Is it an Accommodation or a Modification?

Accommodations and modifications are two different types of strategies teachers use to help students with learning needs access the curriculum.  These strategies are used frequently in an inclusive education system. With the goal to include students of various abilities in a general education classroom and have the same learning opportunities, the teacher needs to adjust either the objective of a lesson and/or the materials used for the lesson.

Accommodations and modifications are determined by the school support team (including the classroom teacher and parents) and written into a plan usually outlined in a 504 Plan or Individual Education Plan. To help clarify the difference between the two, here is a brief overview below. (Note: Click on the image for a free download.)

To help you further understand the difference, here are some examples:

Accommodation

An overlay is used to help the words on the page become much clearer for the student to read. 

Note that the content has not changed.

Modification

In this example, the activity stays the same but the learning outcome has changed.

Hope this helps you understand the difference between the two! For more detailed information and strategies to modify curriculum, check out, Inclusion in Action: Practical Strategies to Modify Your Curriculum.