2013-2014 in a nutshell

So, I am not telling any teachers out there any new news by saying this year was extremely hectic. In Ohio, I am talking OTES, SLOs, RESA, etc. There was no time for anything. I also had a student teacher for the first half of the school year. Luckily, although I wasn't posting, I did take pictures of some things I did during this past school year! My goal is to post one time per month next school year. I'm back in the blog game!

First, is an example of when I was doing word of the week. Our word this week was "yes". It is the way that I modify the use of sight word vocabulary in the special education classroom.

 This is how I modified it for my higher students. They got to work at the back table with an instructional assistant during the lesson (after introduction). They were able to choose three things they can do and then write a sentence about their favorite thing they can do.

One student is just putting the sentence in order and matching the word practicing one-to-one correspondence. Some students are tracing (the colors are based on vision). 

Here is my tray with both sides, since "more" and "all done" are very similar to "yes" and "no" we work on both ways of expressing ourselves and try to get them using "yes" and "no" and shaking their heads since it is such an appropriate form of communication that all people would understand. Actually, our favorite way of using "yes" and "no" is by using Talking Brix communication devices because they are light weight and can be held under their chin for yes and near their temple for no and we teach them to shake their heads.

 Here is a repetitive text that I created to use during the lesson. Many of the pictures we use in the classroom daily in our rules and other things so the students are familiar with them. I also used a voice output device for students to share read with me.

 Here are my heads that I shake from side to side and up and down to practice saying yes and no. I sing a song "We shake our heads side to side to say no, we shake our heads side to side to say no, we shake our heads side to side if we want to say no, we shake our heads side to side to say no" To the tune of "if you're happy and you know it" and the same with yes but instead of side to say I say up and down. I try not to make my no face unhappy because "no" is not always a negative and often we teach children to smile for yes and be sad for no but that's not socially appropriate. (for example, if we teach them to smile for yes, and then ask them if their dog passed away and they have to smile to say yes, it is not socially appropriate). You can be happy saying no to things you do not want.

I have a large sentence strip I use with the rest of the students to practice making sentences. We do this in different ways, they can make choices between 2-3 options and they practice putting the sentence in order by making choices (should we start with yes or I?). The pom pom is our pesky period telling us to stop!

Here is what I use for students who are low vision to pair with the pictures, so they can make choices as well.

This is the cookie sheet idea I got from pinterest to say where all of my students are. There is one for therapy, one for library, one for gym, one for the kindergarten classroom, and one for cafeteria/recess. This cost less than $3. Tape, labels, magnets and a cookie sheet from the Dollar Tree. The pink is garage sale stickers (4).

Here is a dog I made from a tissue box to work on counting and fine motor. We fed the dog as many biscuits as we counted on large die after rolling it in a tub. Or, I have a generic "board game" I made where they will roll the die or use a spinner and practice counting using 1:1 correspondence and then if they land on a star spot they can feed the hungry dog. I put the laminated generic "board game"on a cookie sheet and use magnets as the pieces that the students move.

This is random but this is the pumpkin I carved for our pumpkin carving contest. I was proud of it so I have to share. I used squash as the skeleton head.

We all dressed like minions for halloween :-) Very easy group costume, just laminated the symbol, asked everyone to wear yellow and black suspenders and made the eyes from headbands, muffin liners and pom poms. All the kids recognized us and one of us was Dr. Gru.

Here is a visual schedule I made for circle time to keep everyone on task. I made it from a clipboard with storage I got at Target I believe. I used yellow electric tape and velcro. Picture symbols from boardmaker.

The flip side is the reward they get to choose at the beginning of the session to use as a behavior tool for some students.

The inside is where I kept all the unused symbols. Very quick and easy!

Here is a set up I used at my center during winter. I had a magnetic ice skating rink and light up stars hooked into a power link and on timed mode with two switches. I was working on students making choices and working two switches instead of just one. I have my PODD in the background as we would describe what we saw and our preferences. We also continue to do "yes" and "no" during these stations. The ice rink was a crowd pleaser as all the figures would move, the lights would light up and different songs would play. Hard to keep them from taking the pieces and worried about how small they were, so usually I would position them a bit further away. I got this for free at a garage sale when they said "if you can find all the pieces, you can have it". I searched for 20 minutes and found them all around the basement!

IEP BINS!!!! This was an exciting time around winter. We did a rotating schedule this year (see beginning of the year post). My co-teacher and I were always at the green and blue tables and our instructional assistants rotated each week between the red, orange and yellow tables (one was a floater/break relief). Each day, 2-3 students would go through each station in the AM and PM. For example, group A would go to the red table in the AM and PM Monday, the orange table for AM PM Tuesday, the yellow table for AM PM Wednesday, the green table for AM PM on Thursday and the blue table for AM PM on Friday. It worked out so well, I cannot praise this method enough. Everyone worked with each student and in group sizes that were manageable. Students worked with all adults to generalize their skills and did not get bored because of the variety. It was such a great way for my co-teacher and I to get IEP data on each kid, each week and for her and I to compare data on all our students (so we were responsible for both classroom students, not just our own). It was only for 30 minutes in the AM and PM so it was perfect timing. 

Now, onto what I was originally talking about-IEP Bins. Once we had written their IEPs and everyone's were done, we were able to make up data sheets for each objective and then pile the bins with things to work on for each objective. We left data collection just up to us so it wasn't too much for the adults to handle. It was nice because at the end of each day, we just rotated the bins to where the students would be the following day. There was no longer a need to come up with activities to do at your center because each student had an individualized bin with IEP work and individual work to give them. We had notebooks at each table so instructional assistants could note what they did and how it worked, or ask questions. We had a main sheet in each bin with what they are to do with each material, but we also left little notes on each item (for example-student it working on choice making, show them both items and see which one they reach for, or student is working on making marks on paper, use adapted writing equipment to see if student will mark on paper). Before IEP Bins we had a set activity they did at all the tables and they would repeat it 5 times throughout the week, but it was hard to meet every student's levels this way.

Here was a fine motor activity I put in a student bin. I got the cute clips at the Container Store.

This was an activity to use during our weather unit. Basic, I am sure everyone has seen it, but this is a way that I purchased a package of bulletin board items and used them in a hands-on way. I used a thick foam board and one side I left them choose the condition, then they could decide the temperature. We really focus on just because it is sunny does not mean it feels hot and just because it is rainy it does not mean it is cold, etc. We paired it with my thermometer that I have up on the board where they can find the degree (practice counting) and then the temperature is color coded (for example, 100 degrees is in the red part of the thermometer and it says "hot", cool temperatures are purple, cold are blue, etc.) My thermometer may be on another post!

On the other side is froggy, ready to get dressed. We do a whole dressing unit in the winter.

Here is just how I stored the items. In a little pocket notebook.

100th Day of School! Should be a holiday! ;-)

Here is how I taught my students about it. We counted 100, we felt 100 and we made 100. We also watched a video of kids doing things 100 times. Then, we practiced counting (I think I had it on a step-by-step switch and we took turns), then we felt 100 cubes. 

Then, we made 100, each student made 10 dots on the paper and we did it 10 times.

Then we all got to put 100 objects into a container. We did this during PM centers (sometimes we would all do the same thing if we had a good activity that needed small groups). In general, AM was reading and PM was math.

Valentine's Day Book Bag. I started doing these book bags to make my books tactile for my students. I put everything that is mentioned in the story in a bag and students attempt to find them, sequence the items, choose between two items, use "yes" "no", etc.

Here are the objects.

I apologize but all of these are upside down and I do not want to reload them. This is an example of my activities during reading circle (I co-teach and I teach reading. My co-teacher should start a blog about math because she has awesome ideas). My husband got me a foam alphabet mat as a surprise and I used the foam letters from them as a big, tactile letter to feel and trace when introducing the letter. I always have a letter choice during the week where students get to choose one object to interact with. We do a lot of choice making and hands-on activities because those are the levels of my students. This was a really good thing during circle because you get to observe a lot of behaviors of your students and find out their preferences and what they really like. For example, we found out throughout the year a student really loved birds and always chose anything with wings. How interesting!

Here are my letter tubs. The only thing is, the objects are sooooo small. I have decided for next year to make my own big tubs to include all of these things in for circle so I don't have to collect them on Monday of each week. I use the cheaptalk overlay for students to chose what they want to see from the tub. For my higher students we do where they pick what they want the other person to find. How interesting when you can't pick what you want but instead what the direction that was given to you!

Here is my amazing tactile alphabet book my wonderful student teacher made me as her goodbye gift to me. We had talked about it all year since our students were very mobile and wanting tactile learning opportunities and we found it hard to plan circle time. She did such a great job. It's a big book too.

Here is our "word wall" we make each week. They get to choose what they want to put up (I differentiate it, higher students have to think of something without any prompts and other students may choose between two pictures or objects). Then, we make a sentence about one of the cards on our word wall. We also research it if we are not sure what it is. This is where my wireless keyboard and mouse came in for use with the smartboard. I could turn on "google" and research it from circle time on the big smartboard. It was really interesting. Kids would love to watch videos of things in action.

Here is an example of how I help my students see their IEP goal progress when appropriate. I color code a graph and each time we take data they see where they are. Blue is in the sky, flying high (above goal), green is GOAL, yellow is seeing the sun, keep going, and red is hot lava, you want to get out of red! I decide what is red and yellow based on previous data points so it is reasonable for each student. They really did well with this. 

Here is a fun review game that we do, they pull a block out and tell me a letter and sound that they get. I threw a couple numbers in there :-) They enjoy this when I tell them to close their eyes and don't peek! Then, sometimes we will make CVC words with what they chose.

Here is how I modified the daily 5 for some of my students when appropriate. At my table, I would have them choose their Daily 5 task, then work with one student on IEP data collection while the other did an independent Daily 5 task  (at their level and individualized) and then we would switch.

Here they are matching, then finding the picture to go with it. The picture thing was very hard.

I would pull a themed book sleeve out for read to self. They really only looked at pictures but I would do a comprehension at the end "what was your book about?"

Just a reminder of our center rotation system. This is in a previous post. The clips are students names and the velcro is where instructional assistants names rotate. I was always at green and my co-teacher was always at blue. We are going to make some adjustments for next year but overall keep the center rotation.

And finally, just to brag about my amazing co-workers. Anyone in Ohio that was in Year 3 of the resident educator license does not need an explanation about this, but I found this on my desk after I submitted my RESA. I sincerely hope they change this for future teachers.

That's all for my year in a nutshell! I know it doesn't make up for being MIA for the past year, but I was really focused! Remember my goal for next year? Keep me on track!!

See you probably again this summer, or at least in August :-)