How to plan and organize ULS materials

Does using Unique seem overwhelming? How do you put into your regular lesson plans and if so what do you do with all of the materials? As teachers we are all very busy so let’s talk about how to plan and organize ULS materials. 

Use the ULS Pacing Guide

ULS will generate a lesson plan aligned to alternative standards. We use Dynamic Learning Maps in my state, so ULS is aligned to those standards for me. This is option is great because I can choose what subject activities I want when creating the lesson plan. I also love that the lesson plan links to each activity, so I don’t have to find it manually. I use Planbook for my lesson plans and I just attach these plans to my Planbook subjects. You can also use the suggested unit pacing guide as well. It has a curriculum suggested lesson plan for the month of the unit.

Don’t Do Everything

There is so much content in the ULS curriculum. You do not have to do everything. Pick the things you want to do with your students. I love to do math activities, but don’t always do social studies and ELA because I have another curriculum I also use for both of those. Use the ULS planner to only generate a lesson plan for the subjects you want. If you aren’t sure how to set-up and get around ULS, don’t worry! I wrote a post about that here.

Keep It Digital

I do not print the books or the worksheets and I keep things organized by assigning activities to students on their profiles and also doing the activities as a group.  I like to print the word sorts, word wall words, matching games, and vocabulary words. They are stored in a tiered cart labeled with “Sorts”, “Word Wall”, “Games” etc in plastic bags labeled with the unit theme. Don’t stress yourself out by trying to print everything in the curriculum!

Keep things as digital as possible. I love that ULS lets you enlarge activities when you project them. I often eliminate choices and do keep a set of picture images/tactile cards printed for students with visual impairments. My printing and laminating in preparation for each month’s unit is minimal.

Be kind to yourself! ULS can be overwhelming at first, but if you follow my tips I promise it will be much easier. This is my favorite way to set things up and I find that it saves me a lot of time and stress. I hope this blog gives you ideas on how to plan and organize ULS materials.