OpenSciEd units are designed in a way to use the principles of Universal Design for Learning to provide equitable and accessible learning from the outset of the units. OpenSciEd units are also designed with differentiation in mind, allowing teachers to adapt the materials as necessary without diminishing the learning experiences for students. OpenSciEd units specifically include differentiation strategies in the following sections of the units: Teacher background knowledge, the lesson-level “Where we are going” and “Where we are not going” sections, and the assessment overview and guidance tables. These sections provide teachers with information about adapting the content, process, or product of the lessons. Teachers can also find differentiation guidance within the Learning Plans in three particular types of callouts:

• Equity callouts focus on moments in instruction in which a certain population may benefit from a particular strategy, for example, supporting language development for emergent multilingual learners, providing extended learning opportunities or readings for students with high interest, providing specific strategies for students with special learning needs.
• Alternate Activity callouts provide guidance to teachers about going further based on student progress and/or interest. These can be particularly helpful for students with high interest or for students or classrooms that need to modify the unit based on availability of time or access to resources.
• Additional Guidance callouts provide more specific instructions to teachers about how to make a learning activity successful based on their students’ needs. The callout boxes provide a variety of instructions to modify the timing, grouping, or resources for a particular activity.