey in his own words. When he presents it to the class, his peers listen with admiration. Ms. Lang sees in his eyes a sense of ownership and peace. Jordan no longer feels the need to compare himself to others—he knows his worth, and he knows his way. His story becomes a reminder to staff: when we design access with students, not just for them, we open doors to identity, confidence, and lasting success.

The Power of Passion and Predictability

Epilogue: The Power of Voice ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

On the last day of school, Ms. Park gives Mateo a small gift: a keychain that says “Your Voice Matters.” Mateo turns it over in his hand and grins. Around him, classmates shout goodbye and bump elbows. One calls out, “See you next year, Mateo!” His voice device chimes in with a pre-programmed response: “You bet!” The hallway bursts into laughter and waves. Mateo is not on the outside. He is in it, fully.

The Dino Lens: Designing Through Deep Interests

Epilogue: Story as Bridge ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At the art exhibit’s closing circle, students are asked what they learned. A peer says, “I learned that silence isn’t the same as not having something to say.” Nia smiles and tucks her sketchbook under her arm. Her teacher later writes, “Nia didn’t just find her voice. She helped us hear in new ways.” The story goes beyond the walls of the classroom. It becomes a bridge.

Starting Somewhere: Executive Function as an Access Point

Epilogue: From Case to Kid ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At the end-of-year celebration, Elias’s learner profile is shared as part of a showcase on strength-based learning. Teachers describe him as a “scientific thinker” and “natural leader.” Ms. Clarke reflects that the most powerful shift was not in Elias’s data. It was in how they saw him. His identity is no longer defined by deficits. He is Elias, and he is thriving.

▶ Learning Interlude 6: Writing Your Own Story

Learning Interlude 6: Writing Your Own Story

Occurs After Epilogue

Module Name: Sustainable Access Practices

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria

I can name one access strategy I will integrate into regular practice.
I can explain how designing for access supports dignity and belonging.

🎬 Learning Link 1: Sustaining the Work: Small Shifts, Big Impact

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Access Integration Log (📄PDF): Reflect on one small access shift you’ve already tried and how it impacted students.
“One Practice Forward” Commitment Sheet (📄PDF): Name one strategy you will embed into your everyday planning.
Access Throughline Mapping (📄PDF): Chart how one access principle could be applied across your week or units.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Small Shifts, Shared Stories (📄PDF): As a team, share access strategies that have made a noticeable difference.
Ripple Effect Planning (📄PDF): Map out how a small classroom shift could ripple into broader school culture.
Access in Action Gallery (📄PDF): Share examples of accessible tools, lessons, or environments in a rotating gallery.

🎬 Learning Link 2: Moving Beyond Compliance

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Compliance vs. Commitment Reflection (📄PDF): Reflect on past approaches that met minimum requirements vs. those rooted in belief.
Access Ethics Journal Prompt (📄PDF): Respond to a prompt about the deeper purpose behind accessibility in your setting.
Policy Scan Worksheet (📄PDF): Examine a school or district policy through an access and equity lens.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Beyond the Checklist Protocol (📄PDF): In teams, evaluate common compliance checklists and brainstorm ways to embed deeper purpose.
From Rule to Relationship Discussion (📄PDF): Explore how access design changes when students’ dignity is centered over procedural rules.
Collective Commitment Circle (📄PDF): Co-create team commitments that go beyond minimum requirements toward inclusive excellence.

🎬 Learning Link 3: Honoring Identity Through Design

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Access & Identity Reflection (📄PDF): Reflect on a time when access or lack thereof affected a student’s sense of identity.
Personal Action Plan (📄PDF): Identify key design shifts that can affirm identity for students in your context.
Accessibility + Belonging Journal (📄PDF): Write about how dignity and access are interwoven in the students you serve.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Identity-Affirming Design Workshop (📄PDF): Co-create sample lessons or routines that affirm diverse identities through access.
Design with Dignity Case Study (📄PDF): Analyze real or fictional classroom examples to evaluate their design through a dignity lens.
Belonging Dialogue Series (📄PDF): Facilitate a series of short group dialogues connecting design practices to student belonging.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Access Strategy Tracker (📄PDF): Tool to record and reflect on access strategies that are becoming part of regular practice.
Belonging Through Access Planning Tool (📄PDF): A planning sheet to intentionally design for dignity, identity, and connection.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes research on sustainable inclusive design, identity-affirming access practices, and long-term system change through UDL.

Course Content

How the Course Flows

What’s in a Learning Interlude?

▶ Inside the Story: Prologue

▶ Learning Interlude 1: What is Access?

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 1

▶ Learning Interlude 2: Designing Entry Points

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 2

▶ Learning Interlude 3: Tools for Access

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 3

▶ Learning Interlude 4: Co-Creating Access

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 4

▶ Learning Interlude 5: Designing for All

▶ Inside the Story: Epilogue

▶ Learning Interlude 6: Writing Your Own Story

▶ Reflection and Recognition