K-3rd Grade Style Guide

The Canvas Style Guide has been created to support teachers, students, and families in successfully navigating Canvas. This document provides a quick checklist for you to use when assessing your course and also lays out the expectations in more detail with links and other resources. Use this to help support you while building your Canvas course and in conversations with your Canvas support specialists and administration.

Keep in mind that Canvas is a platform that is used to facilitate outstanding pedagogy.

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In Provo City School District, Canvas is our chosen platform to share learning targets and success criteria, administer assessments, and provide feedback. It offers us the opportunity to further provide differentiation for each student's needs and to create flexible learning environments that help all students succeed.

Core Expectations:

Teachers and students should be comfortable using Canvas as a fundamental platform. Developing capacity for Canvas use in school early and regularly helps ensure that learning days are not lost in case of emergency.
Teachers should be prepared for an unexpected online learning day. Each teacher should prepare a few modules in advance that can serve as emergency sub plans or be used in case of illness, a snow day, or a digital learning day.
Teachers are not required to put everything on Canvas. Canvas should be used as an extension of your physical classroom but does not have to represent everything that takes place in that classroom. Use it to facilitate a flexible learning environment in class and provide needed resources outside of class.
Teachers are expected to be proactive in seeking assistance. Support is available through the Innovative Learning Initiative and your school-based Canvas support specialists to help you meet expectations and develop your proficiency in Canvas. Please do not hesitate to ask for needed help.

Teacher Account Settings

Required

Profile picture
Contact information
Notification preferences

All other information is optional.

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Canvas Course

Required

Use the Canvas for Elementary (C4E) interface
Use courses created from the Canvas/PowerSchool sync
Use the Homeroom course as a launch pad for your online class activities
Publish subjects that are being used, unpublish any subjects that are not being used
If applicable, request cross-list of Canvas courses

Note: If a course you need isn’t created through the sync (e.g., Special Education, Extracurriculars, etc.), submit the New Canvas Course request form.

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Homeroom

This may be the only subject used by PK-3 teachers. If so, do NOT enable it as the homeroom in the course settings. Only do so if you decide to use additional subjects, such as Math and Language Arts. In that case, follow the 4th-6th Grade Style Guide.

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Subject Home Page

If you are only using your Homeroom subject, follow the guidelines below. If you have decided to use additional subjects such as Math and Language Arts, follow the 4th-6th Grade Style Guide.

Required

Multimedia element (unless you have added a banner image in the course settings)
Links to commonly accessed websites
- Also posted under Resources using subject Important Info page
Use icons or emojis to help early readers find content/links

Recommended

Modules list or current module

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Announcements

Required

Provide a welcome announcement at the beginning of the year including
- A multimedia element
- A welcome message
- Instructions or video on how to navigate your Canvas course

Strongly Recommended

Post an announcement every two weeks that includes things such as:
- Banner or other image appropriate for the class/season
- Teacher message
- Learning targets
- List/calendar of upcoming events, reminders, etc.
- Any other celebratory content (e.g., focus students, etc.)
Note: Your announcement could simply be the content of a newsletter that you already send home.
Note: You can pre-schedule announcements and post duplicates so there is always an announcement on the homepage.

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Resources/Important Info

Using the Important Info page, include the following:

Required

Teacher welcome message, biography, and contact information
Link to disclosure document and other important class documents
Links for commonly accessed websites
Use icons or emojis to help early readers find content/links

Recommended

Additional pictures, slides, etc. to help students get to know you
Links to previous class newsletters, if not in Announcements

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Modules

Required

Prepare a few modules in advance as emergency sub plans or in case of an online learning day
Clearly and consistently label modules (e.g., label modules by date, unit, topic, etc.)
Use a consistent organizational structure
Use icons or emojis to help early readers find content/links
The first page of each module is a content page that describes the learning targets, success criteria, and a sequenced list of the module tasks and assignments OR ensure that each lesson page or assignment includes this information

Recommended

Use the modules to organize lessons and assignments
Modules may include the following content, as appropriate: content pages, assignments, discussions, files, external links, and quizzes
Include instructional materials used in class (e.g., Google Slides, guided notes, etc.) for students who were absent or may need to review, as appropriate.
If modules contain 10 or more items consider breaking it down into smaller pieces or use text headers to group content.
Unpublish modules not being used
Put the most recent module at the top of the modules list

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Assessments

Most of your assessments in PK-3 will take place on paper or in other platforms. When you do use Canvas for assessments, follow these guidelines:

Required

Clearly and consistently label assessments
Provide clear directions and success criteria
Provide due dates so assessments appear in the student's To Do list
Use icons or emojis to help early readers find content/links

Recommended

Use a variety of assessment types (assignments, discussions, quizzes, etc.)
Use rubrics
Grade using Speedgrader
If grading in Canvas, turn on "Hide totals in student grades summary" and "Hide grade distribution graphs from students" in Course Settings

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Recommended Design Elements

Use images that represent real people and diversity
Use consistent and appropriate fonts and colors
Use icons to represent specific learning tasks
Consider the length of content pages, and the amount of scrolling needed (less is more)
Embed content vs providing links that take students outside of Canvas, where possible
- Except YouTube videos, which should be linked
Monitor accessibility
- Provide alt text for images (including gifs)
- Provide closed captioning for videos
- Pay attention to contrast of text color and background color - be aware of color blindness

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Canvas Style Guide 2022-23 - K-3rd Grades