UDL Lesson Plan

KatherineReck
UniversallyDesignedLessonPlan
TowsonUniversity

UDL Lesson Plan

FirstGradeRealisticFictionPublisher
AboutThisLesson
DESCRIPTION
Thelessontopiciswritingandpublishingarealisticfictionwritingpiece.Inthislesson,
thestudentswillusematerialthattheyhaveproducedfromtheirhomeroomclassand
bringittotechnologytoproduceafinalproduct.AsarequirementfortheCommonCore,
thestudentswillproducetheirownpieceofrealisticfictionandthenpublishthefinal
productafterthestepsofthewritingprocessarecompletedtotheclassroomteacher's
satisfaction.

ClassDescription
Age:Allstudentsare6or7yearsold,23students
GradeLevel:FirstGrade
ContentArea:LanguageArtsWriting
Technologyavailable:Toallstudents,therearelaptopsavailablewithsubscriptionsto
Scholastic,connectionstowirelessInternetandheadphones.Pixie,TuxPaintand
PowerPointshouldallbeloadedontothecomputers.

PREREQUISITES

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Allfirstgradestudentshavebeenintroducedtomanydifferentkindsofliteratureand
genres.Thestudentsintheclasshavebeendeeplyimmersedinthegenrethroughsmall
andlargegroupreadinginstruction.Therehasbeenawholeclassdiscussionaboutthe
definitionofwhatrealisticfictionisandhowtoidentifyabookorastoryasbeing
realisticfiction.Theyhavereadatleasttenpieceofliterature(inschool/withinstruction)
thatcanbeidentifiedbystudentsasbeingrealisticfiction.PreviousexperiencewithPixie
3,PowerPointandTuxPaintisamust.EvenifitisjustPixie3orWord,thelessoncan
stillbeused.
ESTIMATEDTIME
2hours
PotentialUse
PURPOSE:
ClassroomInstruction
GRADES:
12
CONTENTAREAS:
English/LanguageArts
COMMONCORE:
EnglishLanguageArts

Goals
INSTRUCTIONALGOALS

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Thestudentswillbeexpectedtouseaselfwrittenroughdraftpieceofrealisticfiction
writingtopublishafinalcopywithcompletespelling,punctuationandcoordinating
illustrationswhileutilizingachoiceofdigitaltoolsandmeansofexpression.
OBJECTIVES

Allstudentswillchooseawaytopublishtheirstoryusingspeaking,typingand
drawing.

Studentswillapplyknowledgeofpublishingtoolsoftwaretoexpresstheirideas
inthefinalstageoftheirwriting.

VARIABILITY
Duringthislessontherearemanywaysthatitcanbealteredasstudentsworktohelp
themactivatetheirbackgroundknowledgeandemphasizetheirexceptionality.When
publishingtheirwork,theywillbeabletochoosefrommultipleprogramsthathavea
varietyofdrawing,speaking,typingandexpressiontools.Alloptionswillbeopento
studentswiththeexpectationthattheyhaveafinalproducttosharewiththeinstructor
andtheirpeersusingsomeformofcommunication.

Principle1.ProvideMultipleMeansofRepresentation
Guideline1:ProvideoptionsforperceptionStudentswillbepresentedwithinfo
throughhearingthedirections,watchingtheteachermodelitonthescreenand
beingabletointeractwithitontheirownscreen.Theywillalsohavethechanceto

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usetouchscreensiftheychoose.Teachercanprovidehighlightedvideosfor
studentstoaccessthatcanbeshortenedtoreviewmaterial.

Guideline2:Provideoptionsforlanguage,mathematicalexpressionandsymbols
Studentswillhavetheopportunitytoworkonprogramswheremanyofthe
vocabularywordsarelabeled,colorchoicesareprovidedandsymbolscanbeused
torepresentideas.Interactivegraphicscanbewatchedtoreviewdirections.

Guideline3:ProvideoptionsforcomprehensionOpportunitiesforactivating
backgroundknowledgeincludereviewingpreviousassignmentsinprogramsthat
theyhavealreadyused,followingroutinesandactivatingknowledgeforpurposeof
illustrations.Studentsmustalsodecidehowtochoosethemostimportant
informationfromeachpageofthestoryandthenuseitwhentheyaredrawingtheir
illustrations.Teachergeneratedchecklistsandrubricscanhelpstudentsstay
focusedwhiletheyareworkingindependently.

Principle2.ProvideMultipleMeansofActionandExpression
Guideline4:ProvideoptionsforphysicalactionStudentswillhaveaccessto
timingtoolsandadaptedkeyboardsandmiceforstudentstouse.Therewillalsobe
achoiceforstudentstouseeitheracomputerwithamouseandakeyboardoran

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iPad.Somestudentswilllikethetouchscreenaspectandotherswilllikethecontrol
thatthemouseprovides.

Guideline5:ProvideoptionsforexpressionandcommunicationMultipletoolsfor
constructionofthepublishedproduct.Allchoicesforpublishingtheirstoryhave
toolsfortexttospeech,voicerecording,spellingandgrammarchecking,drawing,
stamps/stickersandotherformsofmediasharing.Theteacherwillalsobe
providingdifferentiatedstudentfeedbackforinformationthattheymayneedtoaid
intheirfinalproduct.Therewillalsohavebeenmonitoringbytheteacher
throughouttheyeartobesurethattheprogramsareunderstoodandcanbeused
independentlybymoststudentsintheclass.

Guideline6:ProvideoptionsforexecutivefunctionsTheteachershouldprovide
rubricsandguidelinesforstudentstoreferencewhileworkingontheirown.He/she
canalsogivestudentsschedulingsuggestionsandtimereminders.Stop&think
breaksandsequencingprobablewaystocompletetheirstoryarealsohelpfulforall
students.Encouragingpeerreviewsandcollaboration,promptingthinkingthrough
questioning,scoringexamplesandfinalproductsampleswillallaidstudentswhen
workingthroughtheexecutivefunctions.

Principle3.ProvideMultipleMeansofEngagement

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Guideline7:ProvidingoptionsforrecruitinginterestTeacherscanoptimize
interestthroughemphasizingchoicesandautonomy,recognitionthrough
presentationandfocusontextwithcorrelatingillustrations.Studentswillhavethe
chancetomaketheassignmentrelevantbyseeingtheconnectionsinprovidedtext
thataresociallyandpersonallysignificant.Thetextshouldbeappropriateforall
studentsoneitheracultural,ethnicorgenderlevel.Theycanalsofoster
imaginationuseandmakesenseofideas.Provideoptionsforsustainingeffortand
persistenceTeacherscanminimizedistractionsthroughlimitednoise,allottingfor
personalspace,usingtimereminders,headphonesuseandcubbywalls.

Guideline8:ProvideoptionsforsustainingeffortandpersistenceStudentsshould
understandwhatthefinalproductcouldlooklike,butalsoknowthestepsthatthey
shouldengagetogettothatpoint.Theycanthengoalsforthemselvestofollow
alongtheprocess.Somestudentswillneedvaryingdegreesoffreedomfor
acceptableperformance.Thiswillmeanthattheteacherneedstoemphasize
processandeffortwithstudentswhomaynotbeabletoworkontheirownformore
thenafewminutes.Evenaftermoststudentscanworkontheirown,theteacher
shouldencouragecollaborationbetweenpeersandpositivequestioning.Feedback
fromtheteachershouldbetimely,specificandemphasizeeffortandskills.

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Guideline9:ProvideoptionsforselfregulationTheclassroomcommunityshould
beonethatpromotesexpectationsandbeliefsthatoptimizemotivationamong
students.Thiscanbedonethroughpraise,positiveremindersandpromotionof
selfreflection.Studentsshouldbeencouragedtoseekinternalemotionalsupport
andfindexternalsupportfromotherstudentsandteachers.Frustrationcanbe
managedwithbreaksandtoolsthatstudentscanusetosolveissueswithoutteacher
intervention.Havetoolsforchildrentoconveytheircurrentthoughtsandfeelings
abouttheirworkastheygo;suchasgreen,yellowandredcardsthatcanbe
showntoindicatehowastudentisfeelingwithouthavingtositwiththeirhand
raisedorwaitforateachertohelp.Theycantakeselfinitiatedbreakstoread
storiesorlistentothem.Thesewillallreducetheamountoftimethatislostto
studentsastheywaitforonepersontoaidthem.

Assessments
FORMATIVEASSESSMENTS

Allstudentswillchooseawaytopublishtheirstoryusingspeaking,typing

anddrawing.
Studentswillapplyknowledgeofpublishingtoolsoftwaretoexpresstheir
ideasinthefinalstageoftheirwriting.
Studentswillbemakingachoiceabouthowto"publish"theirpieceofwriting

basedontheircomfortwithaprogramandtheirpreferenceabouthowtheywishitto

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look.Theirknowledgeaboutavarietyofprogramsandtheirfeatureswillgiveall
studentsbackgroundknowledgethattheycanusewhenmakingtheirchoices.Their
assessmentwillbeequalparts,effort/progressanduseoftoolswhenappropriate.These
assessmentscanbemadebytheteachermorethenonceduringtheallottedwork
time.Breakingthetimeupintoseveralequalpartsandgivingthestudentsthetime
wouldbemosthelpful.Timersonalargescreen,rubricsforallstudentsandachecklist
ofexpectationsshouldbeprovided.Thoseexpectationsshouldbebothselfregulatory
withbehaviorgoalsandpublishedworkbased.Theassessmentwillcomeastheteacher
observeseachstudents'abilitytoworkwithinaprogramandtowardstheirfinal
goal.Thebasicskillsrequiredtocompleteeachpageoftheirstoryusingtext,voiceand
illustrationshouldbethefocusoftheskillswithinthetechnologypiece.Selfmotivation
andregulationexpectationsareaseparatepieceofthefinalgrade.Iftheteacherfeels
thatthestudenthasshowntheabilitytoregulatetheirbehavior,motivationanduseall
toolscorrectly,thenthegoalofthelessonhasbeenreached.Iftherearestudentswhoare
stillworkingondevelopingthebasicskillsthatwererequiredinthesoftware,thenthey
shouldbereviewedandthestudentsgivenmoretimetoedittheirworkordevelopanew
productthatdemonstratestheirunderstanding.
SUMMATIVEASSESSMENTS
Thesummativeassessmentwillbethefinalprintedproductthatstudentshave
beenableto"publish"inclass.Studentscanpresenttheirstorytotheclassusingapre
voicerecordedtrack,theirownreadingofthestoryandpresentingoftheir
illustrations.Theteachershouldassessonstudents'abilitytomatchtextanddesignof

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illustrationswithintheirfinalstory,student'suseoftoolswithintheirchosenprogram
andeffortputforthduringtheproduction.
INSTRUCTIONALMETHODS
OPENING
Atthebeginningofthelesson,thestudentswillcheckinwiththeteachertobe
surethattheyallbroughtintheirroughdraftpieceofwritingandtheyarereadytobe
published.Eventhoughtheclassroomteachershouldalreadyhavedonethis,itisbestto
besurethatallstudentshavetheappropriatematerialsready.Thiswillbeusedforthe
entirepartoftheinteractivelesson.Whenitisconfirmedthatallstudentshavethe
necessarymaterialsreadyforthelesson,thentheentireclasscancometogetherandthe
teachercanbegintopresentthepublishingtoolsavailable.Thisreviewofpublishing
materialscanbedoneinafewways.
1.Theteachercanhavevideosofher/himselfavailabletoallstudentsthatwalksthem
throughthetoolsavailableineachprogramthatthestudentscanchoosefrom.These
videoscanbereferencedasmanytimesasthestudents'feelisnecessary.
2.Theentireclasscancometogethertowatchdemonstrationsandreviewmaterialsthat
theteacherdoesasalargegrouponascreenthatislargeenoughforallchildrentosee.
Theteachercandoacombinationofthetwoorhavebothavailable.Eitherway,
theteachershouldshowanexampleofafinalproducttobuildmotivationfortheentire
group.Thiscanbeashortstorythattheteachercreatedonhis/herownoronethatthe
classhasreadbefore.Theteachercanalsousethisfinishedproducttoworkbackwards

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tobegintoexplainthetoolsthatthestudent'swillneed.Thefinalproductcanalsobe
referredtoasmanytimesasthestudentsorteacherfeelsarenecessaryorwanted.
DURING
Thefirsttoolthatwillbepresented,Pixie3,isthemostfamiliartotheentire
class.Allstudentshaveusedalltoolsatleastfivetimesthisyearonfiveseparate
occasions.Itwouldbebestforallofthetoolstohavebeenusedinthedaysandweeks
priortothelesson.Theteacherwillreviewhowstudentsshould;addtextboxes,resize
text,usepaintingtools,searchstickers,addpagestoaprojectandcreateanoverallbook
feeltoeachpage.IftherearenoquestionsaboutfeaturesofferedthroughPixie3,then
thenexttoolwillbepresented.ThistoolisMicrosoftPowerPoint.Theteacherwill
review;howtoaddslides,howtoaddtext,resizetext,addpicturesfromclipart,views
forpresentationandthebestwaystocreatebookpagelikeslides.Ifthereareno
questions,theteachercanmoveontothethirdoptionforpublishingthestudents
work.ThefinaloptionisTuxPaint.Again,theteacherwillreviewwithstudenthowto
addtexttoapage,drawingtools,viewfeatures,stampsandhowtocreatebookpage
likeviewforthestoryanddrawingstocomplimenteachother.Again,iftheteacheruses
videosorvoiceguidedrecordingstohelpstudents,theycanbegivenoutdigitallysothat
thestudentscanhavearesourcetoaccessiftheyarestuck.
Somegeneraltipsforallstudentstofollowshouldbegiven/keptontheboardtoguide
theprocess;howmanysentencestohaveoneachpage,remembering
punctuation/spellingandkeepingallpicturescomplementarywiththetext.Whenall

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threetoolshavebeenreviewedthenthestudentswillhavethechancetochoosewhich
onetheywouldmostlikelytousewiththeirownstory.
Questionforallstudentstokeepinmindwhilechoosingapublishingtool:Which
programwillallowmetoexpressmycreativityandtellmystorythroughtext,speechand
illustrations?Onceallstudentshavemadetheirchoiceandindicatedwhichonethey
havechosentotheteacher,theycanbegintheirfirstpage/slideintheirstory.Theteacher
shouldbecirculatingthroughouttheroomtohaveagoodunderstandingofwhois
showingthemostprogressandwhichstudentsareinneedofmoreencouragementand
guidance.Therewillbestudentswhoaskmanyquestionsaswellassomestudentswho
simplyworkincorrectlyandtheteachershouldaddressallofthoseissues.Amajorityof
thistimewillbestudentdirected,iftherearequestionsthatarecomingupfrequently,the
teachercandecidetobringtheclassbacktogetherandexplain/showthesolutiononthe
boardtoprovideanswersonawholeclassbasisratherthenkeepansweringthesame
questionindividually.Encouragestudentstocollaboratewitheachotherwhileworking
beforegoingtoateacher.
Helpingstudentsregulatewhenworking:WhatcanIdoonmyownifIbecomestuckor
frustratedwhileIampublishingmystory?

SelfRegulationtoolforstudentsGivefrequenttimeremindersabouthowmuch
isleftorwherestudents"could"be.Iftherearestudentswhoneedmoreindividualized
timegiven,therecanbetimersputupontheirscreensorhaveatimerinfrontof
them.Also,theteachershouldgivestudentsarubricorachecklistthattheycan

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referenceduringtheirworktimetokeepstudentsontrack.Thiscanbeprintedout,given
digitallyorprojectedontothefrontscreenforstudentstoremember.Lastly,allstudents
canhaveaccesstoasmalllibraryofrealisticfictionstoriesontheiriPadortheir
computerthattheycantakebreakswith.Theycanlistentostoriesorreadthemontheir
owniftheyfindthattheyarefrustratedwiththeirprogressorjustneedabreakfromtheir
work.Audibleappwouldbeagreatoptionbecausetherearemanyoptionsforchildren's
storiesandmanyrealisticfictionbooksrecommendedinCommonCorearealsoavailable
onthisapp.UsingScholasticebooksisalsoanotherappwheremanybookscanbe
purchasedandthenlistenedtoorread.Thismaygivethemsomeideasaboutthingsthey
candointheirstoriesorprovideamentalbreakforstudentswhoneedtimetostep
away.Someteachersmightconsiderusing"green,yellowandredcards"thatstudents
canusetoindicatetoteachershowtheyarefeelingabouttheircurrentworkwithout
waitingorsittingwiththeirhandsraised.
TeacherfeedbackAsthestudentsareworking,theteacher(s)shouldcirculate
aroundtheroomtoanswerquestionsfromstudents.Theteachershouldalsobe
monitoringhoweachstudentisprogressingwiththeirfinalproduct.Therecanalsobea
checklistfromtheteachertomonitoreachstudentastheywork.Thislistcanbeusedat
thefinishoftheworktime.Positivefeedbackabouteffortandcreativityshouldbegiven
toallstudents.

CLOSING

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Likeanyotherlesson,therewillbestudentswhocompletetheirworkbeforeother
students.Thesestudentsareencouragedtoreturntotheirprojectstoseeifthereareany
improvementsorchangesthattheywouldliketomaketobettertheirfinalproduct.Have
thosestudentsworkwithpeerstobetterIftherearenonetobemadeandtheteacherhas
checkedthroughtheirworktoensureeffort,thereshouldbeoptionsavailabletothe
student.Thosestudentsareusuallyveryeagertohelpotherstudentsbutiftheir
communicationskillsareabittoohardorquickforsomechildren,thentheyshouldn'tbe
askedtoassist.Mosttimesthough,studentsaremorewillingtoaskquestionstopeers
andnotteachers.Sincethisisarealisticfictionunit,thereshouldbemoretextsavailable
tostudentsthattheycanreadthroughtoreviewstoriesthatwerereadinclassorfind
connectionstonewrealisticfictionpiecesthattheteachercanrecommend.These
sectionscanbemadealongwithclassroomteacherstoensuretheyaregoingtomeetthe
needsofthestudents.ThesestoriescanbelistenedtoonaniPad,iPodorreadfromeither
ofthosetools.Moredifficulttextscanbeprovidedforstudentswhoareonhigherreading
levels.Onceallstudentsarehappywithafinalproduct,theycansharetheirworkina
folderoronlinegroupthattheteachercanaccessandpresenttothegroup.Studentscan
assistwiththepresentationbyexplainingtheirchoicesandreadingtheirstories.Ifthere
arecommunicationissues,thestorycanbereadoutloudbytheteacherorthestudent's
recordedvoicecanbeplayedoutloudtotherestoftheclass.Anytexttospeechtoolcan
beutilizedinthiscase.Ifexpressionistheissue,therecanbetexttospeechtoolsused.

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*Thepresentationandthefinal,publishedproductcanallbepartoftheformaland
summativeassessments.Thebreakupofthegradesandtheirweightaspartoftheentire
processcanbedecidedbetweenboththeclassroomandtechnologyteachers.Ifthereare
goingtobetwo,separategradesforwritingandpublishing,thesharingoftheprojectand
thechoicesthatweremadebythestudentwillbethefocusforthetechnologypointof
view.

Materials
MATERIALSANDSUPPLIES
Allstudentswillhaveaccessto:

theirroughdraftwriting,

notesorprewritingpiecesthattheyhavedone

acomputerwithfullkeyboard,alternativekeyboardsareavailablewithlimited
keysandadjustedkeys

iPadwithPixie3,MicrosoftWord,TuxPaint

internetaccessonbothcomputersandiPads

ComputersPixie3or4,PowerPoint(PowerTalkcapable)

MicrosoftWord(withMicrosoftspeechcapable)

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downloadedTuxPaintsoftware

DragonDictateoniPadsandcomputers

iPadoriPodwithAudiblecapabilities

ScholasticBookFlixsubscriptionthroughlocallibraryorschool

LCDprojector

headphoneswithexternalmicrophoneforrecording(notallheadphonesneedthe
microphoneunlessthestudentintendstorecord)

AbilipadprogramsoniPadandcomputers

"First,Then"boardsforstudentswhoneedfocusedandsimplifiedinstructions
usingsymbolsorbasicvocabulary

Highlightertape

Vocabularylist(willvaryfromstudenttostudent)

ExamplesofRealisticFiction:
1.

EnemyPie:http://www.storylineonline.net/enemypie/

2.

RecessQueen

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3.

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AlexanderandtheTerrible,Horrible,NoGood,VeryBad
Day:(Audible)http://www.audible.com/pd/Kids/AlexanderandtheTerrible
HorribleNoGoodVeryBadDay
Audiobook/B00B1F13FE/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1399919755&sr=11

4.

WhenSophieGetsReally,Really
Angry:(signed)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtjB94IJafk(Audible)http://w
ww.audible.com/search?advsearchKeywords=When+Sophie+Gets+Angry+
+Really%2C+Really+Angry

5.

TheSnowyDay:(Scholastic)http://bkflix.grolier.com/sw/node
33979/bk0004pr(Audible)http://www.audible.com/pd/Kids/TheSnowyDay
Audiobook/B002V0KCZU/ref=a_search_c4_1_2_srTtl?qid=1399919867&sr=12

RESOURCESINCLUDED
Pixie
Whyit'sincluded:
Thisresourceisavailabletostudentssotheyareabletopublishtheirworkwithpictures
andtext.
MicrosoftWord
Whyit'sincluded:
MicrosoftWordwillbeavailabletobeabletopublishtheirfinalproductwith
manipulatedtext,picturesandformattedpresentation.

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