I choose activity 2 on page 85. I agree with the book in that students possess the necessary knowledge but often have a difficult time putting that knowledge down on paper. When this happens I ask the student to give me oral answers and I write what they say. When taking a test I will read the test to the student and circle or mark what answer the student gives me. This helps alleviate some of the anxiety students feel trying to match their knowledge with what the paper says. Sometimes students know the answer but worded in a different way than the answer choices are, this creates stress on the students part and simply dictating what they say frees them to verbalize only. When I do this I sign my initials on the top of their paper so the teacher knows it is my handwriting. The teachers I work with are very cooperative in this area, and often when I use this accommodation their work is graded on content, not necessarily the mechanics. This is a conversation to have with the classroom teacher prior to using accommodations like this one. If the English teacher is wanting to see how well they student can spell in context and their use of punctuation then dictation is not an appropriate accommodation. But if the social studies teacher wants them to write a paragraph on a reformer from the Civil War Era than dictation would be an okay accommodation since the main focus of the writing is knowledge based, not mechanics. I use oral answers often and really believe this accommodation helps the student relax and just state what they know without having to worry about putting it down on paper in a way the teacher will accept. One recent example is an 8th grade student writing journals for the Oregon Trail project in Social Studies. He told me what to write and I typed what he said, made things alot easier!!!
I agree that the less anxious the student is the more the thinking comes through. That PR with classroom teacher is a make it break it deal all the time. I too initial what I assist and will put with help, or circle those I helped. Putting C by things we corrected to take opportunity when it is there, helps. Even in kindergarten those notes on paper help teachers and parents know exactly what their child is doing. That way we minimize the "but my kids papers are all perfect, why do they need you?"
I agree that is necessary to let the teacher know what you helped with on a paper. It is really important, and hard, to remember that our kid's work does not, nor should we expect it to be perfect. I think paras struggle with that more than we do.
Yes. I agree that it is good practice to designate what work was done with help. I also agree that as a special educator, you must know what skill the teacher is after whether it be knowledge or spelling and grammar.
Activity 1: Oral directions. We do Simon Says. Doing it slowly and then increasing speed. You can do simple to complex. Also good one for physical stimulation and movement. Always the repeat to me what you heard. I have student put up fingers for each direction. I have even used marker to make not of each direction on finger to help with reminder during activity. Then it washes off. We have a teacher here who talks about her 'palm pilot' So this is just another quick step and they see it as normal or okay.
When I was reading about how to help with organization and related to following oral directions I have started a new program using a physical schedule for the activity. For a little guy, I have made a boardmaker list of 5 things to do to complete task at center table time. Then I put it into a paper sleeve and he slides it out in order as he completes each task. That way he is following directions and hopefully will imprint this in his brain and eventually not need the sleeve instructions. We will later add standing in line and recess review. These are for those directions we do over and over and over and over again and teachers assume by March students know. Well welcome to our world.
Great idea for following directions. I like that he can slide it out as he completes a task. I love using Boardmaker for things like that. Organization is a big thing with several of my kids. It's so hard sometimes. Even when they have color coded folders - how do the papers always disappear?
I also chose activity one. I like a made up activity that can be done in a few minutes (like when three kids are waiting on two more to start calendar). I draw a house or some shelves. One student chooses another to draw. The first student will tell the second what to draw and where to put it. For example on a house, put a window at the top, on the right side. It's fun and works on both following and giving directions.
I chose activity 2. One difficulty could be copying the sentence from the board to paper. If this were the case, I would either copy the sentence for the student or provide a printed copy. Then he/she could complete the assignment by drawing a line to separate the subject and predicate. A second difficulty could be the student's reading level. I would either provide sentences at a lower level or if this needed to be an instant solution, I would read the sentences and have the student tell me where to divide the sentence. If the student did not grasp the subject at all, I might modify the assignment and have him just tell me the subject. Or we could do several together, highlighting the subject and predicate in different colors, then allow the student to do the same on his own.
I like your idea of taking the assignment down to the students level by eliminating the predicate and having him only find the subject. Your idea of highlighting the subject and predicate in different colors is just good teaching!
I like those ideas. I might also either have them write their own sentence discussing the subject first, then the predicate, then underline or highlight. Also, it may be that the student forgot thier glasses at home again and need to be closer to the board. Finally, it may be a situation like chapter chapter eight on page 79. If there are just tracking dificulties and they don't want "help" from an adult, peer partners can be the answer.
Note-taking skills seems to be an issue, not only for special education students, but for general ed. students as well. I purchased a Livescribe pen for my son, a freshman in high school who has horrendous handwriting and was unable to study from his own notes because even he could not read them. What a Livescribe pen does is record what the teacher is saying while the note taker is writing down key words from the lecture. Then when the student goes to study from his notes, all he has to do is touch a key word that he had written and the teacher's lecture is replayed for him. The are about $100 and come with special paper. I have even found myself taking the pen with me to conferences so that I can get more out of them.
I used Activity 2 - demonstrating knowledge of subjects and predicates. When I first started the lesson, students had little background knowledge. I explained that the subject of a sentence is a noun/pronoun - a person,place,or thing, and the predicate will be a verb, or an action - something that is happening in the sentence. Some of the students understood a little better. I gave them sentences orally, but they were having a hard time still. I wrote the sentences on the board. We underlined Subjects one time, in blue. Next we underlined the predicated two times, in red. Having a color-coded visual aid really helped the students. After a few of these examples, they were able to do them orally because they could see the sentences in their heads.
I choose activity 2 on page 85. I agree with the book in that students possess the necessary knowledge but often have a difficult time putting that knowledge down on paper. When this happens I ask the student to give me oral answers and I write what they say. When taking a test I will read the test to the student and circle or mark what answer the student gives me. This helps alleviate some of the anxiety students feel trying to match their knowledge with what the paper says. Sometimes students know the answer but worded in a different way than the answer choices are, this creates stress on the students part and simply dictating what they say frees them to verbalize only. When I do this I sign my initials on the top of their paper so the teacher knows it is my handwriting. The teachers I work with are very cooperative in this area, and often when I use this accommodation their work is graded on content, not necessarily the mechanics. This is a conversation to have with the classroom teacher prior to using accommodations like this one. If the English teacher is wanting to see how well they student can spell in context and their use of punctuation then dictation is not an appropriate accommodation. But if the social studies teacher wants them to write a paragraph on a reformer from the Civil War Era than dictation would be an okay accommodation since the main focus of the writing is knowledge based, not mechanics. I use oral answers often and really believe this accommodation helps the student relax and just state what they know without having to worry about putting it down on paper in a way the teacher will accept. One recent example is an 8th grade student writing journals for the Oregon Trail project in Social Studies. He told me what to write and I typed what he said, made things alot easier!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the less anxious the student is the more the thinking comes through. That PR with classroom teacher is a make it break it deal all the time. I too initial what I assist and will put with help, or circle those I helped. Putting C by things we corrected to take opportunity when it is there, helps. Even in kindergarten those notes on paper help teachers and parents know exactly what their child is doing. That way we minimize the "but my kids papers are all perfect, why do they need you?"
DeleteI agree that is necessary to let the teacher know what you helped with on a paper. It is really important, and hard, to remember that our kid's work does not, nor should we expect it to be perfect. I think paras struggle with that more than we do.
DeleteYes. I agree that it is good practice to designate what work was done with help. I also agree that as a special educator, you must know what skill the teacher is after whether it be knowledge or spelling and grammar.
DeleteActivity 1: Oral directions. We do Simon Says. Doing it slowly and then increasing speed. You can do simple to complex. Also good one for physical stimulation and movement.
ReplyDeleteAlways the repeat to me what you heard.
I have student put up fingers for each direction. I have even used marker to make not of each direction on finger to help with reminder during activity. Then it washes off. We have a teacher here who talks about her 'palm pilot' So this is just another quick step and they see it as normal or okay.
When I was reading about how to help with organization and related to following oral directions I have started a new program using a physical schedule for the activity. For a little guy, I have made a boardmaker list of 5 things to do to complete task at center table time. Then I put it into a paper sleeve and he slides it out in order as he completes each task. That way he is following directions and hopefully will imprint this in his brain and eventually not need the sleeve instructions. We will later add standing in line and recess review. These are for those directions we do over and over and over and over again and teachers assume by March students know. Well welcome to our world.
Great idea for following directions. I like that he can slide it out as he completes a task. I love using Boardmaker for things like that. Organization is a big thing with several of my kids. It's so hard sometimes. Even when they have color coded folders - how do the papers always disappear?
DeleteI also chose activity one. I like a made up activity that can be done in a few minutes (like when three kids are waiting on two more to start calendar). I draw a house or some shelves. One student chooses another to draw. The first student will tell the second what to draw and where to put it. For example on a house, put a window at the top, on the right side. It's fun and works on both following and giving directions.
DeleteI chose activity 2. One difficulty could be copying the sentence from the board to paper. If this were the case, I would either copy the sentence for the student or provide a printed copy. Then he/she could complete the assignment by drawing a line to separate the subject and predicate. A second difficulty could be the student's reading level. I would either provide sentences at a lower level or if this needed to be an instant solution, I would read the sentences and have the student tell me where to divide the sentence. If the student did not grasp the subject at all, I might modify the assignment and have him just tell me the subject. Or we could do several together, highlighting the subject and predicate in different colors, then allow the student to do the same on his own.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of taking the assignment down to the students level by eliminating the predicate and having him only find the subject. Your idea of highlighting the subject and predicate in different colors is just good teaching!
DeleteI like those ideas. I might also either have them write their own sentence discussing the subject first, then the predicate, then underline or highlight. Also, it may be that the student forgot thier glasses at home again and need to be closer to the board. Finally, it may be a situation like chapter chapter eight on page 79. If there are just tracking dificulties and they don't want "help" from an adult, peer partners can be the answer.
DeleteNote-taking skills seems to be an issue, not only for special education students, but for general ed. students as well. I purchased a Livescribe pen for my son, a freshman in high school who has horrendous handwriting and was unable to study from his own notes because even he could not read them. What a Livescribe pen does is record what the teacher is saying while the note taker is writing down key words from the lecture. Then when the student goes to study from his notes, all he has to do is touch a key word that he had written and the teacher's lecture is replayed for him. The are about $100 and come with special paper. I have even found myself taking the pen with me to conferences so that I can get more out of them.
ReplyDeleteI used Activity 2 - demonstrating knowledge of subjects and predicates. When I first started the lesson, students had little background knowledge. I explained that the subject of a sentence is a noun/pronoun - a person,place,or thing, and the predicate will be a verb, or an action - something that is happening in the sentence. Some of the students understood a little better. I gave them sentences orally, but they were having a hard time still. I wrote the sentences on the board. We underlined Subjects one time, in blue. Next we underlined the predicated two times, in red. Having a color-coded visual aid really helped the students. After a few of these examples, they were able to do them orally because they could see the sentences in their heads.
ReplyDelete