UDL Lesson Plan Template

Teacher Candidate’s Name: Jen Rohde

Date Created: 11/1/19

Content Area: Reading and Writing

School: Madison

Grade Level: 4th

Lesson Title: Thank You

Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Michigan Academic Standards: (include code and standard)
 RI.4.1 Key Ideas and Details: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining
what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
 W.4.4 Production and distribution of writing: Produce clear and coherent writing in
which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.
Performance Based Learning Objectives:
 Given instruction and a modeled example, students will be able to write a short thank
you note that includes at least five of the six requirements (greeting, thank you,
compliment, hope, closing and student’s name)
 Given guidance during the draft writing, students will be able to write a neat, clear and
correctly spelled final draft on a blank thank you card or homemade thank you card
with one or fewer mistakes
Materials: (Low Tech, including number needed)
Teacher:
 Text on why thank you cards are important and when they are appropriate
 Video on content for the body of a thank you note
 Thank you outline
 20 blank note cards
 20 pieces of plain white paper
 8 different colored markers
 20 pieces of lined paper
 4 copies of expectations (one for each table group)
Students:
 Pencil
 Crayons
 Markers
 Colored pencils
 Good attitude
Technology: (High Tech)
 o Teacher laptop o Digital camera
o SMART Board o Document camera
o LCD projector o Digital microscope
o SMART Senteos (class set) o Video camera
o Computers o Scanner
o iPad or tablet o Color printer
o iPod or mp3 player(s) o Calculators
o Early childhood learning o FM system
technologies o Other______________
o Webcam
Bibliography/Resources:
Chace, Keely. "Thank-You Messages: What to Write in a Thank-You Card." 18 June 2019. Hallmark. 6
November 2019. <https://ideas.hallmark.com/articles/thank-you-ideas/thank-you-messages-
what-to-write-in-a-thank-you-card/>.
G, Ask Dr. "Teach Kids How to Write a Thank You Note." YouTube. 25 May 2013. 4 November 2019.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kUji03aCwE>.

Prior Learning Connections (Background Knowledge Support):

 Writings that include a greeting and a closing such as the letter written at the end of our
Social Studies unit on the Southwest that demonstrated their learning about the region
 Personal thank you notes students may have sent or received
Differentiation/accommodations:
 For those students that have trouble putting their thoughts to paper or struggle to write,
I can help scribe their thoughts
 I will provide a thank you note outline for those students who need more structure,
guidance or help with their writing
Special Concerns (including medical, behavioral, and/or environmental):
 Making sure all students are actively participating and on task
 Making sure that I recognize when a behavioral situation would be better handled in
private rather than in front of the class.
Assessment:
Formative:
 Students will be assessed on their ability to incorporate all the required elements of the
thank you note into their final draft
 Students will be assessed on their neatness and clear, correctly spelled final draft of
their thank you note
Summative:
 There is no summative assessment attached to this lesson
During Lesson: (General Guidelines)
Engagement: (10 minutes)
 Who can tell me one of the cool things we experienced when Heather visited our
classroom recently? (I will call on up to three people)
 Did we enjoy our visit with Heather?
Transition:
  Can anyone tell me what the proper thing to do is when someone gives you a gift like a
present, or the gift of their time and attention like Heather did? (You send a thank you)
(FA)
Instruction/Exploration: (50 minutes)
 Today we are going to look at why and when a thank you note is appropriate, learn
how to write a thank you note and then we will each write our own thank you note to
Heather to express our gratitude for her visiting us and sharing her experiences with
us.
 I will show a short video clip of the expectations of what a child should be able to write
in the body of a thank you note.
 The video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kUji03aCwE
 Who can tell me the three important elements that the video said to put into the body of
thank you notes? (thank you for…, a compliment, a hope) I will write these on the
board (FA)
 Who can recall the letter that each of you wrote at the end of our Southwest region unit
to explain everything that you had learned about the region? Do you remember how
you started that letter off? (Dear…) (FA)
 Who can tell me what that Dear… is called? (a greeting) I will add this element on the
board above the thank you for… (FA)
 What is it called when you write something like Sincerely, or Love, at the bottom of
your note or letter? (the closing) (FA)
 What are some other options for a closing? (Your friend, Kind Regards, etc.) I will
add this element on the board below their hope (FA)
 At the end of your Southwest region letter, after you put your closing, what did you
write next? (their name) I will add this element on the board below closing (FA)
 You are probably wondering what this may look like, so I am going to model the thank
you note that I will send to Heather.
 On chart paper, I will write the following thank you note making sure to write neatly,
talk my way through the note and hit all the required elements:
 Dear Heather, Thank you for coming to our classroom and sharing with the students.
You did a wonderful job choosing students to help you use your communication chart.
I hope that when I get my own classroom, you will be able to visit again. Love, Jen
 I will then have the students identify each of the required steps of a thank you within
my own thank you note. I will color code it so students can match the requirements on
the board with the example on the chart paper (FA)
 I will now instruct students to write a draft of their thank you note on lined paper,
following the outline that I will also hand out to the tables
 As the students are writing, I will move around the room to reteach, redirect and help
make corrections (FA)
 Once drafts are completed, students will now choose one of the blank cards or plain
paper to make into a card so they can transfer their corrected drafts onto the actual
card.
Transition:
 I will ask up to three students to read their thank you note aloud, instructing those
listening to listen for how each writer included each element. After each reading, I will
 have the rest of the class identify the different components of the writing to see if
students can recognize each element. Having some examples read aloud will also
allow me to see if students are understood how to pull in each element and make the
writing read smoothly. These examples may also show students various writing styles
and different ways to say the same thing (FA)
After Lesson: (15 minutes)
 I will remind students that the reading said that the time and care that they put into
their thank you notes will reflect their gratitude
 I will instruct students that time and care can be shown on the envelope too.
 I will encourage that they put Heather’s name on the envelope neatly, decorate the
envelope if they choose and add a sticker to seal the back of the envelope after their
note has been finalized.
 As students complete their thank you note and envelope, I will collect them so I can
mail them to Heather.
Notes/Reflections:
Strengths of the Lesson:
Areas for Growth:
Focus for next lesson: