D.A.R.E. Choice Board (Student Agency): Antarctica for Special Education ELL/ML
When you first walk into a classroom designed for students with significant cognitive disabilities, there is a distinct learning curve. You might find yourself looking at grade-level standards and then at your students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), wondering how to bridge the gap between the two. As a mentor, the best advice I can give you is this: stop looking for a way to "water down" the content. Instead, look for ways to open the door wider.
In our recent sessions, we took our students to the literal ends of the earth—Antarctica. We explored the South Pole, Port Lockroy, the Lemaire Channel, Mount Erebus, Deception Island, and the striking imagery of Blood Falls. These aren't just remote locations; they are stark, high-contrast visual anchors. For our learners, the frozen expanse of Antarctica provides a unique sensory backdrop for literacy that feels both age-appropriate and accessible.
The Power of Managed Agency
For our learners, "choice" is a powerful tool, but it has to be structured. If you give a student with an IEP or a student who is learning English a blank piece of paper and a broad prompt, the cognitive load of deciding how to start can be paralyzing. They spend all their energy on the "what" and have nothing left for the "how."
This is why I use the
I watched a student who often struggles with task initiation look at the visual of Blood Falls. Because he could choose the "Answer" path—perhaps generating a series of titles for the strange, red-tinted waterfall—he had an immediate purpose. He wasn't just "doing work"; he was an investigator. That shift in perspective is where the real engagement begins.
Scaffolding the Language
Even when interest is high, the actual act of writing a constructed response remains a significant hurdle for Grade 6–12 students in special education. To support them, I always recommend integrating
These tools act as a "mental map" for the students. They provide the sentence frames and visual cues that remove the mechanical barriers of writing. If a student chooses to "Explain" their experience at Port Lockroy through a diary entry, the anchor chart provides the opening phrase. This allows the student to focus their cognitive energy on the content and their own metacognitive process—asking themselves what it might feel like to be in such a cold, quiet place—rather than getting stuck on how to start the first sentence.
Observation as Assessment
One of the most important habits you can develop as a new teacher is the art of observation. When students are working through their choice boards, I am moving through the room with a data collection page and an accommodations checklist.
I’m not just looking for a "correct" answer. I’m looking at the process. Is the student using the vibrant visuals of Mount Erebus to support their understanding? Are they leaning into their strengths? For instance, a student might choose the "Recommend" task to design a travel advertisement for the Lemaire Channel—a task that requires them to synthesize information and consider an audience. Another might choose the "Do" task to create a narrative. Both are valid pathways to demonstrating understanding.
Because these resources are low-prep and neurodiversity-aligned, you aren't tied to your desk. You are free to facilitate, to prompt, and to witness those small "aha" moments that define our work in inclusive settings.
Success Through Multiple Pathways
Our goal is to ensure that every student, regardless of their level, has access to the same high-interest curriculum. Whether you are using these boards in literacy centers, for project-based learning, or as an assessment tool, the focus remains on the student’s voice.
By providing simplified text alongside complex imagery of Deception Island or the South Pole, we honor the student’s chronological age while meeting their developmental needs. We use the 4-point rubric not just to grade, but to show the student exactly what they are achieving. It creates a culture of transparency and confidence.
As you start to implement these structures, you’ll see that your students are capable of much more than a standardized format might suggest. They just need the right framework to show you what they see.
As you watch your students choose their own pathway through the frozen sceneries of Antarctica today, take a moment to reflect:
When we provide a visual anchor that is as extreme and unique as Antarctica, how does that environment help clarify the "sameness" and "difference" in our students' expressive abilities?
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