The Autism & Low-Incidence Coaching Team: academics

Showing posts with label academics. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Best Blog Posts for Academic Tasks & Taskboxes

To start this school year, our team is compiling some of our best examples of supports we have seen in our districts and featured in previous blog posts. Today we are highlighting all of the Best Blog Posts for Academic Tasks & Taskboxes!

Click on the hyperlink under each heading below to be taken to the related post on that topic.

Don't miss our next post on taskboxes and functional tasks that can be used in your classroom structured work systems!

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Academic Area: Predictable Chart Writing

Comprehensive Literacy Instruction is essential in today's classrooms, including self-contained classrooms and cross-categorical resource rooms. In many cases, reading and writing instruction has fallen by the wayside for our most complex learners however the push toward implementing the Science of Reading in all classrooms emphasizes the need for a shift.

Shared Writing is one component of Comprehensive Literacy Instruction and a highly effective strategy for engaging students with complex needs in shared writing instruction is Predictable Chart Writing (PCW). PCW provides predictability, offers seamless integration of communication, and can be utilized as an activity for the entire classroom, small groups, or even individual sessions. Today's Academic Area post will break down the 5 steps to the Predictable Chart Writing routine. We want to extend a special thank you to Cynthia Resch at MCESC Learning Center-West for welcoming us into her classroom to model each step of the PCW routine for us to share!

Each step in the Predictable Chart Writing Routine takes place during a new session. Typically, this is done during daily writing instruction over the course of a school week.

Step 1: Write the Chart (Monday)

Choose a sentence stem. Possible topics could include the current classroom theme, responding to a recent reading passage, or incorporating the use of core words.
The students provide a personalized response to the sentence stem.
Then, the teacher scribes the response on the chart while saying each part aloud.

Finally, the group will choral read each sentence when done.

For non-speaking students, utilize AAC such as a big mack switch, communication board, or communication device to facilitate participation. See the example video below:

Step 2: Reread the Chart (Tuesday)

First, the group will reread the entire chart chorally as the teacher points to each word.

Then, provide opportunities for individual students to find words such as a targeted core word or content vocabulary.
Next, focus on a specific element (letter, word, convention) when done.

Finally, reread a final time.

Step 3: Work with Sentence Strips (Wednesday)

First, the group will reread the entire chart chorally as the teacher points to each word.
Next, pass out each student’s contribution to them on sentence strips.

You can either prepare these sentence strips ahead of time or use this activity as an opportunity to model.

Then, demonstrate how to cut the sentence apart into words (after each cut, reread) and reorder.
Eventually, start reordering incorrectly to help students see if the sentence makes sense.

Allow students to make mistakes! These are opportunities to recheck work/check for what makes sense

After developing an understanding, students will cut apart their own sentences.

Step 4: Be the Sentence (Thursday)

First, the group will reread the entire chart chorally as the teacher points to each word.
Then, choose a sentence.
Next, write on a sentence strip, and then cut it apart.

You can either prepare these sentence strips ahead of time or use this activity as an opportunity to model.

Then, give each student a word from the sentence and have them physically arrange themselves to reorder the sentence

Repeat for 3-4 sentences.

Finally, end with a final choral reading of sentences.

Step 5: Make and Publish the Book (Friday)

First, the group will reread the entire chart chorally as the teacher points to each word.
Then, pass out individual sentences typed/written for book.

You can either prepare these sentence strips ahead of time or use this activity as an opportunity to model.

Next, students cut apart their sentences and reorder.

Staff will guide students to self-edit by referring to the chart.

Then, they will glue their ordered sentence onto their paper.

Next, students will add illustrations

They can use their own drawings or find pictures on Google images.

Finally, add the finished class book to classroom library.

You can also publish the class book to Tarheel Reader or Bookcreator.com for independent reading with technology or at home.

To see Predictable Chart Writing in action with a group of learners at a variety of instructional levels, check out this video:

For additional information on implementing Predictable Chart Writing in your classroom, we encourage you to check out these wonderful resources:

Online Modules

Books

Comprehensive Literacy Instruction For All Book

Websites

Literacy for All Instruction Site

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

A-LIST Spotlight: Intervention Specialist Maggie Brackman at Northwood Elementary

When you step into Intervention Specialist Maggie Brackman’s classroom at Northwood Elementary in Northmont, you immediately feel at ease. The lights are dimmed, there are different types of seating, and there are lots of visual aids to help students learn. While we were working with Maggie, she showed us how experienced she is by quickly implementing our suggestions and truly making them the perfect fit for her students and classroom! Any team would be lucky to have Maggie, and we're so glad she's now part of our A-LIST team and that we have the opportunity today to feature her as our A-LIST Spotlight!

Student Regulation

One strength Maggie has is the ability to set up a calming classroom environment so students can focus and regulate. Maggie's resource room has dimmed lighting and flexible seating.

When needed, she also allows students to take a break to help them regulate because Maggie knows you have to "regulate before you educate!" Students can take a walk or take a break in her calming corner.

Environmental Predictability

Another way that Maggie supports her learners is through providing environmental predictability through visual schedules and consistent reinforcement systems.

We love how Maggie collaborated with her student to personalize this visual schedule to get buy-in!

Engaging Instructional Activities

Maggie also knows how important it is to actively engage students in their learning through using activities that are not only accessible but also fun! She collaborates well with her paraprofessionals and general education teachers to modify work.

A very special thank you to Maggie for welcoming us into her classroom and being such a wonderful partner to the ACT team. We are excited to share these ideas with additional educators!

Monday, January 9, 2023

Academic Area: Systematically Teaching Functional Sight Words

For many of our students, new skill acquisition requires a great deal of repetition. It is important that for these students, instruction is deliberately planned and systematically carried out in order to best meet their learning needs and to ensure the most accurate monitoring of progress. Today's Academic Area provides guidelines and examples for Systematically Teaching Functional Sight Words.

For some students, it is important to focus on functional sight words that have the most meaning for them. These may be words they find motivating (such as food words or the names of friends or family members) or they may be words they need to apply in everyday situations (such as core words, grocery words, or clothing words). When teaching functional sight words, follow this systematic plan:

1. Pre-Assessment

· Assess student knowledge of target sight words using a list or flashcards. Record baseline data.

Allison Officer
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

2. Direct Instruction

· Refer to baseline data to choose which words to provide direct instruction on. Focus on 1-2 words per teaching session.

· Ask the student to match the target sight word flashcard to a corresponding picture or icon.

· Repeat 3-5 times until the student demonstrates fluency.

3. Matching with Distractors

· Incorporate 1-2 previously mastered words into the picture-matching practice.

· Mix up cards frequently to keep the student engaged and focused.

· Repeat mixing and matching 3-5 times until the student demonstrates fluency.

Allison Officer
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

4. Receptive Identification

· Provide a field of 3-5 flashcards and ask the student to receptively identify (i.e. “find”, “point to”, “give me”) a sight word upon request. You can also use a sight word board for students to point to or circle the requested word.

Allison Officer
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

· Repeat mixing and receptively identifying 3-5 times until the student demonstrates fluency.

5. Expressive Identification

· Display one flashcard at a time and have the student expressively identify each flashcard.

6. Generalization

· Generalize new sight word knowledge through a variety of activities including worksheets, sentence comprehension, word searches, interactive books, games, or finding within a text.