UDL Lesson Plan

Jeanne Lee

Grade level:

Kindergarten

Subject area:

Mathematics

Standards:

CCSSM: Measurement and Data. K.MD.2

Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has
“more of”/“less of” the attribute, and describe the difference.

CCSS ELA: Speaking and Listening Standards Grade K 6:

Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.

ELD: Grade K Part I: Interacting in Meaningful Ways

C. Productive
9. Expressing information and ideas in formal oral presentations on academic topics

Learning objective/goals:

Content Objective: Given connecting cubes, students will demonstrate direct comparison to
compare the lengths of objects by using the terms longer and shorter in sentences.

Literacy Objective:
Students will orally compose thoughts and ideas of the comparison using terms longer and shorter
in complete sentences and speak audibly.

Materials/Resources:

Connecting cubes, pencils, erasers, copies of the worksheet attached, copies of the homework
attached, projector

Anticipatory Set:

1. Teacher will review previous lesson on describing measurable attributes of objects, such as
length.
2. Teacher says, “We have learned about what is measurable and what is not measurable.
Today, I have a question for you. What can you tell me about these two fish?” And the
teacher will hold up two pictures of a fish, blue and red, in similar sizes (see page 6). The
teacher will say, “to me, they both look the same. How can we measure which fish is
longer?” Then the teacher will remind them what measure means to the students. The
teacher will say, “now let’s think about how we will measure each fish.”
 3. The teacher will say, “turn to your partners. A friend with longer hair will say one way to
measure which fish is longer.” And the teacher will remind students to be respectful of
other’s opinion.
4. Students will turn to their partner and the student with longer hair will share one way to
measure.
5. The teacher will say, “now the friend with a shorter hair share one way to measure.”

Anticipatory set informal assessment:

The teacher will go around and listen to students sharing their opinion with partners. The teacher
will monitor and assess students’ prior knowledge about measuring an object.

Academic vocabulary:

Length, longer, shorter

Modeling / Direct instruction:

1. The teacher will allow some students to share to the class about their ideas to measure
which one is longer. The teacher will support each student’s thinking.
2. The teacher will introduce connecting cubes and demonstrate how to use connecting cubes
to find out the length of an object. The teacher will demonstrate measuring the blue fish
using connecting cubes.
3. The teacher will demonstrate measuring by using virtual manipulatives from National Library
of Virtual Manipulatives. Students will be able to watch the teacher using virtual
manipulatives on projector.
4. The teacher will ask the students, “show me a thumbs up if you understand and show me a
thumbs down if you don’t know what we are doing.”
5. The teacher will say, “today we are going to measure different objects that we see every day
and compare the lengths of two objects. You can use connecting cubes in class or use the
iPad for virtual manipulatives.”

Modeling / Direct instruction informal assessment:

The teacher will do a hand signal assessment to assess students’ understanding of how to
measure using connecting cubes. If the majority of the students have thumbs down, the teacher will
demonstrate again. If a couple of the students have thumbs down, the teacher will gather those
students and explain again, using demonstration.

Guided practice:

1. Students will go back to the desk and work on the worksheet “Comparing Objects” (see page
7) using connecting cubes.
2. The students will have students 15 minutes to work independently.
3. The teacher will walk around the room and observe student’s work to make sure students
are counting connecting cubes correctly and circling the longer object.
4. The teacher will ask as circulating the classroom:
a. How many cubes did you use to measure an object?
b. How do you know that this object is 5 cubes long?
5. The teacher will say, “okay class, we are going to wrap up what we are doing and share
some of the ideas.”
6. The teacher will appoint a couple volunteers and bring their work to the front of the
classroom, projecting it onto the whiteboard.
 7. The teacher will set and remind the class rules for discussions:
a. Be quiet and listen
b. Be respectful of other’s opinion
c. Don’t be judgmental
d. Support classmates as they share
8. The student will share their ways of measuring.
9. The teacher uses strategies to lead a classroom discussion about how students solve the
problems.
a. Elicit and probe student thinking
b. Orient students to others’ ideas
c. Invite discussion
d. Make strategic contributions
10. The teacher will ask, “who agrees with this answer?” and guide students to share whether
they agree or not, using sentence starter such as “I agree / disagree with ____ because
____.”
11. The teacher will demonstrate and follow the student’s thinking process.
12. The teacher will make sure every student has a clear understanding of how to measure and
repeat the answers of the students using the vocabulary terms such as shorter, longer, and
length.
13. Students will look at their work and conduct self-assessment.

Guided practice student self-assessment:

The students will listen and watch their peer’s work through the processes of measuring. Students
will compare their work to their friends and conduct self-assessment. The teacher will model how to
check for the right answer by comparing.

Independent practice:

1. The teacher will go over the vocabularies, length, shorter, and longer. The teacher will post
vocabularies on the math word wall.
2. The teacher will say, “now, you will go around the classroom and find objects that are longer
than the pencil. You will write down what the object is in your Math Journal and show how
you know the object is longer than the pencil. Then, you will write down a sentence
explaining your measurement.”
3. The teacher will have a sentence structure: “________ is longer than ________.”

Independent practice formal (summative) assessment:

Once students finish their Math Journal, the teacher will collect them and conduct a summative
assessment. The teacher will check for the name of the object, explanation of the measurement,
counting of connecting cubes, sentences, and the overall organization of the work. Each portion is
part of the assessment. The teacher will give constructive feedback and write it on their Math
Journal page.

Higher-Order thinking skills:

Webb’s DOK Level 2:

• Use models / diagrams to represent or explain mathematical concepts.
• Compare / contrast figures or data.

Webb’s DOK Level 3:

 • Use and show reasoning, planning, and evidence.

Students will use manipulatives, connecting cubes, to explain the concepts of measurement.
Students will compare two objects using models. Students will show their reasoning through
measurement and show evidence by writing down how many connecting cubes were used to
measure the object. The teacher will encourage the students to defend their thinking by using
evidence.

Educational Technology:

Students will have an option to use connecting cubes in class or use an iPad to access virtual
manipulatives. The virtual manipulatives will be from National Library of Virtual Manipulatives.
Students will use the virtual blocks to measure various objects by placing the object on the iPad
screen and dragging cubes next to it to make a line. Students will count how many virtual cubes
were used to measure the object and record it on their Math Journal.

English Learners:

The teacher will provide visuals for English Learners. The instruction will contain visuals for student
understandings. The teacher will model the instruction using manipulatives and read aloud
sentences so the students could listen to the teacher for fluency. The teacher will give sentence
frames when students work on their independent task. The class will participate in Think, Pair, and
Share. The English Learners will have a chance to share with the partners first, before sharing their
work to the whole class. English Learners will have a vocabulary sheet with visuals, so they can
refer to it as they work on measurement. There will also be a word wall, and students could refer to
it. The teacher will encourage EL students to participate and give positive feedback to support their
thinking. Creating a positive learning and participating environment is essential. The teacher should
model a safe classroom environment to share their culture and respect the differences.
Recognizing that all students could be an emergent language learner will provide a good
understanding of the students. The lesson should be modified to meet the needs of English Learner
students. Providing various support is necessary for EL students to thrive in the classroom.

Students with special needs:

The students with special needs will have modified and accommodated instruction, based on the
needs of the student. The teacher will view his or her IEP plan and plan according to it.

The students with special needs will have a chance to sit down next to the teacher or a teacher’s
assistant to have one-to-one support. The teacher will write down the words and numbers with a
highlighter and have the student to trace it. The students will have more chance to see the teacher
demonstrating how to measure.

The teacher will clarify the vocabulary used in the lesson to provide a clear understanding of the
language used in the lesson, so students could have a good comprehension of the concept.
The teacher will use assistive technology for students who need extra support. The students will
have a chance to use the iPad for measurement, using virtual manipulatives. The teacher will
provide clear learning goals for students, so they can expect what to learn from the lesson. The
teacher will modify the lesson if necessary, to meet students’ learning needs. The teacher will
deliver appropriate instruction to demonstrate measurement. The teacher will seek to meet various
learning needs and modify and accommodate students with exceptional academic needs.
 Jeanne Lee

Lesson Narrative
1. How did positive interactions with your UDL lesson with students promote learning?

Using strategies from UDL help students to have a positive learning experience. Students have an active discussion with
partners, which leads them to have a clear understanding of the subject. The students receive positive, constructive
feedback from the teacher. As the students share their work to the class, the teacher validates the student’s thinking
process and positively support student’s reasoning. The positive interaction between students and students to teacher
encourage effective learning and produce a positive learning outcome.

2. How did your lesson incorporate appropriate subject-specific pedagogy and content standards or the equivalent,

including academic language development?

The lesson is based on the California Common Core - Mathematics Standards. The pedagogy is aligned with Common
Core teaching curriculum, which supports creative learning. Along with mathematical standards, students learn new
vocabularies about the content: length, longer, and shorter. Throughout the lesson and discussion, students use the
academic language to explain their opinion and reasoning. The language supports skillsets for students to use outside of
the classroom, in their daily life. Kindergarten students are consistently comparing objects, such as crayons, heights, and
hair. The skill set learned from the lesson will allow them to utilize what they’ve learned in their lives.
3. How did you and your students use educational technology in ways that enhanced student learning and

engagement?

Initially, students could use connecting cubes in class. However, students had a chance to use virtual manipulatives -
virtual cubes for measurement. Students could access virtual measuring cubes through iPads in class. The virtual
manipulatives were from the website National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. Students used the virtual cubes to
measure various objects by placing the object on the iPad screen and dragging cubes next to it. Students will then count
how many virtual cubes were used to measure the object and record it on their Math Journal. Using virtual manipulatives
allow actively engaged learning opportunity. Moreover, students will have access to the manipulative website at home and
use it when they want to measure an object in their household.

4. How did getting to know your students and using that knowledge for instructional planning influence student

learning?

Every school day, the students use crayons. I’ve witnessed a lot of incidences where students look for the longer crayons
to use. They often measure crayons with their friends to see who has the longer one. Knowing that the students have prior
knowledge of comparing objects, the lesson was appropriate. Providing a clear understanding of measurement and
allowing using proper academic language about measurement was a suitable lesson for students. Connecting the lesson to
real-life experiences of the students amplified the learning outcome. The real-life connection brought positive academic
influence on students. Students showed active engagement throughout the lesson as the subject was a practical portion of
their lives.

5. How did your instruction and informal assessment practices impact student learning and promote students’

critical or creative thinking and analysis?

 At the beginning of the lesson, I assessed on student’s prior knowledge on measurement. Based on the assessment, I was
able to determine whether to revisit the previous lesson or continue with today’s lesson. After modeling using connecting
cubes, students gave me feedback using a hand signal, thumbs up or thumbs down. I would gather a small group of
students who might need extra help to the side table and re-demonstrate the instruction. Students had an opportunity to
self-assess their work, comparing it to the teacher’s work or their peer’s work. Students did not have to be assessed in a
public manner, as they look at their work and compare it on their own. Self-assessment led to a meaningful reflection of
their work. As students work on their independent task, I would walk around the classroom and ask questions to promote
higher order thinking and creative problem-solving inquiries. When students share their work, I gave them constructive
feedback to encourage positive learning and critical thinking skills.

6. How did making accommodations support the learning of your focus student?

The focus student needed one-to-one help, as he worked on an independent task. He needed extra support on measuring
using connecting cubes and forming a complete sentence using math vocabularies. I would provide him sentence
structures and allow him to fill in the blanks in the sentences. I also accommodated one student who had trouble in
writing. I would write the number and the sentence with a highlighter and have the student to trace on top. It was
effective, and the student was actively engaged in the lesson. The English Learner students needed extra support on
vocabulary, so I would explain the words using visuals. I would also model the instruction using manipulatives and
visuals. I encouraged EL students to participate in partner sharing, so they wouldn’t be intimidated to share with the whole
class. Giving extra time for students to finish was also effective in promoting good learning outcome.

7. What might you have done differently to integrate your UDL lesson?

I would have added more visuals, such as videos or pictures. Students really enjoy watching short clips about math. I
would have introduced the lesson using a short video to spark students’ curiosity and promote more engagement. I would
have also offered alternatives for auditory information throughout the lesson. It is important to reach students who are
auditory learners. Using various means of representation would make the teaching more effective.