Taskbox Time: Animal-Themed Taskboxes

Do you have a student who LOVES animals? Are you looking for a way to get them interested  in work tasks? Using this special interest can make learning fun and engaging! Check out examples of Animal-Themed Taskboxes in today's Taskbox Time!

Matching/Sorting 

Sort ocean animal foamies by color and shape
Jamie Minnish
Prass Elementary, Kettering

Match identical animal erasers

Match identical Blues Clues memory game tiles

Match teddy bear calendar pictures

One-to-One Correspondence

Place ocean animal figurines in muffin tin with one-to-one correspondence

Package dinosaurs with one-to-one correspondence

Package animal figurines with one-to-one correspondence

Package Easter animals in eggs with one-to-one correspondence

Math Tasks

Farm Animal Addition
Laura Frank
Valley Forge Elementary, Huber Heights

Ocean Animal Subtraction
Laura Frank
Valley Forge Elementary, Huber Heights

Counting out set of animal erasers to match number provided

Angry Birds counting ring
Carrie Prickett
Jane Chance Elementary, Miamisburg

A-LIST Spotlight: Occupational Therapist Marissa Steinhelfer from Montgomery County ESC and West Carrollton City Schools

It is our favorite time of the month when we feature one of our area's brightest and best educators through our A-LIST Spotlight! This month, we are highlighting Occupational Therapist Marissa Steinhelfer from Montgomery County ESC and West Carrollton City Schools. Marissa does a great job collaborating and problem-solving with her teams at West Carrollton. 

We reached out to Marissa so that she could share a little bit of her expertise for this month's feature. Check out her post below: 

"I am so honored to be featured on this ACT Team Blog!  A little background about me: I am originally from the Pittsburgh, PA area and am a graduate of Elizabethtown College in Central PA.  I have been an occupational therapist for over 20 years.  I spent the first part of my career working with adolescents and adults within an inpatient rehabilitation center of a large hospital where I specialized in the treatment of individuals with traumatic brain injury.  I began my adventure as a school-based occupational therapist in 2018, joining the wonderful team of therapists employed with the Montgomery County ESC.  I am now in my 5^th year as a school-based OT, servicing elementary school-aged students within the West Carrollton City School District. 

In my present role, I provide direct skilled OT services for students with identified needs in fine and visual motor skills, sensory processing difficulties, executive functioning skills, and/or self-help skills to help students more successfully access their educational environment.  I also provide consultative support to teachers and staff to facilitate implementation and carryover of strategies into the school day.  I am fortunate to work with truly exceptional teachers, staff, and other therapists!  I am always learning and growing--actively seeking out opportunities to increase my own knowledge and skill set so I can use “best practices” to help my students and teams.  I am so grateful to all of the professionals who have shared their valuable time and resources with me. 

Here are examples of some of the roles I have as a school-based OT:

Helping to embed sensory-motor activities and sensory-based supports into the classroom and larger school environment to help meet sensory and self-regulation needs such as:

• Motor pathways using colored tape on floors
• Heavy work stations (e.g., colored book carry and sort).  A special “shout-out” to my friends at my local Dayton Metro Library branch who graciously donated out-of-circulation books for me to wrap for use with one of these stations.

• Movement stations (bend and reach upper/lowercase letter match using Velcro manipulatives; S’cool Moves posters)

• Purposeful walks that incorporate preferred picture icons related to student interests
• Trialing sensory-based supports such as flexible seating (ZUMA rockers, resistive kickbands around desk legs, etc.), weighted materials, noise-cancelling headphones, removable under-desk texture board to meet student need for increased tactile input when sitting at desk, etc.

Providing input and activity suggestions for a sensory-motor room

• Stoplight Choice Board to provide a framework for structuring sensory-motor breaks

• Activities that provide purposeful movement opportunities to support a student’s need to move while providing regulating proprioceptive input (book cart push/carry/sort; prone scooter board Velcro puzzle)
• Visual transition sequence of activities to help students prepare for return to class"

We just love Marissa's creativity and ability to individualize supports for her students. Shout out to Marissa for your contribution to this month's spotlight and for all you do for your teams and students. We are so lucky to partner with you!

Super Star Schedules: More Group Schedules

Often we hear from teams that managing individual visual schedule can be overwhelming to keep track of. This is increasingly challenging when classrooms have higher numbers of students, more complex student needs, and reduced staffing. Despite these challenges, our teams know that a visual schedule can be essential to smooth transitions and priming to reduce anxiety throughout the day so we have seen some creative group schedules which can often be a more manageable solution. Today's Super Star Schedules post will highlight some of our favorite examples of group schedules throughout our districts. 

Interactive Group Schedules

For some students, the tactile support of interacting with the schedule is important to them understanding the sequence of the daily activities. It can reduce escape behaviors because the student sees the activities being completed and they are visually removed from the schedule. 

Pocket charts can be an easy way to create an interactive schedule. The visuals are placed in the chart and either removed or turned around when finished.

Genevieve Harvey
West Carrollton ECC

Granville Bastin
Preble County ESC

Rhonda Brunk
Trotwood ELC

Rene Naas
Tipp City Middle School, Miami County ESC

Taylor Lawson
Louise Troy Elementary, Dayton

Using magnetic tape or velcro to attach the schedule to the board and then removing the visuals as they are completed is another option. 

Jessica Hartman
Northmoor Elementary, Northmont

Lisa Mossing
Beverly Gardens Elementary, Mad River

Casey Morter
Mad River ECC

Makayla Barber
Mad River ECC

Casey Morter
Mad River ECC

Projected Schedules

Another type of group schedule we have been seeing more and more frequently is a projected schedule using Google Slides. Benefits of a slide schedule are they can be quickly modified, don't require printing and laminating, and can still be interactive in edit mode. 

Traci Gasho
Madison Park Elementary, Trotwood

MaKynzie Lowery
Learning Center- West, Montgomery County ESC

Paige Leary
Kemp Elementary, Dayton

A document camera can also be used to project a schedule for the whole group. We love how this teacher included the visual timer and had a great Brain Break visual! 

Deanna Granroth
Wogaman Middle School, Dayton

Written Schedules

For some of our older classes, a written schedule works well.

Robin Koronich
Learning Center- West, Montgomery County ESC

Rebecka Stricker
Springcreek Primary, Piqua

 Often we see time supports incorporated either through including the period and/or the actual transition times. This is great for developing those functional life skills! 

Paige Leary
Kemp Elementary, Dayton

Bev Richardson
Bruce Elementary, Eaton

If all of the students can read with comprehension, a written list can be used, however for students who are still developing their comprehension skills, picture supports can be used as well. 

Emily Baker
Northwestern Middle School

Vince Lintner
Miamisburg High School

Robin Koronich
Learning Center- West, Montgomery County ESC

Do you use group schedules in your classroom? Have any of these examples inspired you to try them or make some changes to your current schedules? For more examples, check out our previous posts:

Group Schedules

Interactive Group Schedules

Around Town Round Up: Using Visuals to Troubleshoot the Top 10 Common Classroom Concerns

Our team coaches in six different counties and over 40 different districts. This means we see A LOT of students in a school year. And it also means we have identified several common concerns across a variety of classrooms and ages. In today's Around Town Round Up we have gathered a variety of examples of visual supports from our districts to address some of the most common classroom concerns we see. 

Classroom Concern #1: Work Completion

Many of our students struggle with work completion. They may struggle with the executive skills to initate or they may struggle with motivation. Use visual supports to clearly communicate what work needs to be done and provide reminders. Additionally, for some students it can be helpful to also include reinforcement at the end of work times. This incentive should also be visually communicated. 

Priming for Writing Activity
Jen Everett
Springcreek Primary, Piqua

Priming for Daily Topic Focus and Assignment Due Dates
Suzie Weber
Miami East Junior High

Computer Desktop Organizational Cues
Ashley Schibler
Fairmont High School, Kettering

Visual Contract To Do List
Sheyanne Olson
East Elementary, Eaton

Structured Work System
Heidi Horner
Nevin Coppock Elementary, Miami County ESC

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Structured Work Systems

Reinforcement Systems

Classroom Concern #2: Managing Preferred Tasks

Having a predictable routine for earning preferred tasks using visuals like the ones above can be a great way to help students know when they will receive preferred tasks and can help to manage tangibly-motivated behaviors. Sometimes, additional visuals are needed to clearly communicate what free time tasks are allowed and when they are no longer an option. 

iPad visual

Choice Time Options and Non-Options Visual
Catherine Anderson
Rushmore Elementary, Huber Heights

Website Rules
Bobbi Jo Chapman
Snyder Park Elementary, Springfield

Choice Time Area Physical Boundary with Stop Sign Visual
Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Waiting Choices
Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Play and Leisure

Classroom Concern #3: Turn-Taking

Waiting can be hard! Especially when you are really engaged in a certain activity or you always want to go first. When visuals are used to establish a routine for turn-taking this is often easier for students to cope with because it is predictable and they can see when they will get to participate in that preferred task. It can also be helpful in priming students who need ample warning before being called on. 

Morning Calendar Turns
Sarah Janosik
Tipp High School, Miami County ESC

Turn Taking Sticks

Wait Visual Cue
Genevieve Harvey
Harry Russell Elementary, West Carrollton

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Waiting and Taking Turns

Waiting

Classroom Concern #4: Voice Volume

Modulating voice volume can be an abstract concept and sometimes students have limited awareness of their own volume. Use visuals and role-playing to make the concept of modulating voice volume more concrete. 

Cat Special Interest Voice Volume Meter
Sarah Vikan
Harry Russell Elementary, West Carrollton

Voice and Phone Levels
Thurgood Marshall High School, Dayton

Voice Volume Scale
Mary Schuler
Baker Middle School, Fairborn

PAX Voices with Visuals
Taylor Ruef
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Voice Volume Visuals with Lights
Kelsey Keen
Tri-Village Elementary

Voice Scale Visual
Jackie Vollmer
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Teaching Voice Volume

Classroom Concern #5: Downtime

Downtime is not our friend! When students aren't actively engaged throughout the day it can make transitioning back to work challenging. Also, too much downtime can increase anxiety when students worry about what is coming next and can make it hard to filter out sensory stimuli which can lead to overwhelm. This doesn't mean students have to be working on academic tasks all day every day! But it does mean that careful planning should be done to determine what students can do during ragged class times. 

Anchor Activity Choice Board
Robin Koronich
Learning Center West, Montgomery County ESC

Individual All Finished Choice Bin
Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Under Construction Zone for Unfinsihed Work
Heather Balkcom
Springcreek Primary, Piqua

All Finished Choice Bin

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Anchor Activities

Classroom Concern #6: Group Work

Group time can be extremely successful for our students! There is a lot of sensory, academic, social, and communication demands that are involved. Priming students for what the expectations will be with visuals can make the time more manageable so they are not overwhelmed. 

Science Experiment Group Roles
Janie Dale
Northwood Elementary, Northmont

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Participating in Group

Encouraging Group Participation

Classroom Concern #7: Responding to Questions

Sometimes our students with more limited receptive communication struggle to know what a question is asking. And if they have limited expressive communication, word retrieval can be anxiety-producing. This may result in students not responding, providing a response that is off-topic, or even can lead to work refusal. Use visuals such as picture supports and/or multiple-choice options to help students know how to respond. This reduces stress and keeps positive momentum during work times. 

Wh-Question Flipbook

Multiple Choice Visuals
Cynthia Resch
Learning Center West, Montgomery County ESC

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Answering Questions

Respond to Others

Classroom Concern #8: Social-Emotional Regulation

When a referral is made to our team, chances are this is one of the biggest concerns. Our team strongly believes that the behaviors that can be seen stem from a student's skill deficits. They may need to be directly taught what expected behaviors are, how to control impulses, or social skills. Visual supports to teach these skills, role-playing to provide opportunities for practice, and visuals to prime and prompt students are essential. 

Contingency Maps
Mandy Schetter
Northmoor Elementary, Northmont

Roblox Special Interest Behavior Chart
Allie Clements
Schnell Elementary, West Carrollton

Individualized Behavior Chart Visual
Haley Urschel
Perrin Woods Elementary, Springfield

Good Mistakes PoP Card

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Behavior Posts

Sensational Social Skills

Classroom Concern #9: Transitions

Some students struggle with shifting gears to transition from one activity or location to the next. Or they may struggle with doing this independently. Visual supports can help with a variety of transition-related skills including knowing when a transition will happen and where they are expected to be. 

Visual Countdown
Jennifer McGowan
Smith Middle School, Vandalia

Large Group Visual Countdown
Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Line Up Visual Cues
Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Location-Based Schedules
Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Schedules

Transitions

Classroom Concern #10: Changes

Once schedules and routines are established, a new challenge can sometimes arise when things change. Sometimes our students get very anxious due to a "fear of the unknown" when a change happens which may look like rigidity or even explosive behaviors. Support students during these difficult times but using visuals to prime students when a change will occur. 

Schedule Change Visual
Jennifer Schmidt
Beavercreek High School

Change Card
Jessica Wright
Trotwood ELC

Change Post-It on Schedule
Angela Crum
Parkwood Elementary, Beavercreek

Fire Drill Priming Visual
Shanon Vance
Valley Forge Elementary, Huber Heights

Want to learn more about this supports? Check out our previous post:

Changes