Classroom Management Tools for UDL

When you are having students work on an assignment, do you think about what is going on beyond the assignment? What I mean is...are you giving your students opportunities to prioritize, organize, and manage their time? Have your students developed that "clock in their head" that many NFL quarterbacks have developed.

One of the ways that you can develop this sense of urgency is through the use of visual timers. I have found that my students are more engaged and are able to handle multiple tasks with this visual representation of time. Yes it sounds simple, but it is effective. This is a great way to teach our students ways to strategically plan and monitor their progess (Principle 2: Multiple Means of Action and Expression).

Here are two of my favorites:

• Countdown Timer - remember the old time stove top timers? This is a great way to wind up and count down the time!
• Online Stopwatch - is a stopwatch and a timer built into one! You can download other types of timers or just use the online timer.