Countdown to Beach Time

Well, the countdown has begun! We have just a couple of weeks left before summer break and it is safe to say that it has been a doozy of a year. Between a change in paras, growing to a class size of 12, and my many non-classroom duties, I am definitely looking forward to a break so that I can get reorganized and ready to start next year off on the right foot. My goals for this summer include organizing our ABLLS-R testing materials, organizing our discrete trial area, and making plans for incorporating more assistive technology into my daily routines.

We have completed many fun units this school year but I think that our current unit is the favorite (maybe because it means that beach time is right around the corner!). My water unit allows us to incorporate so many fun activities such as catching fish in the sensory table, stamping play dough with seashells, dressing up in beachwear, and reading one of my favorite repeating lines books-- The Pout Pout Fish by Diesen. I'm a big fan of repeating lines books for this population and I try to incorporate one into each unit. I used to think that exposure to the most literature possible in one unit was key but after much research and spending this year focusing on reading the same repeating line book each day for the entire unit, I have decided that the latter is the best choice for my group. I have seen an increase in my students' participation, attention, and motivation since making this change.

My water unit, Riding the Waves, is comprised of over 50 pages of suggested literature, songs, motor, sensory, language arts, and math activities, all connected to the Georgia Early Learning Standards (GELDS). It includes unit vocabulary, intraverbals, beginning sounds, tracing letters and words, counting pictures, rote counting, printable play dough mats, patterns, printable BINGO cards, and I Spy pages. Activities are designed to be used on an interactive board as a whole-group or small-group activity or to be printed off for whole-group, small-group, or individual use. Head over to my TPT store to check this unit out!

These are a few of my favorite {IDEAS}:

I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Institute Designed for Educating All Students (IDEAS) 2014 Conference this week on St. Simon's Island. If you ever get the chance to attend this- definitely go. It was a game-changer for me and something that I hope to attend every year. Sometimes you just need to get together with a large group of people who do what you do and think like you think and bounce ideas off of each other. A lot of what I heard here was not new to me but helped me to think about things in a new way and come up with ideas of new techniques and strategies to use with me kiddos. Unlike other conferences I've attended in the past, IDEAS 2014 had a great deal of breakout sessions to choose from and (most of) the presenters weren't trying to push their own products. In fact, a great majority of the products & resources were freebies (!). I also liked that most of the presenters name-dropped the researchers behind the strategies so that I could ensure I was learning about evidence-based techniques. Here are a few of my favorite topics that were discussed this week:

1. Incorporating sensory techniques into instructional activities

Although I feel that I have a pretty strong understanding of how to use a variety of techniques in order to meet students sensory integration dysfunction needs, I tend to keep a separation between sensory & academic times. I allow for sensory breaks throughout the day but rarely use sensory materials in order to allow the students to better gain access to the academic curriculum. Jessie Moreau, from Gwinnett County Schools, was just one of the presenters who discussed this. She creates these incredible literacy notebooks using adapted books and adds detailed sensory materials along with additional visuals. I have seen a good bit of her stuff on the Resource Board before. Jessie's suggestion was try to create one book per school year. The overachiever in me is going to aim for two this year:)

Jessie Moreau's Books

2. Communication vs. Language

Jennifer Thomas from Houston County Schools did a great job presenting on Augmentative Communication in the classroom. One topic she discussed was the difference between communication and language. This is such a simple concept but one that I forget to distinguish between during my daily routine. I think that I put more of an emphasis with my students on tacting, labeling, acquiring new vocabulary, etc. (language) and less time on greetings, expressing needs, making choices, etc. (communication). She also introduced me to the term "core vocabulary." I have seen and used communication boards based on the Pixon Project but was not familiar with the terminology. Basically, the core vocabulary are the first words that toddlers use (ours would be paired with a visual of course). I spend a great deal of time in my classroom on non-core words (vocabulary words, labeling classroom materials, etc.) and very little time on those core words that are vital to actually being able to communicate. During Jennifer's presentation I got the idea of introducing a couple of core vocabulary words each week and using them in conjunction with our unit vocab words.

Example from BM Achieve

3. Core Words vs. Fringe Words

Thankfully Jennifer's presentation had introduced me to the concept of core vocabulary before I attended the Forsyth County's presentation of Communication: Peeled & Cored because they went into even greater detail on these basic core words. They use a large communication board with all of the core words pictured and then they add additional "fringe" words based on the unit/topic of discussion. This group discussed having a core board that the teacher used during activities and that the students could follow along (with para support) with their own personal lap boards. Another idea was to keep the core boards in a 3-ring binder and have strips of fringe words that can be flipped at the top.

4. Writing for Non-Writers

Most of the students in my classroom are not writing at this point so I was thrilled to see that my co-worker's mom was presenting with her colleague on this very topic. She gave me some great ideas- such as allowing students to choose between printed sticky notes to answer questions or to use them to order words to create a sentence but I was most excited about all of the materials ideas. I'll tell ya, these ladies must live at the Dollar Store. They had some wonderful ideas for using ordinary objects. For example, I plan to buy some acrylic picture frames that stand up for students to velcro their answers onto and cutting pool noodles to use as a sequence board.

5. Circus Time- Errr, I mean CIRCLE Time:)

My circle time can get a little wild at time so I am always up for new ideas. Gini Bramlett from Fannin County gave me several new ideas to try out with the kiddos. For one, I'm going to switch my attendance chart from saying school & home to use core words (here, away) and I'm also going to add teacher names and administrator names to the chart so that students are more familiar with those. One of the other attendees had the idea of pairing each day of the week with a specific texture and also using sensory materials when discussing the weather. Gini create a great smartboard file that she was willing to share with us all to take home and change as needed.

These presentations- and several others- gave me pages of ideas that I want to incorporate in my own classroom. I'm going to try to focus only on one idea at a time so that I don't overwhelm myself but I'll post as I work my way through on here with pictures and materials. IDEAS 2014= SUCCESS! While there were a couple of duds in the bunch, it was overall a really phenomenal week (the beautiful beach, delicious food, and fabulous friends didn't hurt either!).

Classroom Choreography Part 4: Story Time & Movement

In addition to my main circle time, we have two other times during the day that we come together for more "circle time." It is easier to call everything that we do on the rug "circle time" so that the kiddos can make that connection between our circle time visual and sitting on their spot on the rug.

At 9:30, we have our second circle time. We all sit on our spots and go over our circle time rules. Then, we read a book. On Monday, we always read our unit book from our Read It Once Again Unit (or watch a youtube video of someone else reading it!) and on Friday we read or listen to our nursery rhyme for that unit. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we read a book related to our unit. Right now we are focusing on pets so I have a couple of books related to dogs, cats, etc. This is how story time begins every day:

(Holding up book)
Teacher: What is this?
Students (modeled by paras): a book
Teacher: (Showing sign for book) What do we do with a book?
Students: We read it.
Teacher: We read a book. We turn the pages and look at the pictures.
(Begin reading)

(Finish book)
Teacher: What do we say when we finish a book?
Students: The end.

It sounds silly to write that down but I think repetition can be so beneficial for our kids.

After reading our story we always sing the ABC song. I usually say something like "Let's sing the alphabet song. I forgot how it goes, can you sing it?"

Then we always count to 5. We'll move up to counting to 10 at some point. I usually pull some teddy bear counters out of my rainbow box- emphasizing that I am taking them "out" and putting them "on" the rug. As I pull each one out, we count it- up to 5. Then I discuss putting them back "in" the box and we count them as I drop them back in.

Because this circle time is so short, all students typically sit for the entire time. Both paras are in my room during this time and they sit on the rug and model appropriate behavior. They also model appropriate answers if my students do not immediately answer. They handle any behavior issues during this time, using visuals as needed, while I focus on reading.

At 1:45, right before dismissal, we have our final circle time. This is mainly a music & movement time in which I play youtube videos & we dance. We work on following directions, improving our gross motor skills, interacting with each other, and we have A LOT of fun. Probably the most fun of the whole day. Here are a few of the songs we love the most:

this one
this one
this one
and this one

After a song or two we have "Question time"- each student is asked one or several personal information questions-

What is your name?
How old are you?
Are you a boy or girl?
What is your teacher's name?
Etc.

Then, I always end with "do you want a hug or a high five before you go home?" All of my students either say hug or go in for a hug every day. I have yet for a student to ask for a high five! Precious:)

Classroom Choreography Part 3: Circle Time

My main circle time occurs first thing in the morning, right after my kiddos finish breakfast. Upon entering the classroom, the students unpack their backpacks (with many verbal, physical, gestural, and visual prompts:)) and are told to sit on their "spot" on the rug. They are given a toy to play with while I take attendance and get the lunch count in. When I'm finished with that, toys are "finished" and circle time begins.

I have a layered circle time- an idea I was shown at my first TEACCH training many years ago. This means that my circle time is broken up into sections and that students transition to other activities throughout the circle time. The students know what to expect because of my visual circle time calendar displayed on the board. As it becomes time for a child to transition to another activity (usually because they are having difficulty focusing or sitting still), they are shown the "finished" picture and my para helps them to transition. Some days all of my students remain throughout the entire circle time- other days only one child is remaining at the end. Everyone has to sit for at least the first 3 activities.

 

{1}Circle time always begins with the Get Ready for Circle Time PowerPoint. This PowerPoint shows students how they are expected to behave during circle time. They love it.

{2}Second- we sing and say good morning. I change up the song everyday. Sometimes I use songs from an old CD I have and some mornings I use YouTube videos. I like to keep the activity the same- this one being "Good Morning"- while changing the actual contents of the activity. Here are some of the optional songs we sing:

this one
and this one
and this one

{By the way, I keep all of my circle time stuff in a "circle time" folder on my desktop- separated by activity- such as "good morning" or "shapes."}

After singing a good morning song, the students either say good morning to each other (sometimes using whisper phones) or-if nonverbal- wave or activate iPad button.

{3}The third thing that we do every morning is what I call "words." Last month we learned school words. This month we are first learning body words. These are our 10 vocabulary word. I alternate between showing them illustrations, real pictures, real objects, or a PowerPoint of pictures. I ask the same questions everyday- usually something like "What is it?" followed by "What do you do with it?" This is an example of last months:

(Show pic of bus)
T: What is it?
S: Bus.
T:What color is it?
S: Yellow.

(Show pic of backpack)
T:What is it?
S: Backpack
T:What do you do with it?
S:You wear it on your back (pointing to back)

These are the same questions that are asked during their unit assessment. Expressive students answer the questions verbally as stated above. For my receptive kiddos, I may say "Point to the thing you wear on your back." Or I may say "What do you do with it?" and if they can point to their back, I take that.

**FYI- Some days circle time ends here. You know those days- don't judge.**

{Optional Activities} After our words, I choose 1-4 more activities, including-but not limited to- letters, numbers, shapes, colors, game, story, nursery rhyme or song.

Letters. We learn about our letters! I usually do this one right after the words activity because most of my kids seem to like letters most of all. Here are some of the activities I choose from:

this one
or this one (they love!!)
or this one
or play with this SB activity
or play this one
or this one
or singing the good ole fashioned alphabet song
or an iPad game
or writing a letter on the whiteboard and letting them trace it with their finger
or ANY letter activity

Numbers. We have a number of the month that will come into play later but for this activity, we look at all numbers. Here are some of the activities I choose from:


this one
this one
this SB activity
or this one
or I pull out some teddy counters
or we count on the number line
or we count students
or we count teachers
or we count fingers
etc.
etc.
etc.
or we use an iPad counting app

Shapes. We have a shape of the month but here we usually talk about all basic shapes.

they love this video
this one
or this one
this SB activity
or I pass out shapes and they ID them before they put them back in the bucket- we use a carrier phrase "I seeeeeee the __" and some of my nonverbal kids approximate the tune of it.
or I pass out pieces from a shape puzzle and they ID them before they put them in

and most of the time I just draw the shapes on a whiteboard and they point to the one I say

Colors. We have a color of the month but here we look at all colors most of the time.

love this one
or this one
or this one
or this SB
or I pass out teddy bears and they have to ID color before putting it "in" the bucket- again using above carrier phrase

or I use a BM sheet and they have to point to the color requested

Nursery Rhyme. We have a nursery rhyme of the month and either say it or watch it.

Game. Sometimes we play the tickle game. They have to ask for more tickles- practicing taking turns too. Sometimes we play bingo with our unit vocab.

Story. Goes along with unit.

Song. They get to choose from communication board.

New final activity. Okay- I'm just starting this activity tomorrow. We will do it everyday to conclude circle time. I'm really excited about it. On the schedule it will be a balloon. The balloon will be the color of the month. When I blow said balloon up, it will display the shape of the month. I will have a visual that shows the countdown until the balloon is let go. The countdown will be the number of the month. This is how this month's will go:

(Show balloon)
T:What color?
S:Purple.
T:(Blows up balloon; shows shape) What shape?
S:Rectangle.
T:Countdown.
T&S:3, 2, 1, GO! (Teacher lets go & the crowd goes wild:))

We'll see. They may not be nearly as excited about it as I am.

I'll then show the finished sign and we'll transition to work time.

Okay- so that is circle time. I keep all of my circle time materials in a plastic organizer with 3 drawers and all of my visuals and communication boards in a folder divided by activity type. This makes it easier for my para or sub when I'm out. I try to not use too many videos and have a good mixture between incorporating technology and using good ole fashioned manipulative. But hey- my kids are so motivated by technology so I don't feel too bad about using it a good bit.