December 2008 - Rembering to Use Poetry

A poem a day can help keep illiteracy at bay? Well, maybe that’s stretching it, but poetry is one tool that can support students who are beginning readers and writers. This tip covers ideas for using poetry to support phonemic awareness skills, including activities for older students who are emergent or beginning readers. Have fun!

Poem of Day/Week.pdf

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November 2008 Behavior Necklace OR Keychain!

This tip presents a set of behavior cards that once again prove that a picture is worth a thousand words!! You'll see these 'behavior necklaces' proudly worn by Arizona teachers and therapists working with: Claudia Terrazas (Buckeye Elementary District), Kim James (Litchfield Park, Arizona), and those lucky enough to have Mary Keeney of the Arizona Department of Education visit their classrooms.

A verbal prompt to "sit down" or "pay attention" will often be missed, especially by students with poor auditory processing skills. Verbal prompts also add to the noise level in the classroom, and distract students whom you were NOT trying to reach. These behavior cards, worn on a necklace or keychain, provide clear, 'in-your-face' messages, without disrupting an ongoing event. Print, laminate, and put the cards on a ring, attached to a necklace or keychain. The tabs are great for finding the right visual prompt instantly.

Thanks to Kim James, Claudia Terrazas, and Mary Keeney of Arizona for sharing this wonderful tip.

Behavior Necklace graphic.jpg

Behavior Necklace Boardmaker file.bm2

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October 2008 - Strategies to Increase Success- Modeling

How many times to you think the typical child hears a model of a word such as 'Daddy' in context or by multiple communication partners
before he or she attempts to say 'Da Da!'
Now think how many times AAC users see and hear models of symbol use, light or high tech, in context, interactively, and by multiple communication partners .

Get ideas and resources for increasing your use of models!

Modeling.pdf

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September 2008 - Strategies to Increase Success -Prompting Hierarchy

We know that learning occurs when the initiation and intent comes from within the student, not the para, therapist, paraprofessional, or teacher!! But when we engage in hand-over-hand prompting, who shows the intent? Who is initiating? This handout provides resources for starting early with aided language intervention, and using natural cueing techniques. It also provides a 'prompting hierarchy' that you might want to print, glue to an index card, laminate, and attach to devices, attach to cueing lights, velcro on the wall, etc.!

Prompting Chart.pdf

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August 2008 - Electronic Books Galore via Accessible Books Launcher!

Do you need some books? Here is an accessible book launcher that launches out to over one thousand books. There is a mix of books you can read online, books you can download into formats like PowerPoint, as well as books for listening. This bookshelf of sorts is a visual launcher that you can share with students, parents, and teachers.

Thanks so much to Sam Sennott who compiled this list! If you know of other book websites, please email the links to samuel.sennott@gmail.com. OR, you can visit Sam and his blog at http://alltogether.wordpress.com/

ENJOY!

Accessible Books Launcher.pdf

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July 2008 - Annie's Resource Attic - At this new website, you will find all sorts of resources, all of them free to use in your classroom. There are free activities to download. There are ideas and techniques to help you develop new activities and edit those you already have. There are graphics, too, including clip art, photos, and even movies. It is incredible to contemplate the amount of hours that have gone into putting this together. We are sure glad that Ann has chosen to share! Happy surfing!

http://www.annbrundigestudio.com/

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June 2008 - 12 Texts a Day: Maximizing Down Time!

This month's tip is based on research showing that good kindergarten teachers provide exposure to at least 12 different texts a day. This tip considers ways to provide more exposure to literacy during down time such as:
a) Feeding
b) Toileting
c) Waiting (for meals, for other students to arrive, for the bus)

12 Texts a Day: Maximizing Down Time!.pdf

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May 2008 - Art and Literacy!

This month's tip presents several strategies for integrating art and literacy. Students will enjoy the extras (more visual supports, labeling, tongue twisters), and each will enrich the learning experience. The focus is on showing how easy it is to add 'a little extra' to your art project to get more bang for your buck!!

Art and Literacy!.pdf

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April 2008 - 12 Texts a Day: Cooking / Science / Art!

This month's tip is based on research showing that good kindergarten teachers provide exposure to at least 12 different texts a day. This tip offers ideas for using recurring activities, to increase authentic, functional print exposure. Three activities suggested are:
a) Art
b) Cooking
c) Science experiments

12 Texts a Day: Cooking / Science / Art!.pdf

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March 2008 - Circle Time Literacy! 12 Texts a Day!

This month's tip is based on research showing that good kindergarten teachers provide exposure to at least 12 different texts a day. This tip offers ideas for providing more literacy opportunities and more cognitive engagement during circle time in self-contained classrooms.

Circle Time Literacy! 12 Texts a Day!.pdf

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February 2008 - Phoneme Phun: Phoneme Isolation

This month's tip is brief summary of the research on phonemic awareness, phonemic awareness resources, and two activities to support students who are nonspeaking in developing phoneme isolation (initial phoneme). The ideas described are AAIF:
a) Adapted to meet the needs of students who require AAC
b) Authentic, so students don't feel that they're taking yet another 'test'
c) Individualized to meet the context and interests of target students
d) Fun and interactive

Phoneme Phun: Phoneme Isolation.pdf

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January 2008 - Phoneme Phun: Sound Substitution

This month's tip is brief summary of the research on phonemic awareness, phonemic awareness resources, and multiple activities to support students who are nonspeaking in developing sound substitution (initial phoneme). The ideas described are AAIF:
a) Adapted to meet the needs of students who require AAC
b) Authentic, so students don't feel that they're taking yet another 'test'
c) Individualized to meet the context and interests of target students
d) Fun and interactive

Phoneme Phun: Sound Substitution.pdf

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OPENING ADOBE ACROBAT FILES:
1) Drag the document into a folder on your desktop
2) Plan A:  Double-click the document and see if it opens in Adobe Acrobat

    Plan B:

• Go to Find (under File menu when you're in the Finder) and type Acrobat - see if Acrobat Reader is on your computer.
• If so, open it
• Then go to File/Open and open the desired file from within

    Plan C:  If you don't have Acrobat Reader on your computer, go to their website and download it:  http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

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