Visual Task Analysis and Choice Folder

Hey everyone! My little blog is getting more views than I thought it would..which means I will have to keep posting! Anyways here is my latest student teaching project. First, I have created a visual task breakdown for one of my students to help him increase his independence during lunch. This is meant to give him step by step cues of what to do so we can minimize our hand over hand assistance. I used real pictures this time because I thought Boardmaker was too abstract for this student.

To clarify, the routine is:
1. Walk to table
2. Retrieve cup and ensure to drink
3. Select choices to eat (the spoon is his representational object for eating)
4. Clean up area (throw away trash)
5. Wash hands
6. Sit back at table
7. Use vibrating toothbrush (his reinforcer)

I also made another "First Then" Daily Schedule folder for this same student but I added his leisure choices to the back so we can increase his ability to indicate his preferences. (Just so you don't think I am weird for including a slipper in this, it actually vibrates when you put your foot or hand into it, which he likes!)

Just to fill you in, some exciting things are on the horizon! I have applied for two job openings to start in December when I finish student teaching. One is an elementary "life skills" classroom and then other is a middle school position with similar students. I am not too confidant because I don't technically have my certification yet and won't until I graduate but I figured it was worth a shot! We will see!

Visual Schedule

So, the first week of high school has been a little...crazy! I do really get along well with my teacher and he has let me do a lot of programming on my own! I have been focusing a lot on one student and here is a visual schedule I created to help with this student's transitions. As you will see, I had to build in quite a few break times but that is something this student needs. I basically used a file folder, laminated it, used sticky back Velcro ( love! ) and attached the laminated pocket to the back to put her icons in once she is finished.  I also have a place for "first" and "then" on the front because looking at all of the icons at once is too much for this student to process. Basically, we will be taking 2 icons at a time and as we finish an activity, she will be prompted to move the "first" icon to the finished folder and the "then" icon will now be first followed by whatever the next icon is. (confusing to type!) I also added her icons for behavioral expectations to the front incase we need to give her reminders. I am hoping this will really help this student with on-task behavior and having smoother transitions. We will see!

         

Motivation

Just beginning in this field, I have already noticed a lot of teachers and support staff talking about feeling "burnt out" and I am seeing more and more lack-luster and unmotivated teachers. I have been told by more than one veteran teacher that my enthusiasm and optimism with wear off in time. According to some, I will "realize how things really are" and maybe even "get lazy"..I hope that never happens. A teacher and author of another blog I follow, Teaching Learners With Multiple Special Needs, posted her "I believe" statement, which I have found to be a source of inspiration since I have entered into the classroom. I had adapted hers slightly to fit more personally for myself but this is a statement I like to refer to often to make sure I never fall into that cynical mindset.

My students can...
Can learn
Can achieve
Can communicate
Can be successful

My students deserve...
Deserve a chance
Deserve the benefit of the doubt
Deserve high expectations
Deserve to spend time enjoying friendships
Deserve to make mistakes
Deserve to be in their community
Deserve to have a bad day, and lots and lots of good ones
Deserve a highly qualified teacher
Deserve a say
Deserve joy

I believe a difference can be made...
Though kindness
Through connection
Through understanding
Through research and scholarship
Through constant dedication to quality teaching
And by entering the classroom everyday
& teaching like lives depend on it
Because they do.

My favorite assistive technology devices

Obviously my students use A LOT of assistive technology. Many of my favorites are fairly low tech but I feel like the possibilities to use them are endless! Here are a few that I use on a regular basis and some ideas I've used or have seen other teachers use in the classroom.

Probably the most common, we use our Big Mac buttons daily and in almost every activity. They are super easy to use/record on. I love the newer ones that have the removable plastic top to put pictures or icons under the top to display. We use them for offering choices, greeting peers in the halls, requesting "more" snack, and I also like to use velcro to attach objects to them to make them more engaging and accessible for my students. I have also seen a teacher who had each student take one home every night and had parents record what they did that night and how their morning went so each student can share their "news" during morning group!

A "step" up (pun intended ; ) from the Big Mac is the Step-by-Step which I love! It is a little trickier to record on but once you get the hang of it, not too bad! The Step-by-Step can record multiple messages that can be activate in sequences. We use them during reading group where I have recorded each page (of a SHORT book) so the students can "read" the book aloud taking turns activating the switch to read their page. I think this is great for literacy awareness and engaging the kids in a story rather than just reading it. I have also used these to record knock knock jokes on for social interaction with nondisabled peers. (You just have to be sure to start with "knock, knock" and only record every other line on your device so that the other person can respond) Another idea is to record the steps to a recipe and have students read the directions out loud as you cook.

I recently mentioned the All-Turn-It spinner in my previous post but the possibilities with it are endless. A switch can plug into the side and the students can hit the switch to spin the spinner. The face with the dice on it in this picture can come off and you can trace it, cut a template out of cardstock and laminate it, and then literally whatever you can think of to spin; sensory objects, picking students for jobs, colors to play candyland, numbers for games, pretty much anything!

                  
The Power Link (gray box next to radio) my students really like using for leisure time and cause and effect. This student is using it to listen to the radio. The power supply goes to the radio and he has to activate the switch to listen to the music. When he takes pressure off of the switch, the music turns off. You can also use it for activating fans, using electric mixers for cooking, anything that needs electricity to work.

These are just a few of the devices we use on a daily basis. They aren't anything new or fancy but they work well for our students. Let me know if you come up with any ideas for how to use these and other assistive tech. devices!

A few of our projects

Here are some pictures of our completed works during my first half of student teaching in elementary. Being a student teacher, I was limited in taking any pictures that remotely involved the kids, so I will show the finished products, displayed on our bulletin board along with a description of the activity.

This was part of our Fall unit. The kids (with assistance) tore paper to create the grass and tree branches. I then tried to incorporate some choice making and technology by offering (depending on the student) 2-3 bigmac switches that matched the color choice with the color word recorded and each student chose what color they wanted to use for leaves. We dipped their fingers in the paint and used their finger prints for the leaves.

 This was an activity we did for fun after our repeated reading (students read using the Step by Step with story prerecorded) of the book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see?". We used chocolate pudding to paint our bears after we helped trace and cut them out. I liked this one because unlike paint, I didn't mind if the kids put their messy hands in their mouths :)

Kind of hard to tell in the picture but I called this activity Fly Swatter Math. It was an idea I adapted from a lesson I saw an awesome teacher do during my undergrad observations. We used an All-Turn-It spinner (from ablenet) and each student hit the switch to spin the spinner and see how many "flies" they had to make. I made my own template for the spinner and actuially glued puff balls for each number so my visually impaired students (and the rest of my kids too!) could "feel" how many. We then used black paint to make a fingerprint for each fly depending on the number they spun. After this, to demonstrate the 1:1 coorespondance aspect, we took fly swatters dipped in bright green paint (fly guts) to "squash" each fly counting outloud as we went. The kids loved feeling and hearing the fly swatter "SMACK" against the paper as we counted. TIP: use big paper, this creates a bit of splatter!

                                                                                                              

All-Turn-It switch adapted spinner

http://www.ablenetinc.com/Assistive-Technology/Learning-Technology/All-Turn-It%C2%AE-Spinner

High School

Well, I have just finished my first half of student teaching in elementary. I loved my class, 6 kids K-6th grade all with severe cognitive and multiple physical disabilities. I think what I enjoy best about teaching  these kiddos is the chance for collaboration between P.T., O.T., Speech, Nurses, Paraprofessionals, teachers, and parents. I really felt a sense of team teaching in that room which I love! I will try to figure out how to post pictures of a few activities we did during my time there asap. (Still learning this blog thing!) Now that I have completed my elementary level assignment, I am moving to the high school on Monday. I am excited for this transition and a little nervous. From a logistics standpoint, the kids are just bigger and I am still getting the hang of proper lifting/changing etc. I am sure I will end up enjoying these students just as much as my first group! My main challenge I feel at this level will be creating interactive activities that are developmentally appropriate for my students while still being "age appropriate" (not "little kid-ish"). I will be scouring many other blogs for ideas!
Keep following to see how high school turns out for me!

Very First Post!

Hi everyone/anyone!! This is my very first post on my very first blog. Now that I have made it clear that I am a newbie to this...please forgive me as I navigate the design aspect of this blog. I hope I can figure out how to make it as cute as some of the other classroom blogs I follow! Let's see, I am currently student teaching in Special Ed. in a self-contained room for students with severe and multiple disabilities. I love the kiddos I work with and I hope to have a classroom similar to this of my own someday. That brings me to my next tidbit, I graduate in December and will begin working on my Master's in Autism Spectrum Disorders. I will also start the search for my first teaching job which I hope to be posting about sometime this coming fall. In the midst of all of this, I am recently engaged, planning a wedding, moved to a new city, and am living with my future mother-in-law and my two pugs :) My life is crazy right now but I am so excited to begin my career and finally become a Special Education teacher!