Pumpkins, Witches and Ghosts, Oh My!

This past week my students had a blast learning about pumpkins!  We did a wide variety of activities, including a trip to the Pumpkin Patch!  Here are just some of the things we did this week...

We learned all about the life cycle of a pumpkin during our daily Read Alouds.

We then created booklets about the life cycle of a pumpkin during language desk work.  Take a look at an example page below!

We practiced taking turns during our Board Games Special Activity with a few rounds of Halloween Bingo!

We had some sensory fun when we made pumpkin spice play dough from scratch!  We also danced (we love dance parties in Room 125) to a different Halloween song each day!

During art, we decorated paper pumpkins to re-create the life cycle of a pumpkin!

We followed a visual recipe to make orange coloured buttermilk pancakes!

We finished off our week with a Halloween celebration!! We watched Halloween Town, had Halloween treats, played “spooky” musical chairs and carved our very own class pumpkin!

Check out our costumes…

And who says you can't unit plan with 5 completely different IEPs…

Keep clam and teach on!

- S

IEP Writing: Sample Goals

Here are some sample goals I have used recently!  These are for various students… I tried my best to include ones for both higher and lower functioning students in my class.  
I have included modified Ontario Curriculum expectations, as well as Alternate Programming (areas not included in the Ontario Curriculum).

Behaviour Self-Regulation
1.  Be able to work at an independent level for 15 consecutive minutes followed by a 10 minute exercise break, with little supervision from staff.  Based on 5 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over 5 consecutive days.
2.  Demonstrate compliance when given a directive (i.e., "put rice bin away") and refrain from self-injurious behaviour (e.g., biting) for 3 out of 4 directives given.  
3.  Verbally request a break (i.e., "Ms. M, I need a break") during times where the task is too difficult and/or he feels bored.  Based on 5 tracked opportunities per day with 70% accuracy over 5 consecutive days.

Expressive Language
1.  Be able to follow 3 of 5 conversational conventions (eye contact, on topic,  relevant questions, answering questions, and ending  appropriately) with 5 or less verbal prompts.  Based on 5 tracked opportunities per day with 70% accuracy over 3 consecutive days.
2.  Be able to accurately answer who, what and where questions when provided a visual from the story.  Based on 8 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy.over 5 consecutive days.
3.  Spontaneously use his communication device to express a want or need 3 times throughout the school day.
4.  Be able to request an item during free choice by using a complete sentence (e.g., “Ms. M, I want iPad please”) in response to the question "What do you want for choice?"  Based on 5 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over 3 consecutive days

Mathematics
1.  Be able to name a nickel, dime, quarter, loonie and toonie when presented with the coin or picture representation of the coin.  Based on 10 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over three consecutive days.
2.  Be able to sort a variety of household items by sorting them into their correct category.  (e.g. forks with forks, socks with socks etc). Based on 5 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over 3 consecutive days.
3.  Be able to identify, sort and classify 6 out of 8 two dimensional shapes (i.e., square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid, parallelogram, triangle, circle, oval) based on attributes (e.g., curvy or straight, number of sides). Based on 3 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over 3 consecutive days.
4.  When shown a number on a flashcard, (student) will identify the number by pressing the button on his communication device.  Based on 10 tracked opportunities per day with 70% accuracy over 5 consecutive days.
5. Be able to identify and extend numeric repeating patterns (i.e., 2's, 5's). Based on 10 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over 3 consecutive days.

Personal Care
1.  Independently maintain personal hygiene (brushing teeth and deodorant routine) using a visual schedule, and achieve a minimum of 90% on his personal hygiene checklist, in 4 out of 5 attempts.
2.  Be able to independently complete washroom routine (specifically pull down and pull up pull-up). Based on 2 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over 5 consecutive days

Reading
1.  Be able to independently recognize 20 pre-primer sight words (i.e., flashcards) with 90% accuracy on 4 out of 5 trials for 5 consecutive days.
2.  Be able to orally read a familiar story (pattern book or morning meeting message), stopping to sound out 5 in 10 words or less, in 4 out of 5 trials for 5 consecutive days.
3.  Be able to retell a familiar story to include beginning, middle, and end of the story in sequence with 70% accuracy on 4 out of 5 trials for 5 consecutive days.

Receptive Language
1.  Be able to independently respond to three simple steps 1) put communication binder in mailbox, 2) put lunch away, 3) get ready for morning meeting, 90% of the time in 4 out 5 trials.

Science/Social Studies:
1.  Accurately label 15 body parts on himself and/or picture representations with 90% accuracy on 4 out of 5 trials for 5 consecutive days.
2.  Accurately name 3 different community helpers (fireman, policeman, doctor), and match their roles to the picture cards.  Based on 3 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over 3 consecutive days.

Social Skills:
1.  Be able to independently greet his peers by saying “Hi, (insert name)” during morning meeting. Based on 1 tracked opportunity per day with 80% accuracy over 5 consecutive days.

Writing:
1.  Be able to use sentence starters and a visual word wall to independently write 3 complete sentences in his writing journal.  Based on 5 tracked opportunities per day with 60% accuracy over 5 consecutive days.
2.  When shown 3 high frequent sight words in an array of 3 (name, rice bin, washroom) student will match a picture of the item to the word of the picture.  Based on 10 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over three consecutive days.
3.  Be able to use a word processing program to complete a task in his writing journal.  Based on 5 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over 5 consecutive days.
4.  Be able to write and send a message through email to a pre-determined family member with 3 or less verbal prompts.  Based on 1 tracked opportunity per day with 80% accuracy over 5 consecutive days

So many IEP goals… so little time!

Keep calm and teach on!

- S

IEP Writing: Step Two - S.M.A.R.T Goals

I had collected all the information, data and assessment for each student… and it came time to write the actual IEPs.  I had heard time and time again that my goals had to be S.M.A.R.T… but what exactly does this mean?  Through reading books and blogs, talking to my mentor and attending an IEP workshop… I present you with one nice little blog post summarizing S.M.A.R.T goals!  

 

Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions

•               Who:      Who is involved?

•               What:     What do I want to accomplish?

•               Where:    Identify a location.

•               When:     Establish a time frame.

•               Which:    Identify requirements and constraints.

•               Why:      Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

Measurable criteria:

•               percentage correct

•               frequency (number correct in a specified time period – ie. 25 per minute)

•               prompts – use adult prompts as a measurable criteria

•               for all criteria: how many days must this criteria be reached to be considered mastered? Consecutive of nonconsecutive days/sessions?

EXAMPLE:  A general goal would be, “Write his name.”  But a specific goal would say, “Be able to write his name legibly, using both upper and lower case letters and staying within the lines.  Based on 3 tracked opportunities per day with 80% accuracy over 5 consecutive days.”

Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.# correct out of certain # of trials or opportunities

Attainable –  Make sure the goals are attainable for that specific student. For example, for a nonverbal student with autism the ultimate goal may be the ability to verbally communicate. However, this goal may not be attainable within a year. Instead a more attainable IEP goal would be: The student will learn to use PECS to communicate his wants and needs.

Realistic- I find attainable and realistic very similar.  In almost every piece of literature I read, realistic referred to determining if the child can meet the goal itself.

I view the realistic portion of a S.M.A.R.T goal very differently.  I wanted to make sure that each goal, though based on the Ontario Curriculum, is realistic and beneficial to the student's life.

For example, in the Data Management strand for grade 1, student's are expected to demonstrate an ability to organize objects into categories by sorting and classifying objects using one attribute.

I modified this expectation:  (Student) will be able to sort a variety of household items by sorting them into their correct category.  (e.g. forks with forks, socks with socks etc). 

Sorting laundry (lights and darks) or cutlery (forks, spoons and knives) is an essential life skill that still falls under the umbrella of data management.

Time-Bound – IEP goals need to have a time frame. Having a set amount of time will give your goals structure and keep everyone on track to helping the student meet their goal.

I will post some example goals shortly!

Keep calm and teach on!

- S

IEP Writing: Step One

Exactly 30 days after the first day of school, teachers must send home the first term IEP’s (Individual Education Plans).  This thought in itself was daunting for me.  This meant I had to get to know my students (likes, dislikes, reinforcers, etc), assess their academic abilities and write my first ever IEP (make that 5) in less than 30 days.  The whole process was overwhelming and I had no idea where to begin!

Simple put, in order to make challenging yet achievable goals for your students; you must first know what they already CAN do.  I used a variety of sources to help me assess where my students were at the beginning of the school year.

Parents

A student’s parents are one of your best resources.  They know their child inside and out, and are often able to give information that others could not.  I met with all of my families the week before school started, and together we co-created profiles of their child (medical history, communication, behaviour, academic abilities, levels of independence, etc.)  This was a quick way to gain an understanding of each student, and is great to have for reference in meetings, when supply teachers come in, etc.

OSR’s

The Ontario Student Record (OSR) is the record of a student's educational progress through schools in Ontario. It also is a great source for gaining valuable knowledge about your students.  Why reinvent the wheel if someone has already done some assessment for you?

Quite often with students with autism, the OSR is massive.  Go grab a coffee and get ready to do some serious digging!!  I found it useful to read recent psychology reports/assessments, health/medical reports, consultations and assessments from Speech and Language as well as the Occupational Therapists and any reports form outside agencies (specifically IBI).

Report Cards

The purpose of provincial report cards is to communicate how well a student has achieved the overall curriculum expectations for each subject at the end of a period of learning. (e.g., end of term 1 and end of year). 

I read through each student’s report cards to gain a better understanding of the types of modified curriculum expectations they were working on, and whether or not they were able to achieve the expectations as of June of last year,

ABLLS

I was shown this assessment tool from one of my colleagues and I absolutely LOVE it.  It is amazing for students who are lower functioning, have emerging verbal/academic skills, and/or are typically developing at a kindergartener/grade 1 level. 

There are 26 skills areas, from visual performance, to labeling, to reading.  And within each skill area is a bunch of tasks.  You rate how well the student can accomplish each task using a rubric.  It is extremely easy to use, and although time consuming, very worth it!

You can even colour code the rubric to continuously assess during the year and document growth.

PM Benchmarks

For my higher functioning students, I used PM Benchmarks to assess reading fluency, comprehension, reading quantity and quality, level of text, and attitudes and interests in response to what students are reading.  This helped me determine the student’s “level” of reading, strengths, and needs. 

Observation

One of the best pieces of advice I received within the first week of school was: “Don’t stress about the academics.  Get to know the students and allow the students an opportunity to get to know you and the classroom… the rest will come.” 

With so much to get done, it seems silly to sit back and observe your students.  However, purposeful observation offers so many benefits.  My staff and I made a strong effort to focus on observing the students’ current skills, strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and this information informed a lot (if not the most) of my planning.

Now that you’ve gathered all the information you need, you can start to write your IEP’s…. but that’s a whole other post in itself!!

More to come!

Keep calm and teach on!

- S

Meet the Creature Night

Your school may call it Curriculum Night, Meet-the-Teacher Night, or Back-to-School Night. Whatever it's called, most teachers breath a sigh of relief when its over!  

This year, I was really looking forward to curriculum night.  I’ve learned it is not just a time to inform families about what their child is going to learn, but it’s also the perfect opportunity to connect with one of my most valuable resources: my parents. It's a connection I keep going all year long.

Since I had met all of my parents previously, and each child in on their own Individualized Education Plan, I knew my Curriculum night would look a lot different than the other presentations in the school.  My focus was to have fun, and show the families some of the amazing things their children do on a daily basis.

We started our evening off with Morning Meeting:

1.  Good morning (or in this case evening) greeting to all members of the group

2.  Calendar time

3.  Daily weather report

4.  How do you feel today?

5.  Question of the week - This week's question is "What is your favourite animal?"

6.  Dance break - and yes…. even the parents danced!

After our morning meeting, each student/parent completed a classroom scavenger hunt:

This was a great way for the students to show their parents the different areas of our classroom and feel a sense of pride and ownership of the room.  

Take a look at the resource below (I use Boardmaker for absolutely everything).

We ended our evening with Free Choice:

The boys hangout in our break area and the parents chit-chatted with each other and the EAs in my room (who stayed late for the special night!)

I couldn't let the students leave without a special treat!

Overall, the night was a huge success!!

Keep calm and teach on!

- S

Table Time! (AKA Structured Work Systems)

Teachers strive to keep routine, organization and structured time in their classrooms. All of these are extremely important for students on the Autism Spectrum. One way to accomplish this is to incorporate workstations into students’ daily routines. Workstations are easy to make, can be individualized for students to meet Individualized Educational Program (IEP) objectives, and help to keep a classroom running smoothly.
As a new teacher in a community class, the majority of my summer paychecks went towards creating my Table Time station.  It currently stores over 40 different academic, fine motor and vocational work tasks and is used by my students who are both higher functioning and lower functioning.  It rocks my world… and yes, I’m bragging a bit.  I've been loving watching my students grow and master Table Time!

What are Structured Work Systems?
Structured work systems were developed by Division TEACCH at UNC Chapel Hill as part of the structured teaching programmatic approach to working with individuals with ASD.  A structured work system, sometimes called an independent work systems or work systems, is a set up of work to be done within a visually cued system that answers four questions:
1.             What work needs to be done?
2.             How much work needs to be done?
3.             How do I know when I'm finished?
4.             What do I do next?
 
In my classroom, we call this station “Table Time.”  Take a look at the set up below.

The purpose of table time:

There are MANY reasons why Table Time is SO ESSENTIAL in my classroom:

• My students spend so much of their time with high levels of support from adults in the room. Addressing their ability to complete tasks independently is a critical skills to teach

• Who doesn’t love a little me time?  I have noticed that table time is often my student’s favourite time of the day

•  It gives my students a sense of accomplishment

•  It allows me to work one-to-one with my other students

•  It help students practice mastered tasks to assure they maintain the skills with a variety of materials

• Can be adapted to introduce new tasks in a variety of settings

So… how does it all work?

Students take their individual table time schedule with 3 separate boxes on it (one box for each task). 

Each task is represented by a symbol (alphabet A-Z, number 1-10 or basic shape), and is Velcroed to the schedule. 

Students take the first task (symbol), and match it to the bin with the same symbol.  They then bring the bin to the table time desk, complete the task in the bin, and then put the bin back in the location they found it. 

Students repeat this process for task 2 and 3. 

The visual schedule usually includes the choice of a reinforcer at the end (which is iPad time most of the time in room 125)

What’s in a task bin?

The number of bins and the amount of work in the bins can change dependent upon the amount of work the student can do independently.  The level of difficulty can be increased by increasing the amount of work or the number of tasks.

Below are some examples of some of my tasks.
 

Label coloured clothing:  Match label of colored clothing to clothing picture. Great for students with emerging sight word comprehension.
 

Put together nuts, bolts, and washers: Durable and age appropriate fine motor tasks that can be put together and taken apart! Self re-setting!  My boys love it.

Sort coins: Sort coins using the visual cues. Use real money or play money and use all coin types or only 2 or 3.

Sort silverware in this pre-vocational task that is appropriate for a wide range of learners.
 

Match letters: Match letters to spell breakfast food. Improve and enhance letter identification and matching skills.

Match socks:  Match and fold socks in household based activity. Make easier by using all of the same types of socks or more difficult by using similar socks.

Identify missing letter:  Identify the missing letter in each section of the alphabet using clothes pins.

Identify initial consonant  Match picture to initial consonant in this interactive literacy based activity. Use all of the alphabet or break into smaller groups.

Pattern beads:  Working on patterning and fine motor skills using these visual directions. Students load little and big beads to match the pattern card.

Puzzles:  This is a great vocational puzzle that I purchased from Master Mind.  So worth the money spent!!  

Resources:

If you want to create tasks and have no idea where to start, this resource by the Autism Helper is absolutely amazing!!  Check HERE for the link.


I also suggest checking out Pinterest boards by searching TEACCH Tasks.


WOW!! What a post.


Keep calm and teach on!

- S

Parent Communication

Parent communication is a topic that I believe really differs from teacher to teacher.  Am I communicating with parents too much?  Not enough?  Is there even a way to find a balance between making parents happy and not completely stressing yourself out.  

Home-school communication is even more essential in a community classroom.  Imagine how frustrating it is to have your child come home each day and not be able to hear about his/her day?

I have chosen to use a daily note home with my parents and so far, it has been working wonderfully.  I love the picture format because my students can help fill it out.  Even my non-verbal students can assist in the process!  See an example below.

I make an effort to call my parents about once a week to check in.  I also am a HUGE believer in sending home photos with anecdotes.  It's a quick and easy way to show parents work examples, celebrate an accomplishment or even share a funny story throughout the school day.

I also really recommend tracking all communication with parents. It may seem like extra work that is not necessary… but there will be a day when you will be happy to have crossed your t's and dotted your i's.  It's also a great way to take note of which parents you haven't connected with in a while.  I've included an example of the template that has worked for me in the past!

Keep calm and teach on!
- S

A Classroom Tour

The key to success in any classroom is consistency. When students are provided with structure, routines, clear expectations, and an organized learning environment the classroom quite often runs itself!

I spent hours planning my classroom before I moved a single piece of furniture!  I started by determining what I would need to make my room fit my needs and the needs of my students.  I jotted down some ideas and ended up creating a list of all the areas in the classroom I thought I might need.

A weeks worth of work (and A LOT of friends/family helping along the way)… and I present you with Room 125.

The Meeting Area:  The meeting area is the hub of the classroom. It is where everyone comes together as a community to learn, share and celebrate! I am lucky enough to have a SMARTBoard here, so this area will serve as our morning meeting area, sensory break area and work with SMARTBoard area.

Schedule Area:  Visual schedules are extremely important in my classroom.  I have my individual schedules posted along our wall of cupboards.

Student Seating:  Each student has their own space to work, as well as their own set of drawers to help them keep organized.  Students in my classroom will be completing their desk work here individually with the support of one of the staff.

Computers/iPads:  We are lucky enough to have two sets of classroom computers and 5 classroom iPads!!

Listening Centre:  While listening centers are common in primary classrooms, they are also very beneficial with the intermediate grades as well.

Work with Teacher Table:  This is an area where I can work one-to-one with my students.  I have one drawer for each student behind the table to keep organized.

Table Time:  These are my independent work stations… but that’s a whole other post in itself!  Stay tuned!!

White boards/Bulletin Boards:  Each board has a very specific purpose in my classroom.  A small tip:  Create a more organized look and make it easier for students to locate the information they need by sectioning off your white board.

Home-School Communication Books:  In any classroom, especially an Autism Community Class, establishing a consistent means of daily home-school communication is so incredibly important.  These mailboxes and communication binders have helped establish a systematic and organized method of communication (and my students are involved in the process too!)

Group Area:  The group table will serve two purposes:  an area to have snack/lunch, and an area for our special activities (social skills, cooking, board game competitions, etc.

Staff Area:  When it comes to a Community Classroom, there’s a lot of team members who come and go (EAs, OTs, supply EAs, etc).  I wanted to dedicate a board solely for the staff of the room to make sure all the information needed to be successful in our classroom was readily available!

That wraps up my classroom tour!  I will leave you with some tips that I've jotted down along the way:

- put centers that require plugs near outlets

- use shelves, dividers, or tables to divide centers

- create physical visual boundaries for all areas of the classroom (using furniture, book shelves, tape on the floor, desks, room dividers, etc.)

- put chairs of the same color & size at the same tables

- ensure that there is sufficient space and chairs for all groups at each classroom center

- use bookshelves as dividers near classroom centers that will need materials during the school day

- limit clutter by storing all materials in bins with covers

- label all material bins

- leave space for students to wait in line when entering & leaving the room

- ensure that all furniture is age appropriate in size and appearance

- leave space for schedules and communication devices that can accessed easily throughout the day without disruption to other centers

- store items that are not commonly used out of the way

- remove or hide all distracting items

- designate a safe space to be used when students need to calm down and/or regulate behaviour

**Special thanks to:  My Mommabear and Daddio, Angela D, Jessica K, Chris S, Kennedy C, Jessica L, Skylar L and Kylie L for all your help laminating, cutting and velcroing! 

Keep clam and teach on!
- S