Learner Options

An overview of how FRACTAL lessons are designed to support a wider range of learners. FRACTAL lessons are grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) — instead of a single way to access content, participate, or demonstrate understanding, each lesson offers flexible options that support all learners.

Expedition 1

Pixels and Possibilities

Lesson 1

Abstraction with Paper Pixels

Learner options

Students choose from multiple design pathways that vary in complexity (abstract, symmetrical, or more representational). Learner support sheets provide step-by-step visual guidance, examples, and scaffolded prompts. Students may also create original designs or adapt existing examples based on their readiness and interests.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students choose an approach that matches their interests and confidence.

Representation

Visual examples, models, and scaffolded directions clarify expectations.

Action & Expression

Students demonstrate understanding through different levels of complexity while working toward the same learning goal.

Open the Lesson 1 guide →

Lesson 2

Abstraction with Digital Pixels

Learner options

Students select images of varying complexity, recreate either a previous or new design, experiment with different resolutions, and use Fractal Studio tools at their own pace. Students can work independently or collaborate with peers while using digital supports such as zoom, paint-by-number, and color tools.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students choose artwork and a challenge level that matches their interests and readiness.

Representation

Digital tools, demonstrations, and visual models help students understand pixel art concepts.

Action & Expression

Students express understanding through multiple digital creations, experiment with different resolutions, and collaborate or work independently as needed.

Open the Lesson 2 guide →

Lesson 3

Patchwork Pixels

Learner options

Students choose from a variety of North Carolina nature themes and/or adapt a traditional quilt pattern to create a quilt block. Visual examples, step-by-step modeling, and optional learner variability materials — including simplified quilt block templates and line art — provide additional scaffolds. Students may sketch ideas, work independently or with a partner, and contribute their individual block to a collaborative class quilt.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students choose a quilt design that reflects their interests, make creative decisions about color and composition, and contribute to a collaborative class quilt that fosters a sense of belonging and community.

Representation

Historical and contemporary quilt examples, visual models, traditional quilt patterns, and teacher demonstrations help students understand abstraction, quilt construction, and artistic traditions.

Action & Expression

Students demonstrate their understanding through sketching, designing and coloring a quilt block, participating in class discussions, collaborating during quilt assembly, and writing a short artist reflection that explains their design choices. Learner variability materials provide additional scaffolds where necessary.

Open the Lesson 3 guide →

Expedition 2

Coding to Create

Lesson 1

Albers Squares

Learner options

Students explore geometric abstraction through multiple pathways. They may choose from a variety of color palettes, paper types (opaque and translucent), and square sizes while experimenting with different layering sequences. Teacher demonstrations, visual examples of Josef Albers' and Wassily Kandinsky's artwork, and hands-on exploration support students as they plan and construct their compositions. Students may experiment with arrangements before assembling their artwork, work independently or with a partner, and document the sequence of their layers to reinforce algorithmic thinking.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students make creative choices about colors, materials, placement, and layering while exploring how different combinations create different visual effects.

Representation

Examples from Josef Albers and Wassily Kandinsky, teacher modeling, and hands-on exploration with opaque and translucent materials help students understand geometric abstraction and color relationships.

Action & Expression

Students demonstrate understanding by designing and assembling a layered composition, experimenting with different arrangements, documenting the order of their layers, discussing artistic choices, and collaborating with peers as needed.

Open the Lesson 1 guide →

Lesson 2

Coding Kandinsky

Learner options

Students explore algorithmic art through multiple pathways as they move from drawing and describing a sequence of steps to creating artwork with code. Teacher demonstrations, visual examples of Kandinsky's artwork, sample code blocks, and progressively scaffolded coding challenges help students understand how sequences of instructions can generate digital art. Students work collaboratively with a partner to recreate and customize artwork in Fractal Studio, progressing from guided examples to more independent coding while experimenting with color, shape, placement, and composition.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students move through increasingly open-ended challenges and make choices about color, mood, placement, and composition.

Representation

Each challenge combines written directions, visible code blocks, and an example of the intended digital output, allowing students to connect instructions, code, and visual results.

Action & Expression

Students demonstrate understanding at different levels of complexity — from reproducing a provided algorithm to completing and extending a partially provided algorithm. Partner work and opportunities to customize the artwork provide additional ways to communicate their understanding.

Open the Lesson 2 guide →

Lesson 3

Coding Abstraction

Learner options

Students can access the coding challenges in multiple ways to match their readiness and interests. The challenge deck contains activities with varying levels of complexity, allowing students to select appropriate entry points and switch challenges as needed. Students may collaborate with a partner, use the Answer Deck as a scaffold to compare and revise their thinking, and record their learning in the Coder Handbook using sentence starters and reflection prompts. These supports provide multiple pathways for students to engage with computational thinking while working toward the same learning goals.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students choose challenge cards that match their interests and readiness, work independently or collaboratively, and decide when to move to a different challenge.

Representation

Challenge cards, worked examples, visual code blocks, sample artwork, and the Answer Deck provide multiple ways to understand coding concepts and computational thinking.

Action & Expression

Students demonstrate understanding by creating digital artwork, debugging code, completing multiple coding challenges, discussing strategies with peers, and reflecting on their learning in the Coder Handbook.

Open the Lesson 3 guide →

Lesson 4

Art with Shapes

Learner options

Students select from a diverse collection of portrait and landscape artworks that vary in visual complexity and subject matter. Learner supports include tracing key shapes with a dry erase marker in a plastic sleeve, tracing and cutting geometric shapes directly from a reference image, step-by-step geometric portrait examples, hints pages, computational thinking sentence starters, and a structured handout for planning the algorithm and artist statement. Students work collaboratively in pairs to co-create their artwork and explain their thinking.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students choose artwork that matches their interests and challenge level while collaborating with a partner.

Representation

Reference artwork, geometric examples, tracing supports, visual models, hints pages, and sentence starters make the concepts of abstraction and algorithmic thinking visible and accessible.

Action & Expression

Students demonstrate understanding through collage, drawing, writing an algorithm, composing an artist statement, discussion with a partner, and gallery sharing, allowing multiple ways to communicate their learning.

Open the Lesson 4 guide →

Expedition 3

Innovation and Imagination

Lesson 1

You and I + AI

Learner options

Students explore how humans and AI create images from text through drawing, discussion, partner activities, and visual examples. Students first use their own imagination to draw something they have never seen, then compare how people interpret the same prompt differently. A partner drawing game, image-search examples, and AI-generated images provide multiple ways to explore how words, images, and patterns connect. Students work collaboratively to compare interpretations and build an introductory understanding of how AI uses patterns in text and images rather than imagining in the same way humans do.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students begin with a playful drawing challenge, make personal creative choices, and work with a partner to guess and compare prompts and images.

Representation

Teacher explanation, student drawings, prompt cards, image-search examples, and AI-generated images present ideas about AI training and pattern recognition in multiple visual and verbal formats.

Action & Expression

Students demonstrate understanding through drawing, writing prompts, partner discussion, identifying visual patterns, comparing images, and explaining how changing words in a prompt can change an image.

Open the Lesson 1 guide →

Lesson 2

Picture it with Words

Learner options

Students engage with AI image generation through discussion, visual comparison, writing, and hands-on experimentation, providing multiple entry points for students with different levels of prior AI experience. The prompt-planning categories — Subject, Describe, Emotion, and Style — break prompt construction into smaller parts and provide structure for students who need support getting started, while built-in prompt suggestions and style options in the FRACTAL AI Art tool support students who are ready to write their own prompts. The Challenge Cards provide structured practice with different levels of openness, and students may borrow effective descriptive language from a neighbor and revise their own work rather than solving each challenge independently.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students begin by sharing their own experiences and feelings about AI image generation, then experiment with prompts on subjects they choose and work in pairs on Challenge Cards.

Representation

Teacher explanation, side-by-side image comparisons (the cat examples), outputs from different generators, and the Subject–Describe–Emotion–Style prompt frame present ideas about prompts, training data, and bias in visual and verbal formats.

Action & Expression

Students demonstrate understanding by writing and revising prompts, comparing generated images, adjusting seed and step settings, and recording their findings in the Image Generator Handbook — with a partner observing and asking guided questions.

Open the Lesson 2 guide →

Lesson 3

AI Art Critique

Learner options

Students engage with the ideas through multiple pathways: individual reflection, visual examples, teacher modeling, partner discussion, and written critique. The four-step Describe–Analyze–Interpret–Evaluate framework breaks a complex critique task into manageable stages and gives students repeated language for organizing their thinking. Visual examples of both human-made and AI-generated images provide concrete reference points, while prompts about color, shape, pattern, composition, feeling, and meaning offer entry points for students with different levels of art experience.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students begin with an open question about whether AI can be considered an artist and develop their own perspectives while comparing familiar forms of human-made and AI-generated imagery.

Representation

Teacher modeling, artwork examples, paired comparisons, and the four-step critique framework represent the same concepts visually and verbally.

Action & Expression

Students observe, discuss, write, compare, interpret, and support opinions with evidence rather than relying on a single mode of response.

Open the Lesson 3 guide →

Lesson 4

Art Remix

Learner options

Students reinterpret an AI-generated image through an art style of their choice and then apply the four-step critique process to their own work. Choice of inspiration image, artistic approach, color, shape, pattern, and level of detail provides multiple entry points for students with different interests and strengths. Visual examples of pixel, quilt, geometric, Pop Art, and assemblage styles support idea generation, while the structured sequence of Describe, Analyze, Interpret, and Evaluate helps students reflect on their artistic decisions. Students may discuss ideas with a partner before writing and can use sentence starters or visual evidence from their artwork to support their critique.

Connecting to UDL

Engagement

Students make meaningful choices about inspiration images, art styles, and how they reinterpret the original image while connecting the activity to styles and techniques they have experienced before.

Representation

AI-generated images, visual style examples, teacher modeling, and the four-step critique framework provide multiple ways to understand the task and expectations.

Action & Expression

Students demonstrate understanding through drawing, coloring, artistic reinterpretation, discussion, and self-critique. Students may rehearse ideas orally, use sentence starters, or point to features of their artwork as evidence for their thinking.

Open the Lesson 4 guide →

FRACTAL makes space for every learner to shine, no matter their starting point. UDL shifts the focus from changing learners to reducing barriers in the environment — read more about how the curriculum is grounded in UDL in Getting Started, or explore the framework at udlguidelines.cast.org.

← Back to the Teacher Hub