Student Teaching UbD Unit Design

Student Name: Courtney Beckham Intended Grade Level of Unit: Kindergarten

Theme of Unit : We are all the Same + Different Content Area: Social Studies, ELA, Math, Art, Reading

Classroom Demographics:
21 students – vast arc of income levels, family structures, ethnicity and race. 1/3 of students did not attend a preschool, and
half of them attended no preschool or a preschool that was three or less days a week.

Alaska Content Standards:

Social Studies

(D) A student should be able to integrate historical knowledge with historical skill to effectively participate as a citizen and as a
lifelong learner. A student who meets the content standard should:

1. Understand that the student is important in history

ELA

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what
person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).

Print Concepts

 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

d) Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Craft and Structure

5. Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.
6. Name the author and illustrator of a text and describe the role of each in presenting the ideas or information in a text.

Math

 K.CC.5. Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array or a
circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects.

 K.MD.2. Make comparisons between two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has “more
of”/“less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and
describe one child as taller/shorter

Art Anchor Standard #2 - Organize and develop artistic ideas and work

VA:CR2a-K

a. Using experimentation, build skills in various media and approaches to art-making.

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 Alaska Cultural Standards:

A. A culturally-responsive curriculum reinforces the integrity of the cultural knowledge that students bring
with them.

A curriculum that meets this cultural standard:

1. recognizes that all knowledge is embedded in a larger system of cultural beliefs, values and practices,
each with its own integrity and interconnectedness;

Transfer Goal(s) - Unpacked Standards

Students will see themselves as unique and important parts of their communities

Students will recognize the letters of their names in and out of the context of their names.

Students will begin to understand the relationship between illustrations and text in a book.

Student will recognize that 1/1 counting uses the same structure regardless of the manipulatives/objects used

Students will understand that all(most) books have front and back covers, title pages, authors.

Students will begin to see themselves as authors, illustrators and writers.

Students will use paper art supplies to experiment with creativity and art creation.

BIG IDEA of the Unit:

Everyone has similarities and differences than others, and each is important in a community (names, ideas,
looks, heights, thoughts, abilities, etc.).

STAGE 1 – Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings (Bank of EUs and EQs for Unit)
Enduring Understanding(s) Essential Questions to be Considered:
Students will understand that….

They are different than other people and the same as
other people.
The letters of their names are used outside of their names
as well.
The letters of their names must be in a specific order to be
their name.
To count a quantity you have to include each of the
manipulatives once (in this case, letters in a name).
Authors are people like them, and books just need a
front/back cover, title page, and illustrations and/or words
What is the role of the illustration in a book?
Why is it important to be able to recognize our
names?
When counting, why do we only include each
manipulative once?
What is the role of the illustration in a book? The
words?
Can anyone be an author? What makes an author?
Can anyone be an artist? What makes an artist?

Letters make up words, which make up books

A self-portrait is a representation of themselves with

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 art.
STAGE ONE: (Bank of Objectives for Unit) STAGE TWO: (Bank of Assessments for Unit)
Objectives/Learning Targets: Assessments Sources of Evidence of Learning
Knowledge and Skills: K & S ____________________________
___________________________ (Assessment bank here)
(Objective bank here)

K- Each student is important in unique ways

S – Student can describe 1-2 ways that they are
important to the community
K - The letters of their names have a specific order
S - Students can complete the name puzzle
K - Each manipulative is considered one “whole”
S - Students can count the letters of each name at a 1/1
ratio
Student fills out their “I am important because…” sentence
strip in an ability-appropriate way (verbally, with one letter,
full word, full sentence)
Students can tell you the first/last letters in their names with
a near-point reference
Student can complete their name puzzle.
Students can accurately count the letters in their name,
and point out a name with “more” letters, and a name
with “less” letters

K – Students know that longer names have “more” Completed self portrait.
letters, and shorter names
have “less” letters

K- Understand that each letter has its own name and

sound

S - Create a title page with an example next to them for

direct reference

K- They are an important piece of society/the

community they are a part
of

S- Can use various materials to create a self-portrait art

piece

STAGE TWO: Culminating Performance Task

Culminating Performance Task

During circle time (broken into two sessions). Students get to share their favorite thing about themselves. When
other students share that attribute, they raise their hands and give another student with their hand raised a
Kindergarten hello (waive with a pinky or an index finger silently). We move around the circle and celebrate our
differences and similarities.

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STAGE THREE: Learning for Understanding/ Instructional Activities
(Make only as many lessons as are appropriate for your Unit)
Pre-Requisites for the entire unit: What are the prior knowledge and skills students have to have in place before
starting this Unit of Study?

- Basic understanding of concepts of print (writing holds meaning)

- Basic understanding that each student has similarities and differences
- Understanding that they (each student) is unique

Unit Overview/Introduction/Main Hook (Make a connection with students’ backgrounds using an authentic
situation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtjoM_gy-2w

Students and I talk about our book friends, Elephant and Piggie. We talk about them being wonderful friends, and
discuss the ways they are the same, and the ways that they are different.

The students do a partner share about why they think being different in some ways and the same in some ways is
special and what makes each person who they are.

As a group we discuss what it would be like if everyone was the same, comparing it to all of the similarities and
differences in our room.

Action/ Mini-hook for each Process: Specific strategies

Lesson lesson: Teacher does/ Student Does to accommodate specific
connection to prior Product: student variability/
learning/knowledge Assessment/ Evidence of accommodate all learners
Learning
Lesson closure

Materials for lesson #1:

- Enough for 21 students: sharpies, paper (at least 3 colors), scissors, glue
- Sentence strip prepped with, “I am important because….”
- Doc cam/projector
- Premade example to show students what they are making

Objectives and Essential Questions for lesson #1:

K- Each student is important in unique ways

S – Student can describe 1-2 ways that they are important to the classroom community

How am I important in my community?

Why am I important in this community?

Content areas covered in lesson (from standards) #1:

Social Studies

(D) A student should be able to integrate historical knowledge with historical skill to effectively participate as a citizen and as a
lifelong learner. A student who meets the content standard should:

1. Understand that the student is important in history

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Lesson 1 Teacher/Student: Strategies of Differentiation:
Title Read Aloud via youtube:
“Just Ask” - T talks about how each person is - Students can dictate their
I Am https:// special and unique all over the sentence, copy their
Important! www.youtube.com/ world, and in the classroom it is no sentence, write one word,
watch?v=q4sGcaA6bFk different one letter, etc. depending on
- T defines what “important” means ability/experience level
- T asks if students have - Student can choose different
Lead into story by descriptions of what makes Ms. difficulties in words (kind,
reminding students that we Courtney unique, important & nice, creative, love dump
have been talking about special trucks, etc.)
how each of us is unique - T discusses that each person has - Students have a flexible
and brings something some things that are unique, and amount of time for the
special to our classroom, the same as others drawing, painting + writing
family and lives - S share ideas of what makes the sections
teacher unique - Support/discussion in large
- T shares what they like about groups + 1/1 with an
themselves, and what makes educator in the classroom
themselves unique/important
- T uses prepped sentence strip to
fill in the sentence, “I am
important because….”,
- T (using projector + doc cam)
writes …..“I love to help students
learn”
- S, as a large group, brainstorm
what they might write on their
sentence strips
- S go to their desks and with
educator support, finish their
sentences (educator can dictate the
spelling, write it down for the
student to copy, or write it for the
student)
- When students finish, they move
back to the rug
- T gives instruction on how to use a
sharpie to make a self-portrait on
paper
- S are dismissed back to desks to
do self-portraits (asked to raise
hands when finished)
- S come and pick out 3-5 colors of
paper to cut into strips & get
scissors
- Project is paused to complete later
- T gives a demonstration of how to
cut out self portrait/use scissors
(students are sitting at rug in a
circle)
- T asks, what will I see if you’re
using scissors safely?
- S raise hands to share ideas (safe
bodies, hands to themselves, etc.)
- While students are at the rug, TA
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 puts black backgrounds at their
desks
- S cut out their self-portraits at the
rug
- S head to seats when they are
done, TA supports students gluing
on their color strips, self-portrait,
& sentence stem to background
- T supports students using scissors
at rug

Assessment:

Student fills out their “I am

important because…” sentence strip
in an ability-appropriate way
(verbally, with one letter, full word,
full sentence)

Closure:

Morning circle each day for the rest

of the week: 5-6 students share their
sentence of, “I am important
because…….”

Materials for lesson #2:

- Doc cam + projector
- Scissors for all students (22 pairs)
- Demonstration name prepped
- Name puzzles prepped for kids w/ their names

Objectives and Essential Questions for lesson #2:

K - The letters of their names have a specific order
S- Students can complete the name puzzle

What is the role of the illustration in a book?

Why is it important to be able to recognize our names?

Standards/Content areas covered in lesson #2:

Reading
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they
appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).

Writing
Print Concepts
1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
d) Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

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Lesson 2
Title Read Aloud: The Magical
Yet. Talk about what “yet”
The Magical means… that we have two
Yet of Spelling “yets” that we are going to
Your Name practice today… using
scissors and spelling our
names
Discuss how one way that
we are unique is in our
names (but sometimes we
share first letters, and
sometimes friends even
share names!)
Materials for lesson #3:
- Preprepared poster with a blank graph to fit all student names for comparison
- Papers precut with every student’s name on each small piece of paper
- Glue on hand for adding papers to graph
Teacher/Student Strategies of Differentiation
- T&S discuss the Magical Yet, - Students who are confident
students and I discuss things we can go to desks to work
don’t know how to do “yet”, like - Students who are unsure
cutting and spelling our names. can stay at the rug for
- Discuss the ties between the additional assistance /
story and illustrations as we read teacher support
together - Students who are done can
- Discuss how we are going to build hand strength/muscle
practice BOTH! by coloring
- T gives demonstration of how to - All students get an adult
use scissors (zoomed in on doc check-in with the hand
cam) raise
- T is goofy about scissor use to
demonstrate “do not’s”
- S describe how to hold the
scissors (thumb up, hold paper
with opposite hands)
- T shows cutting on my name
example
- T shows students how to put it
back together (discuss if it’s still
my name if I put it in the wrong
order?!)
- S put scissors in their cutting
hands to demonstrate
understanding
- S can color in the back of the
puzzles
- Quietly find other students who
share the same first letter
Assessment
Students can tell you the first/last
letters in their names with a near-
point reference
Closure
Back to the rug to discuss what it
was like working on our names, how
did it feel? Did we get closer to our
goal of “yet”? Is it okay to be new at
something? What does that feel like?
Have all students “kiss their brain” to
celebrate
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 - Whiteboard + whiteboard marker to write, “more”, “less”, and “equal to” on the board for reference

Objectives and Essential Questions for lesson #3:

K - Each manipulative is considered one “whole”

S - Students can count the letters of each name at a 1/1 ratio
K – Students know that longer names have “more” letters, and shorter names have “less” letters

When counting, why do we only include each manipulative once?

Standards/Content areas covered in lesson #3:

Math

 K.CC.5. Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array
or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many
objects.

 K.MD.2. Make comparisons between two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has
“more of”/“less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two
children and describe one child as taller/shorter

Lesson 3 Title Mini-Hook Teacher/Student Strategies of Differentiation

Comparing Discuss how we have been
Our Names talking about our names,
and how we each have
differences and similarities
in ourselves and our names
just like in ourselves! Today
we are going to look at the
length of our names and if
they are the same or
different lengths
- T introduces the graph, and - Students choose names to
uses Ms. Courtney as the compare with near point
demonstration name reference
- T puts each letter under a - Students will be introduced
number to show the first to their names letter by
graphed name letter in small batches
- T pulls student names - In these small batches, the
- S adds the letters of their name T will compare their names
one by one, counting out loud and model, more, and equal
- T points out a name that has letters so the students will
more, less and the same get a daily comparison with
amount of letters different examples
- Monitoring student
engagement, student names
are pulled at random at ~5 day
to add to the graph
- Students fill out worksheet
(my name has ___ letters,
________’s name has more
letters, and _________’s name has
less letters, ________’s has the
same amount of letters)

Assessment

Evaluate final worksheet page with

name written out along with name
comparisons (see directly above).

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 Closure

At circle time, students share

who’s name has more than theirs,
less, and the same.

Materials for lesson #4:

- Doc cam + projector
- Prepped materials for me to make one book with students watching
- 22 stapled/prepped paper books
- 22 Prepped color pencil cups
- Letter “C” R4R big book for Hook
- Google slide with brainstormed words for students to see/reference

Objectives and Essential Questions for lesson #4:

K- Understand that each letter has its own name and sound

S - Create a title page with a near point example

What is the role of the illustrations in a book? The words?

Can anyone be an author? What makes an author?

Content areas covered in lesson (from standards) #4:

ELA
Craft and Structure

5. Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.
6. Name the author and illustrator of a text and describe the role of each in presenting the ideas or information
in a text.

Lesson 4 Title Mini-Hook Teacher/Student Strategies of Differentiation

Becoming an Read the Reach4Reading
Author Big Book about the letter
“C”
Talk about how each
student is unique, and each
capable of writing and
illustrating their own
books.
Discuss how each book
might be unique since they
are the authors
Wonder out loud if any
pages might be the same.
- T/S start at the rug with
projector on/ready
- T Explain that each student is
going to be making their own
book
- T Using my pre-made example,
point to the title, asking the
students what it’s called (in a
whisper!)
- T Pointing to the author, ask the
students if they’re all going to
write “By: Ms. Courtney” (they
all say no!)
- S What will you all write at the
bottom?
- T Show off the illustration on the
- Students can create 1-5
pages of illustrations/words
- Words that are available
on-screen are familiar from
earlier discussions, or
students can brainstorm
their own
- Their illustrations are as in-
depth as they’d like
- Students are welcomed to
write sounds they hear
and/or full words
- Students writing can write
alliterations as sentences or
phrases for an elevated
challenge
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 front, have students whisper
what it is (red!)
- T Pull up the students’
brainstormed words that start
with that letter, and draw little
illustrations for each of them
- S If they thought of the word,
they tell Ms. Courtney what to
illustrate

Assessment

When pointing to the letters, students

can identify the name of the letter,
and whether it is lowercase or
uppercase.

Completed book with 1-5 pages, title

page, authors name (their own) and
illustrations

Closure

Students bring the books back to the

carpet and share one
word/illustration with the group that
they’re proud of/want to share.

Students can always pass if they

want.

Materials for lesson #5:

- Laptop/projector with read aloud opened/prepared (or book available to do read aloud with class at rug)
- 22 Premade books:
Title Page: “I am _______”, By:______
Page 1: I am important because _____________.
Page 2: I am different than _________ because______________.
Page 3: I am the same as __________ because ______________.
Page 4: We are all special and important!
*Each page has space to illustrate*
- Colored pencil set, glue stick, scissors for each student
- Prepped paper cutouts for self portrait on front of booklet

Objectives and Essential Questions for lesson #5:

K- They are an important piece of society/the community they are a part of

S- Can use various materials to create an art piece

A self-portrait is a representation of themselves with art.

Content areas covered in lesson (from standards) #5: Art Anchor Standard #2 - Organize and develop artistic ideas
and work

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VA:CR2a-K

a. Using experimentation, build skills in various media and approaches to art-making.

Lesson 5 Title Mini-Hook Teacher/Student Strategies of Differentiation

Kinder Read Aloud via youtube: - S/T meet at the rug - Access to near-point
Authors: “Our Class is a Family” - T talks about how we have been examples
How are we https:// celebrating our similarities and - Sentence format is started
the same + www.youtube.com/ differences as a class with ability to just add one
different? watch?v=BWxqBCzeUjA - T asks students, “raise your hand word to complete the
if you’re an author?” (all students sentence, or multiple words
should raise their hands) - Students can move forward
- T/S discuss that we each have beyond the first page if they
things that are the same, and finish it quickly
things that are different (have - Pages are discussed
students raise their hands to beforehand and ideas are
share similarities + differences) brainstormed. Students can
- Pull out premade books and copy ideas discussed or
show what we are going to write create/brainstorm their
beginning to end. Let kiddos own
know we are going to just do our
title page today
-T Demonstrate how to fill out my
name for the title and author
space. Demonstrate making a self
portrait with paper
-S give guidance to teacher as they
ask, which piece/how to
complete the art (does the paper
stay with no glue? Does the glue
go on the front? If I have brown
hair do I use the yellow/blonde
paper? Etc.)
-T describes how to use
scissors/how to hold (thumb
up!)
-S head to desks
-S with questions/wanting
support stay at the rug for small
group support
-TA’s walk around and support
students at back tables
-For 5 days, the class focuses on
one page/day, brainstorming
ideas together (written on the
board for easy reference)

Assessment

Completed “I am _____” book with a

self-portrait on the cover, and each
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 blank page filled out.

Closure

Students share their “I am ____”

books with the class during
morning circle, specifically sharing
their favorite page.

Unit Closure: Bring it all together with the focus of the lesson and the Objective. Tie the closure for each lesson in
with the Main Hook, the Objective, and the Essential Question.

Discuss that in being different, we are all important and part of the same community & class.

Read aloud: Read Aloud via youtube:

“Our Class is a Family”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWxqBCzeUjA

Discuss together about how we are different, and how we are the same!

Cultural Capital: Discuss how this Unit increases your students’ access to “Cultural Capital.”

Each student will understand their uniqueness, while also recognizing how they fit into our classroom
community. They will understand that they each bring something to share, and that’s what makes them
important. They will also see that even in their uniqueness, they have similarities with others inside and
outside of their community.

A. Attachments: Graphic Organizers, Quizzes, Worksheets, Assessment Rubrics etc. for each Lesson.
(You can embed them as screenshots)

Note: Photo attachments are included with slideshow

B. Unit Reflection:

UBD Unit Reflection

Courtney Beckham

When designing this unit, my goal was to meet the wide range of academic needs of my students while
building their confidence and channeling their love of art. Recognizing that many of my students have had little
to no preschool, I wanted the lessons in this unit to show them how capable they are, while also stretching their
abilities and introducing them to new things.

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 The five lessons of this unit increase in difficulty while giving a very personalized theme for each student
(names, self portraits, writing about themselves, etc.). I have quite a high-movement group that loses interest
quickly, so I wanted to really lean into the personalized aspect of each lesson to keep the engagement high. My
kids responded with lots of enthusiasm and joy for this, so I was glad to have interwoven it so heavily.
During Lesson 1, “I Am Important”, I quickly realized that the self-portrait idea I had chosen would take
many more steps than I had anticipated. The students loved the cutting and gluing, but I had to break the art
portion of the lesson into about five steps of ~10-15 min each. It was exciting to see the creativity that came out
of the color layout and design choices. After finishing the portraits and seeing the time differences between each
student, I introduced the “I am important” sentence strip and the book, and we brainstormed ideas. I chose to
then walk around during a quiet activity and write down each student’s sentence to prevent the students from all
choosing the same idea (they regularly get excited and all repeat the same answer). Collecting these allowed me
to write each one out on a sticky note so they could use it at their desk as a reference to write. This was
incredibly helpful, and I ended up using the same system for the final book as well (Lesson 5). It was incredible
to see the students glowing as they shared with their classmates why they are important.
Lesson 2, “The Magical Yet of Spelling Your Name” was a quick but exciting lesson that the students
seemed to enjoy. If I was to redo this unit, I would move this lesson as the first lesson, as it would have given
me a better idea of where the students’ scissor/cutting skills are at, which may have helped me recognize how
long their paper self-portraits might take. I chose to have the students keep these puzzles in their seat bags,
which allows them to use them when they have breaks between projects/lessons. Though they are using them
less and less, they enjoyed them for a few weeks (especially my students who came in not yet recognizing their
names).
“Comparing Our Names,” Lesson 3, was a great addition and helped me introduce the students to graphing
before we completed their first meteorology graphs. I wasn’t sure how they would perceive it, but they were
immediately excitedly yelling out comparisons without my prompting (“Whoa! Rory and Oren have the same
amount of letters!”). Each student was excited to add their name, and everyone has enjoyed looking at the graph
on our Kindergarten wall. It tied in beautifully to our morning circle, as the students were highly engaged and
excited to compare the length of their name to the rest of the class. This is something I plan to do yearly with
my students, but I will add it closer to the beginning of the school year to help promote learning each other’s
names (closer to early October).
Lesson 4, “Becoming an Author,” became part of our weekly letter study. The students took to writing their
own books immediately and with such vigor that I added it as a weekly part of our learning. It seems to be this
magical medium where it meets all students’ needs. Through this lesson, my students who are still getting
familiar with letters get to focus on the title page, taking their time on the letter writing portion and familiarizing
themselves with the sounds. My students who are reading and/or writing letters or words get to deepen their
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knowledge in the books, creating 3-5 pages of words and illustrations. I’ve found that the freedom in book
length and lack of writing “minimums” actually encouraged them to write more, and practice sounding out both
letters and words. We’ve done this lesson with both crayons and pencils, and the pencils helped pull out a
higher level of detail which I found to be interesting! Moving forward, I will be using color pencils with this
activity for that reason!
The “Kinder Authors: How Are We the Same and Different,” Lesson 5 worked wonderfully as both a stretch
for my students as well as a sort of culmination project. The sticky note system I used in lesson 1 proved to be
very useful for the book making in this lesson. The students’ work was very well-made, and I think students
really understood and recognized the similarities and differences between them and their peers. In future
iterations I will add in a last page, stating a unifying fact like, “We are all Kindergarteners!”. I will also choose
to add a sort of cover to their books, as I think that would have helped the students understand the importance of
it, differentiating from their weekly letter books (from Lesson 4). In evaluation of the books I also saw that
many of the students wrote beyond the line I included, so I would add additional lines for them to continue their
sentences. I really liked that this book reiterated their “I am important because…” thoughts, giving them a
chance to re-write and revisit that fact.
Reflecting on my whole unit and the student learning that came out of it, I feel that it would help for me to
have created a basic rubric to assess the students’ writing. That would help me organize where they are in their
writing journey. I liked the fluidity of these lessons as it allowed more freedom without expectations, but a
rubric may have helped in assessing their final understanding and acquired skill (specifically for Lesson 5).
With so many of my students lacking confidence in academics, I was apprehensive in setting really structured
expectations, but depending on the group that could be really helpful. I also am still working on a good way to
catalog student work for assessment and tracking learning, as much of the work in Kindergarten is art-based. I
want them to get to take their work home and reflect on it with their families, but it is helpful to get to compare
letter/word formation through photographs (which worked fairly well throughout this unit). Overall, I would
teach each of these lessons again. As mentioned I might shorten/lengthen some aspects, but all lessons felt
helpful and useful to the students’ learning.

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