More Sea Life Resources
Since I live in South West Florida, a unit on sea life is particularly meaningful to my students and there are many opportunities to extend with real life experiences.
We have a field trip to Mote Marine Aquarium planned in March. I took my class on this particular field trip about 4 or 5 years ago. This year we are going to participate in the lesson about sea turtles and will actually get to make squid "popsicles" and then feed the turtles in the aquarium.
Of course, we also support this unit with many classroom experiences. I have found a few new resources to share:
Fern Goes for a Dive (free, animated read aloud story)
Fern Goes to Hawaii (free, animated read aloud story)
Mermaid Lullaby
Seashore Tap and Type
You can find other Sea life resources that I have gathered at this post, this post, this post and this post.
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 10:07 AM 0 comments
Labels: academic games, sea animals, sea life, technology, vocabulary
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Play based writing
I have found a lovely, photo based blog entry on supporting writing skills through a play based curriculum.
Check it out. Jenny's preschool classroom writing experiences (indoors and outdoors) are fantastic!
Let the Children Play
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 10:51 PM 0 comments
Labels: digital photos, favorite lessons, lesson plans, play, preschool lessons, strategies
Visiting Kindergarten: Social Story
It's the time of year when, in pre-k special needs classes, we begin to think about the process of transitioning children to kindergarten.
This year, there is a little girl in my class with an interesting combination of strengths and challenges.
She has a good cognitive skills and a good ability to learn vocabulary and concepts through incidental learning. She has a solid base of kindergarten pre-academic skills (she knows all of the letters of the alphabet upper and lowercase, she can count to 15, she can identify 11 colors and 6 common shapes. She knows many beginning consonant sounds, has an awareness of rhyming words, can read all of the names of the students in class and reads approximately 10 sight words.)
She gets overwhelmed with new experiences and has difficulty transitioning to new activities (especially if it is in a different location on campus). She still needs staff support for potty training. Her fine motor skills are significantly delayed and she still needs staff support for many tasks that include visual motor planning.
We have decided to try to specifically address an area of strength with an area that is a significant challenge for her while she is still in pre-k. She is going to start going to a shared reading and phonics lesson with a kindergarten class for approximately 20 minutes a day. Since she has good cognitive skills and she does not need any staff support in our pre-k large group circle time, we are going to try to balance this with the challenge of accepting a new experience. We are hoping that she will become familiar with the kindergarten building, the kindergarten classroom and the larger group of kindergarten students. We are also hoping that our pre-k staff can go with her for a short period of time and then fade away so that we increase her independence and comfort in the kindergarten classroom.
To help her prepare for this, we have drafted a simple social story (you can download a generic copy here.) about going to the kindergarten classroom. She has a copy at home that her family has read with her for the past week and there is a copy at school that classroom staff have been reading with her too. We have also started walking past the kindergarten room and having conversations about visiting kindergarten on Monday.
We're hoping by layering in the staff support and also building on her strengths, she will begin to feel comfortable and be able to learn new skills in the kindergarten class.
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 9:26 PM 0 comments
Labels: digital photos, lesson plans, reflective teaching, special education, special education materials, visual supports
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Homecoming Queen: Teenager with Down Syndrome
This story recently came to me from two sources: A CEC SmartBrief and the parent of a child I tutor.
I think it's worth sharing again!
Homecoming Queen: Teenager with Down Syndrome
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 4:04 PM 0 comments
Labels: special education
Free Interactive Holiday Sites
I found this site a few years ago. It was challenging to navigate and then go back and find the activities you wanted repeatedly. They have re-organized and uploaded many free interactive boards and activities. They have many that are appropriate for December holidays. They've done a great job! It's so much easier to navigate and find activities appropriate to skill or grade level.
TES iboard player
Here's a link to a post from a few years ago too. My students still enjoy these links!
Interactive Holiday Sites
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 3:54 PM 0 comments
Labels: academic games, special education materials, technology
Friday, November 5, 2010
Free Interactive Fall Games
Little Critter Scarecrow
Highlights Build a Scarecrow
Squirrel Acorn Harvest
Fall Leaves Matching Game
Dora We Are Thankful
Starfall: Make a Jack O Lantern
Starfall: Silly Turkey
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 12:44 PM 0 comments
Labels: fall lessons, technology
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Embedding Literacy
I'm wrapping up facilitating a very fast paced and intense course on language and literacy. Because of this, I have been engaged in a lot of thinking and reflecting about embedding language and literacy into daily lesson plans and routines.
I'd like to take a moment to share an idea that illustrates how a parent has embedded language and literacy into her child's day.
I drive through 3 school zones and countless bus stops on my way to work each morning. I often see parents waiting with their children at the bus stops.
One mom and her son (who appears to be 5 or 6 years old) used to wait for the bus each day in the manner that you would typically see....the boy had his backpack on, mom was next to him and they stood on the corner waiting for the bus.
For the past few weeks, as I have driven by, I have noticed that she now brings a camp chair (one of those canvas chairs that folds up and has a sleeve that it fits in...you can buy them at Wal Mart for about $10) and a book to the bus stop.
Now, each morning her son sits on her lap as she is reading a story to him.
Wow! So maybe they wait 5-10 minutes for the bus each day. That means her son is getting and extra 25-50 minutes of literacy and language experiences a week. If you multiply that times 36 weeks in a school year that is between 900-1800 minutes a year (or an extra 15-30 hours).
I think this is just so cool! She has figured out how to take a "waiting" period and has turned it into a language and literacy experience.
Sometimes we go nuts trying to figure out when to fit everything "in." This mom has found a way to give her child more literacy and language experiences within a routine that already exists.
How many other ways could we, as teachers or parents also do this? I bet the ways are quite creative and the number is countless!
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 11:28 PM 1 comments
Labels: daily routine, language samples
Monday, October 11, 2010
Free Early Literacy Activities
This site has recently been shared with me from our pre-k supervisor.
It has many, free printable activities that support literacy of infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers. They have a link for ideas for parents and another link for teachers. Check it out.
Center for Early Literacy Learning
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 1:05 PM 3 comments
Labels: lesson plans, letter recognition, materials, technology
Friday, October 8, 2010
Free Dinosaur Interactive Games
Dinosaur Train
Diego Dinosaur Adventure
Dino Dig Fossil
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 8:07 AM 0 comments
Labels: academic games, technology
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Cheap! Dinosaur Measuring and Science
In the current economy (and as far as being frugal and financially wise at any time!) I am always interested in lessons that can be enhanced as cheaply as possible.
My class has been involved in a inquiry based unit on dinosaurs for the past week. It seems to me that there are always easy ways to integrate language and literacy lessons in every unit, but sometimes it is more difficult to integrate math and science. Since this unit focuses on dinosaurs, science is not a problem either, but how can we integrate math concepts? Here's one idea we used.
I found these dinosaur figures at my local Dollar Tree. (Yes, it cost a whopping $1 for this lesson.)
I explained to my students that these dinosaurs were supposed to get bigger when we put them in water. We decided to measure them with a ruler, predict how big we thought it would get and then measure it after it grew.
Since I wanted to focus on some math skills, we made a big deal out of measuring the dinosaur. I left my finger on the number 4 after we measured and reminded the children that he should get "bigger." I asked them "How big do you think he will get?" as I ran my other pointer finger across the top of the ruler (showing them the most logical choices across the ruler.) They made their predictions as I recorded them and then we observed. The pictures show you where we are so far!
After we measure our dinosaur again tomorrow, we'll take him out of the water and predict what will happen. It will be interesting to see if any of the children will predict that he shrinks back to 4 inches (remember, that's where we started at our first measurement!)
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 12:02 AM 0 comments
Labels: favorite lessons, lesson plans, math games, strategies, visual supports
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Missing Pumpkin
One of my favorite lessons was designed to help a kindergarten-second grade class generate questions and improve their writing skills. We called it our "Missing Pumpkin Mystery."
For a week or so in October we had a pumpkin on display in our classroom. We were gearing up for the day we would scoop the insides out, count the seeds and carve it.
This particular group of students really needed to work on generating questions and using descriptive words within their writing. So some of the school staff helped me stage the "Missing Pumpkin Mystery."
One day after their specials period (art, music, phys ed, etc) the pumpkin was missing from the classroom. Once they noticed it, we decided on a plan of action to get our pumpkin back.
The first thing we did was to make "Wanted" posters for our pumpkin. The students took a brown paper grocery bag and drew a picture of our pumpkin on it. They then had to write three statements describing our pumpkin so "others would know if they saw OUR pumpkin."
We then decided to report our missing pumpkin to our principal to see if he could help us. (I had given him, the media specialist, our cafeteria assistant and our day time custodian their scripts so they would lead us to the next person to help us find the pumpkin.)
The children had to explain what happened, ask their questions and then describe out pumpkin to each person. The principal suggested we ask the media specialist "because he saw a lot of pumpkins in the media center." She suggested we ask the cafeteria assistant because "maybe they needed it to make pumpkin pie." The cafeteria assistant suggested we ask the custodian "because he sees the whole school make cleans up all the messes." As it turns out, the custodian "put it in our refrigerator because he was afraid it would get rotten."
We had great fun with this activity and it provided the kids with a real reason to use the skills I wanted them to practice.
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 8:38 PM 4 comments
Labels: fall lessons, favorite lessons, lesson plans
Thursday, September 23, 2010
"Post It" Graphs
Here's a simple strategy that we use a lot in my classroom. I write each child's name on a post it. Then I write a question on a piece chart paper and usually add visual supports for each column of the graph. Below is a picture of our most recent graph:
I like to use the post it graphs for lots of reasons:
1) They help children learn literacy skills by reading their name and their peers' names.
2) They help children develop language skills by answering questions and making choices.
3) They help children develop task related skills and focusing skills because they are actively involved and then they physically get to place their own name on the chart.
4) They help children develop social skills by learning how to take turns and wait for their own turn.
5) They help children develop math skills as we count the number of votes in each column and discuss concepts of more, less and the same (equal).
6) They help children develop literacy skills by becoming part of our environmental print in the classroom.
7) They are quick and easy to prep for! That means I don't spend more time preparing the materials than it takes the children to actually engage in the activity.
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 6:41 PM 0 comments
Labels: classroom materials, favorite lessons, lesson plans, strategies, visual supports
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
PBS: "All" means all
When I was in college and learning about the social foundations of education, I remember being surprised to learn that the word "all" meant different things to different historical / theoretical contributors. Sometimes "all" included landowning men, sometimes it included women, sometimes it included children and sometimes it include people with disabilities, but very rarely did it mean "all."
A few weeks ago I attended a train-the-trainer workshop to teach PBS strategies to families. As I reflect more on the tenets of PBS and begin to schedule our family workshops, I came back to a slide that a friend and I created when we were training new teachers how to set up their V.E. classrooms. We came to the conclusion that when implementing positive behavior support systems and philosophies, "all" should really mean "all."
the kids who raise their hand and the kids who yell out
the kids who bathe every night and the kids who need to
the kids who write with their pencil and the kids who throw their pencil
the kids who say “I love you!” and the kids who say “ $#@% you!”
the kids who use a tissue and the kids who wipe their snot on you
the kids you’d take home in a heartbeat and the kids you hope are absent
the kids with parents that support you and the kids with parents that challenge you
the kids who respond to your interventions and the kids that exhaust your bag of tricks
the kids who consistently get their meds and the kids who don’t
Our main purpose of posing the above statements was to encourage teachers to reflect upon the following question:
Am I providing a safe learning environment for all learners?
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 9:32 PM 4 comments
Labels: pbs, positive behavior support, special education
Monday, August 23, 2010
Memorable Moment # 9: I Need the Keys
Today was the first day of school for students. Since I learned my Harry Wong lessons on the importance of procedures long, long ago, the first few weeks of my pre-k classroom are spent on learning the centers, how to play in the centers and how to clean up the centers. That means I don't open every center every day at the beginning of the year.
Today one of the new students in the class asked if he could play in our puzzle center today. My assistant told him that "puzzles are closed." He stood for a second or two and then replied to her, "Ok, I need the keys."
I thought that was a pretty clever response. :-)
image from stopnlook@ flickr.com
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 5:17 PM 0 comments
Labels: memorable moment, procedures
Monday, August 16, 2010
Positive Behavior Support: Solution Board
Throughout my district (as with many others) there is a large push for the implementation of school-wide positive behavior support (PBS). I am also fortunate enough to work in a community that has received a large grant to support strategies that increase mental health for children in early childhood settings. One of the initiatives funded through this grant is PBS training and materials.
Our early childhood PBS training is based on the pyramid model and training modules from CSEFEL.
One of my favorite strategies that I learned from my PBS training is the "Solution Kit." The solution kit is a strategy that teaches young children the options they may try when a conflict or disagreement arises. It helps them to learn how to independently (or with less prompting) solve problems.
You can watch a video of a teacher modeling the "solution kit" here.
Two years ago, I started using the solution kit with my pre-schoolers. I had a small plastic suitcase very similar to the one in the video and housed the kit at child level near my circle time area. While I loved the concept of the solution kit, I found the implementation to be difficult for my students. The suitcase with the clips was difficult for some of them to manage with fine motor deficits and the solutions all in a pile became quickly disorganized and overwhelming for them. I didn't want to give up on the positive aspects of using the solution kit, so I had to figure out a way to make it work for my population. Our solution kit evolved into a "solution board."
I simply printed and laminated the visuals from the solution kit and then taped them to the side of my desk. They became a permanent fixture in the classroom. The board allowed me to organize the solutions in a manner that was easier for my students to track visually and also eliminated the need for them to be able to open the kit. Towards the end of the year, for many of my students getting ready to transition to kindergarten, I could be across the room and just verbally prompt them to try using the solution board. I even had two parents who saw us using the solution board in the class and asked for the visuals to use at home!
I think the power of the solution board or solution kit (however the concept evolves for you) is that it teaches the children skills for managing their own conflicts. It gives children a measure of control over the resolution to the conflict and does not require an adult to intervene and "fix" the problem. And, ultimately, that's what we want.....for children to independently be able to come to a peaceful solution to a conflict.
Posted by Michelle_special_ed_teacher at 5:46 PM 0 comments
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Special education strategies..
It is basically the modification, instructional materials to b used in teaching special children. It was indicated that she used charts that are appropriate to her learners. She gave activities that the learners would enjoy it and learn easily. Through letting the special children learn she used learning through experience .The special children could easily learn things if they used to do that. They could easily being interested to the lesson if you add activities and it would also develop his or her social skills . because in giving an activity it could be individual, by two's or by group. You could develop a sense of responsibilities in each learners and they could share their opinions to their other classmates.
The strategies would be more effective if the instructional materials being used are suited to the lesson and to the interest of your students. The teacher role was also very imporatant because the teacher should know how to present the lesson and the activity that your students could easily unserstand..
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