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I am familiar with UDL and am appreciative of the videos explaining them more in depth, especially on how to incorporated it during our lesson planning.

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My current number 1 non-negotiable is visuals. Kindergarten definitely need visuals, especially when learning a new language.

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In our class we just finished working on the following theme, "Why do authors tell stories?"

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Do you or anyone have a sample of what a UDL lesson would look like for a Kindergarten class?

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I like the use of images to show which sections of the brain each section of UDL targets and helps. Universal Design for Learning is a great way to teach to all our students.

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We follow a check list that is provided to ensure that we are meeting the criteria.

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We follow a check list that is provided to ensure that we are meeting the criteria.

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We do whole class brainstorming and shared writing to ensure understanding.

We make real life connections from experiences, readings, and videos.

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My non- negotiable for writing is my students must have all components for their writing as there is a checklist provided with sentence frames. I know they may not all get it correctly but they should have the gist prior to submission. 

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My non- negotiable for writing is my students must have all components for their writing as there is a checklist provided with sentence frames. I know they may not all get it correctly but they should have the gist prior to submission. 

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Currently we are focusing on writing narratives and informative paragraphs. Students need a topic, 3 details, and a closing sentence.

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Currently we are focusing on writing narratives and informative paragraphs. Students need a topic, 3 details, and a closing sentence.

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I am somewhat familiar with UDL and how beneficial it can be. I do think it is a lot of work and time consuming for teachers to create. Do you have any suggestions on how to begin UDL in a smaller and more gentle way?

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Start by reading a text that is below instructional level and have students summarize with a partner.
After the summarization, Have students complete a graphic organizer comparing and contrasting their oppinions n reading. Following the partner share, group students and have them create a poster/graphic organizer in a small group about the text that they read. Finally, have students report to the class the contents of their poster.

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It is essential that my learners are able to summarize the main idea in a text and identify at least 3 supporting details that explain or relate to the main idea.

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I am currently working on reading comprehension and accessing the meaning of text for readers who are non-proficient ELA.

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I loved the analogy of designing a building with accessibility needs in mind. We often think only of the learning goal but skip the means, by which, to access the goal.

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I will do multiple lessons about punctuation and periods.

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I will do multiple lessons about punctuation and periods.

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I will have the students use the ipads to type/speak sentences into their notes section.

I will have the students work together in pairs to bounce ideas off of one another.

I will have the students share out their work to verbalize what they did and what they know.

I will have different forms of assessments. ie: worksheets, videos, acting it out, technology, etc.

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My non-negotiable list would include visual directions for the students to refer back to based on the assignment we are learning about periods. There are multiple different lessons that can go with adding periods. But among the non negotiable's would be not to give up. To ask for help if you need it, after talking to a partner about it. Another one would be that they have to either find the missing period, or fill in the correct punctuation when given a sentence. They must know what a period is, and the definition behind it. 

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My non-negotiable list would include visual directions for the students to refer back to based on the assignment we are learning about periods. There are multiple different lessons that can go with adding periods. But among the non negotiable's would be not to give up. To ask for help if you need it, after talking to a partner about it. Another one would be that they have to either find the missing period, or fill in the correct punctuation when given a sentence. They must know what a period is, and the definition behind it. 

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One goal I am working on with my students is knowing where and when to put periods. We have reviewed it many times, listened to examples, spoken them, corrected, etc. But they struggle with this concept. 

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One goal I am working on with my students is knowing where and when to put periods. We have reviewed it many times, listened to examples, spoken them, corrected, etc. But they struggle with this concept. 

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I really like UDL- I just have a ton of "what ifs" and more of "how to" kind of questions. I would really like to see an example of a classroom where UDL is the primary focus, and has been for awhile. I would like to see the different things that instructors do, how they involve their instructional assistants with this, and progress students have made through this. 

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I really like UDL- I just have a ton of "what ifs" and more of "how to" kind of questions. I would really like to see an example of a classroom where UDL is the primary focus, and has been for awhile. I would like to see the different things that instructors do, how they involve their instructional assistants with this, and progress students have made through this. 

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In the world of Special Education, we have to make our goals so specific- so when talking about high expectations, and loose means... how could we make goals to reflect high expectations and loose means?

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In the world of Special Education, we have to make our goals so specific- so when talking about high expectations, and loose means... how could we make goals to reflect high expectations and loose means?

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"Criteria for success" writing checklist

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Utilizing writing rubrics.

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If you've been following my blog, you probably figured out that I love using writing rubrics! Today I want to share what a writing rubric is, why I like using them and share links to 3 free writing rubrics you can use.

What is a writing rubric?

I think of a rubric as a performance scoring guide. Rubrics lay out expectations of an assignment by listing criteria and levels of quality on a scale.

For example, on a writing rubric the criteria may be "Uses punctuation accurately" or "Begins with capital letter."

The scale (level of quality) may be

needs improvement; good; excellent or

beginning; developing; accomplished

I don't claim to be an expert by any means, but I do love using them!

Why I Like To Use Writing Rubrics

I like to use writing rubrics because they help me to be consistent when grading student writing. Rubrics also set up my expectations to help me, my students and parents see what I am looking for.

Making/using rubrics helps me to really think about what I expect from my students as writers.

I've been teaching first grade for 6 years now, so I've read a lot of student writing! I've experienced so many different levels of writing and writing styles. I realized early on that there isn't just "good writing" and "not so good writing".

Some kids are excellent with their conventions/neatness which sometimes led me to give them a better grade even if the actual writing wasn't that spectacular.

On the flip side, you may have a student with horrible developing handwriting and complete lack of conventions (including most words spelled incorrectly), but they have amazing voice or interesting ideas. They are often overlooked as "bad writers" just because their writing looks so bad.

Using rubrics not only assisted me in communicating these strengths and areas of improvement, but it also allowed me to celebrate a student's gifts as a writer.

What I've Found

When I started using rubrics I found that my grading was more fair and consistent. I also found that I was able to set goals more easily for my students because it was easier to see where they didn't quite meet my expectations.

Parents are also able to easily see (and hopefully understand more completely) where their child is at as a writer and what they can work on.

And let's not forget the time I saved with using rubrics! I don't feel the need to write as much on each paper because the rubric explains a lot of it.

If you teach writing, think about what you look for in your writers.

Have you set those expectations for your students and for yourself?

Do you look for the same thing in every writing piece or do you have a special focus for certain writing pieces?

Do you communicate these expectations and goals to your students?

Free Writing Rubrics

I've also have some theme specific writing prompts and rubrics that you should check out.

My end of year writing rubric focuses on content that has a beginning, middle and end. Scores are 1-4 and students receive scores in: conventions, sentence fluency, organization, style/voice, content/ideas and the writing process.

A fun, anytime of the year writing prompt is my Pet letters persuasive writing. Students brainstorm and write a letter titled "My Pet."

Work on taking a big topic and zoom in on a small moment (like Lucy Calkins teaches) with this Ice Cream small moments writing graphic organizer, writing paper and rubric.
Continue Reading On My Blog
- Originally posted on Teaching Blog Addict

More Writing

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Writing Rubrics for Primary Grades - Teach Junkie

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If you've been following my blog, you probably figured out that I love using writing rubrics! Today I want to share what a writing rubric is, why I like using them and share links to 3 free writing rubrics you can use. What is a writing rubric?

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-We can practice writing a paragraph together as a whole group and they can practice writing their own paragraphs.
-We can use the writing app that is available and how to navigate the predictive text feature to assist with writing.
-I can tell students to tell me their ideas that they want to include and write them down in front of them, so they are able to see the words written out to match what they said.
-We can hold brainstorming time where the group takes stands on what they want to write about and provide ideas for how to go about writing them, with me writing their ideas down for them as they go. This can also create a group writing piece where maybe everyone has to share at least one idea.

Materials:
-Paper
-Pencils
-Erasers
-iPads
-Whiteboards
-Whiteboard markers
-Whiteboard erasers
-Poster paper
-Document camera
-Projector
-Color pencils
-Crayons
-Markers
-Writing rubric/checklist

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My non-negotiables would be that they have to provide a topic sentence, 3 supporting sentences that further discuss their topic, and a concluding sentence that wraps the paragraph up.
My options would be: physically write it, type it up, verbalize it to be dictated, and participate in group brainstorming activities.

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I have many instructional goals that I'm trying to sift through my mind and make tangible to become a reality. I think if I'm going to pick one right now, I think I'll stick with my current path I've been walking for this padlet and choose writing.
I want my students to be able to produce a single paragraph related to a topic. This is actually a goal many of my students are working on, so just producing a solid paragraph that relates to the topic that is given to them or that they choose to write about.

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I had previously seen, The Myth of Average Ted talk by Todd Rose, mentioned in your first video. I decided to watch it a second time because I remember the impact it had on me the first time I watched it. I am a person who is able to connect to information through examples and the example of UDL that Todd uses really helps me grasp the concept on a deeper level. I also enjoyed the prosthetics example that you provided in your video. 

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I had previously seen, The Myth of Average Ted talk by Todd Rose, mentioned in your first video. I decided to watch it a second time because I remember the impact it had on me the first time I watched it. I am a person who is able to connect to information through examples and the example of UDL that Todd uses really helps me grasp the concept on a deeper level. I also enjoyed the prosthetics example that you provided in your video. 

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I liked your example of connecting sight word reading to video games and power/health levels. I've also thought of multiple ways to connect math to students' interests as well. What I still seem to struggle with is getting students more engaged in writing. Not so much a matter of the content, because I try to let them pick the topics they want to write about, but how can I better engage students to make revisions and edits to their writing to improve it? How can I utilize UDL to engage student writing?
Additionally, I understand that there are 3 guidelines for UDL: engagement, representation, and action/expression. Something that's always made me wonder is: why is engagement generally discussed first, but is always labeled at the last guideline?

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I have been attempting to learn about UDL for the better part of 2 years now, and I still don't feel like I truly know what it is all about. I've learned about it in my special education teacher preparation program classes, I've done a review of the literature on it, I have attempted creating multiple lessons with UDL in mind, and I have looked at other lessons that exist and adapted them to be more "UDL friendly." However, I still have this nagging feeling like I don't actually understand truly HOW to create something that can actually benefit all students involved and properly meet their educational needs. I think the idea UDL is founded on is important and that educational practices should be adapted to better reach the needs of all learners, but it is difficult to get to that place where you actually feel comfortable and confident in what it is you are doing.
I guess what it really boils down to is: I understand the "why" of UDL, but struggle with the "how."