Real Teachers-Real Strategies 11: The Spelling Game

 Teaching Tips, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Mar 212012
 

From Manning, SC, we are pleased to share with you our second place PCI/We Are Teachers Teacher Grant Winner, Adela. She is a Resource Teacher for 7th and 8th graders. Adela’s strategy is making spelling a fun activity to keep her students engaged, which in turn strengthens her students’ vocabulary and spelling skills.

The Project: Let’s Learn How to Spell.  

Each student thinks of or finds 2 words containing at least 5 letters and is hard to spell. Using Ran Barnes strategies with the “Paper Plate” spelling game, each student writes their words on a paper plate and places them on a table top. Next, a student is chosen to stand in front of the class with their word-plate facing the other students and pronounces their word for the class. The other students then look for the word-plates that have letters that the word in front of them contains. Making this spelling exercise a game helps the students learn new words and how to spell them.

Learning Objectives:

Because the majority of students struggle with spelling and vocabulary, we know that making the task fun to do will improve both spelling and vocabulary.

Materials:

Paper plates, markers or crayons, and “The Differentiated Classroom: Challenging All Students, NOT Dummying Down For Some” by Ran Barnes.

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Brought to you by We Are Teachers partnership with PCI Education’s Teacher Grant Ask: http://www.weareteachers.com/teaching-ideas/grant/teaching-idea?app=17318&grantId=75

 

 

Real Teachers-Real Strategies 8: A Magical Transformation

 Special Needs Community, Teaching Tips  No Responses »
Feb 292012
 

From Struthers, Ohio, Laurie is an Intervention Specialist for students Pre-K through 4th grade. Laurie helped an autistic student, Michael, learn how organize his day and thus be more in control of himself. Michael’s success with this idea in elementary school carried over to middle school success to be fully included. Now that is a terrific teaching tool!

The Project: Michael’s Magical Transformation.    

Michael is an autistic student who as most autistic children had a difficult time initiating conversation with other people, tantruming, and adapting to change easily. We began with a binder with his daily schedule and slowly added pictures of who he was to greet daily, a feelings page, social stories and other pages as the need arose. As the binder got heavier and more organized, Michael felt more in control of his days and gained self control in all areas. His success has carried over to middle school.

Learning Objectives: 

Since initiating this binder with our Michael, we have also used the idea with other students who had difficulty with similar things. The binders are interactive (velcro) so that the students can manipulate their choices and feel more in control of their daily lives both in school as well as out. They will learn the skills that they need to function better whether they are ADD, ADHD, LD or autistic. It will help them to focus on their particular needs for the school day and life skills.  

We have used this system that we used for Michael with other students in our district that had similar needs. This system has worked with other autistic students but also just as well with students who had ADD or struggled with organizational skills. Michael is now an 8th grader fully included at our Middle School. He no longer tantrums at school or at home. Yay, Michael!

Materials:

 3 ring binders, notebooks, daily schedules, velcro, markers, laminating materials, dry erase markers & erasers.

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Brought to you by We Are Teachers partnership with PCI Education’s Teacher Grant Asks: http://www.weareteachers.com/ideas/partnerask/teachingidea?app=16862&grantId=75

Real Teachers-Real Strategies 7: Visualizing the Future

 Teaching Tips, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Feb 242012
 

Continuing our Strategies Series based on this question:

“Have you ever taught a lesson that really resonated with a special needs student? Tell us about a lesson you teach that was specifically influenced by that experience.”

We bring you the next post from Colette in Granada Hills, CA. She is a high school Special Education Autism Specialist. Colette engages her students with visualization exercises of their future then creating the tools they to use to pursue their goals.

The Project: Autism Learning Lab.

The kids are asked to join in a visualization of the future. They try to see themselves in five years. What are they wearing, where do they live, and where do they work are a few questions asked. Afterward, we discuss career goals, job ideas, and future plans. Together we create a portfolio of the future including resumes, cover letters, photo albums and work samples. With the tools learned from this program the students will head out into the world with a sense of preparedness.

Learning Objectives

The students will learn about what it means to self-advocate and live independently. They will gain skills in resume writing and interview presentation for the future. Through our program our students will gain the ability go to college and self advocate their needs to professors and administrators. Our students will learn the proper way to go to an interview, how to dress, what to bring, which will give them the confidence to try for the job of their dreams.

Materials

For our project we require basic materials and resources. We use a variety of paper to print out resumes, cover letters, and photos for visual reinforcement of  what they want to accomplish. We need the ink for our printer to do the printing. We use  folders to create a nice portfolio for the students to take away with them.

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Brought to you by We Are Teachers partnership with PCI Education’s Teacher Grant Ask: http://www.weareteachers.com/ideas/partnerask/teachingidea?app=16621&grantId=75

 

Real Teachers-Real Strategies 6: Leadership

 Teaching Tips  No Responses »
Feb 072012
 

From Jennifer of Colorado Springs, CO, comes our next intriguing teaching strategy. Jennifer is a junior high school Center Based SIED Level IV teacher. She strives to teach students with emotional and behavioral disorders that they can learn and exhibit the characteristics of being a leader.

Her project: Character Education: Leadership!

Using past and present leaders to teach students with severe emotional and behavioral disorders, how to be a leader. Students are taught through video clips, power point, and their own experiences how to be a leader and what characteristics all leaders have. It is important to be a leader in today’s society. Students learn a new character trait each week. Some traits already learned this year are respect, responsibility, being ready to learn and honesty. The students really respond well to the multi-media format and are eager to learn positive characteristics to show their families and others to learn how to do the same.

Learning Objectives:

Students will learn the importance of positive character. Through character education, students are able to focus their behaviors in a positive manner. Students engage with their peers to practice positive peer interactions and how to support others. Character traits that will be discussed and learned are: being trustworthy, caring, hardworking, compassionate, leadership skills, responsibility, being respectful, ready to learn, being independent, understanding, dependable, helpful, proactive, and many more.

Materials:

In my character education class, I use Power Point, projector software, video clips from classic movies or educational videos, student knowledge (K-W-L charts), and student input.

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Brought to you by We Are Teachers partnership with PCI Education’s Grant Ask: http://www.weareteachers.com/ideas/partnerask/teachingidea?app=%2016870&grantId=75

 

Real Teachers-Real Strategies 3: Engaging Reluctant Readers & Writers

 Special Education Classroom, Teaching Tips  No Responses »
Jan 192012
 

This post comes from Jennifer in Lima, New York. She is a 1st-2nd grade teacher in Special Education, and her strategy is to help reluctant readers and writers get excited about doing just that: reading and writing!

Her project: Language Experience Stories. 

 

 “Students who are not yet excited about reading or who are hesitant to write need a hook. So we made them the characters in the story. I surveyed the children regarding things they like to do. They chose swimming. We created a list of things they did when swimming. I then brought in a blow up swimming pool and other items (floaties, pool toys). We then took pictures of them in the (empty) pool using the item or pretending to swim. From the pictures they wrote their sentences for their stories.”

Learning Objectives:

“Students learned to plan out a story, write their own sentences and then read their story to others. Their confidence grew and they were very proud of their accomplishments. When writing students used a promethean board rather than paper and pencil to make it different for them. Here they were more willing to stretch out the words and were more willing to stay on task.

“The children who created these stories were not enthusiastic about reading or writing prior to writing these stories. During the process they became more involved and excited. Once the story was complete and in their hands they loved it! Not only were they authors who could read their story, they were in the story! They wanted a copy to keep in their classroom and one to have at home. Parents also shared how proud their children were when they brought these stories home.”

Materials:

“With this story it was chart paper, a blow up pool, pool toys, floaties, camera, and a promethean board. Computer and printer were used to create and print the book. With other language experience stories the materials were different depending on the topic that they chose.”

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Brought to you by We Are Teachers partnership with PCI Education’s Teacher Grant Asks: http://www.weareteachers.com/ideas/partnerask/teachingidea?app=16609&grantId=75

 

Real Teachers-Real Strategies 2: A Radio Broadcast

 Special Education Classroom, Teaching Tips  No Responses »
Jan 162012
 

Our second post in this series is from Matthew in Carteret, NJ. He teaches 7th and 8th graders.

His idea: Fireside Chats.

Students learning about the Great Depression had the opportunity to step into the shoes of President Roosevelt and create their own fireside chat radio broadcast based on the events of the 1930′s. Students learn the material in the classroom and then record an audio broadcast using the software program Audacity. The tasks involved are research, writing a script, and performing the broadcast. The project has different modalities so that each student in the group can shine in his/her own way.

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to understand the impact that the events of the Great Depression had on America. They will also be able to relate the information they have learned to today’s economy. Students will enhance their research, writing and technology skills throughout the process of the project.

As well, this project was a collaboration between the students’ social studies and language arts classes. It took place in a variety of settings in our 8th grade. Both in-class support students and self-contained students had the opportunity to create their own group broadcast. The students learned tangible skills while also learning the important characteristics of teamwork.

Materials:

Audacity, an opensource audio recording program. Microsoft word, to type the script. Microphones to record the broadcast. EBSCO and Grollier online for research.

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This post is brought to you by We Are Teachers partnership with PCI Education’s Teacher Grant Asks:  http://www.weareteachers.com/ideas/partnerask/teachingidea?app=16996&grantId=75

 

Real Teachers Share Real Teaching Techniques That Work

 Special Education Classroom, Teaching Tips  No Responses »
Dec 132011
 

PCI Education collaborated with We Are Teachers offering a microgrant to teachers by asking, “Have you ever taught a lesson that really resonated with a special needs student?”

PCI had fabulous responses to our question and we are excited to share with you real ideas from real teachers that work! These teaching techniques will be posted weekly as “Real Teachers-Real Strategies.” Subscribe now to receive these ideas in your inbox for teaching students with special needs.

Our first post is from Cathy in Irving, Texas.

Her strategy: Re-read and Chart It!  

 I have students re-read the first few pages of a book and we time how many words read in a minute (with the number read listed on the sides of the page.) We subtract any words missed and then chart it on a graph that they keep track of. They do this every day and their wcpm grows and the chart goes up. They are excited to come in and do this activity all on their own each day. When they read their wcpm reading goal, we start on the next page of the book.

Learning Objectives:

Success and independence in reading!

Materials:

Leveled readers, timer, folder, chart/graph paper and a colored pencil to chart with.

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We Are Teachers in partnership with PCI Education’s Teacher Grant Asks: http://www.weareteachers.com/ideas/partnerask/teachingidea?app=16857&grantId=75

 

PCI Buys 5 Products From Kaplan K12

 PCI Company Culture, Special Education Classroom, Special Education Resource, Special Needs Community  No Responses »
Sep 152010
 

(Cross-posted from The Education Business Blog, by Lee Wilson, President and CEO of PCI Education)

“With the right support and intervention…people with learning disabilities can succeed in school and go on to be successful later in life.” Wikipedia

Last week PCI acquired SpellRead, Momentum Math, Text Connections, Summer Ventures, and an unreleased Algebra program from Kaplan.  Given that this is an unorthodox move in these economic times I thought I’d lay out the case for the acquisition.

These intervention programs target reading or math and they fit snugly into our line of products for academically challenged students. They are age appropriate for middle and high school students who are significantly behind grade-level expectations and need intensive, small-group instruction.

They also have some outstanding research results – in fact SpellRead was the small group intervention program rated the highest by the What Works Clearinghouse.

Really? In this economy?

It may not seem like the optimal time to be making a move like this with the economy and education budgets looking like they will stagnate or decline for the next several years.

But as we look ahead we see an ongoing emphasis on serving all students and in particular reaching those students that traditional approaches have failed. A quick review of the policy directives coming out of the Obama Department of Education makes clear that accountability is not going to be sacrificed to short term economic pressures. That in turn means schools will continue to invest in reaching students who are struggling.

Evidence also shows that companies that invest wisely during downturns emerge stronger than competitors who pull back. We have increased our catalog distribution, hired sales reps, and boosted our on-line presence in the last 18 months. These new products fit nicely into our channel mix and should help fuel our market beating growth record of the past couple of years.

The Strategic Context

The supplemental publishing world has been in transition for several years. The traditional market for small scale ad-ons to basal materials is still there, but alongside it a world of comprehensive targeted intervention curricula has sprung up. In fact, most of the growth has come from the comprehensive side – examples include Read 180 and Wilson in reading and Carnegie Learning and TouchMath in mathematics.

The reason for this is rooted in student outcomes. Educators have figured out that instructional materials designed specifically for the job at hand are much more effective in reaching these students where they are. It is possible use adaptations and modifications of the basal textbook materials – but it isn’t optimal.

All of these products fit into this new category.

A More Complete Product Line

Kaplan-Anncouncement-masthead1PCI has traditionally served both the Learning Disabilities (LD) market and the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) market. For the past 3-4 years our internal product development focus has been on filling a huge gap for IDD focused academic programs. The PCI Reading Program and Environmental Print are behind our rapid expansion in 2009 and 2010.

The acquisition refreshes our line on the LD side with 5 top notch programs. Our Development Team’s first reaction on seeing the materials was “this is exactly what we would have written.” We were impressed by the simplicity of design and the thoughtful structure provided for instruction in the materials.

If you are interested in seeing where we go with them be sure to tune into our web site for further developments. We have some pretty cool ideas about how to take rock solid programs and wrap them with innovations that build on 19 years of expertise in serving these students.

Related Blog Posts

PCI Announcement
Build Instructional Materials for 21st Century Skills

Say It, Rhyme It, Spell It

 Teaching Tools  No Responses »
Nov 102009
 

SayIt-RhymeIt-SpellIt-LogoEmergent Readers and Struggling Readers Have Fun Learning and Discover Reading Success

Say It, Rhyme It, Spell It is an engaging game, made in two levels, that helps emerging readers and struggling readers become familiar with words that follow a consonant-vowel-consonant (c-v-c) pattern. The reproducible worksheets binder can be used in conjunction with the board game, as a stand-alone program or supplement to another reading program. Say It, Rhyme It, Spell It Software offers picture representations of words as well as words without pictures for visual learners and students with developmental disabilities to reinforce the foundation and skills needed to begin reading and strengthen the reading skill process.

 

Playing the interactive board game or software game helps struggling learners develop phonological awareness. Students begin to understand individual sounds apart from words, how sounds form words, how words begin and end, and how to recognize parts and patterns of words. Once students recognize the parts and patterns of words and associate them with the letters of the alphabet, they begin to equate sounds with symbols. This is the beginning of reading. By playing these games, students improve their phonological awareness and learn to recognize, identify, spell, and rhyme c-v-c words with the most common letter patterns.

 

Say It, Rhyme It, Spell It 1 & 2 both consist of a game board and 150 draw cards. The game board features 28 squares. Each square has an icon to represent one of the possible tasks to complete during the game. As a student lands on a square, he or she selects a draw card from the appropriate stack and completes the designated task: saying a word, rhyming a word, or spelling a word. Say It, Rhyme It, Spell It 2 progresses in difficulty from the first board game by using c-v-c-c and c-c-v-c short vowel word patterns.

 

Say It, Rhyme It, Spell It is appropriate for a wide variety of classrooms, including specialized reading programs, language arts, resource, inclusive, and ESL classrooms. These easy-to-play games help students learn to read c-v-c,  c-v-c-c and c-c-v-c short vowel word pattern words and establish the foundation or reinforcement of reading skills for emergent readers, struggling readers, and students with specials needs and learning differences.

 

To encourage parental involvement and reinforcement of emerging reading skills at home, reproducible activities and a parent letter are included. These take-home activities provide an easy way for students to practice saying, rhyming, and spelling words.

 

Product Developed and Authored by Rosie Simms

 

Make It Real: Explore Your Newspaper

 Special Education Classroom  No Responses »
Oct 292009
 

Relevant Life Skills Lessons for Struggling Readers and Students with Learning Differences

StudentwNewspaperKeeping middle school and high school students with learning differences or that are struggling readers engaged in practicing reading and writing skills is a familiar challenge to teachers. Explore Your Newspaper was created to motivate and engage these students to reinforce reading comprehension and writing skills, as well as introducing or reviewing the newspaper concept and relating it to a basic academic skill.

This comprehensive program includes lesson plans and activity sheets to help students learn about each section of a newspaper while they practice basic skills. Because of the many types of information in newspapers, including articles, charts, graphs, photographs, comics, and schedules, readers must use a variety of academic skills from several subjects, including reading, writing, math, and geography.

Each worksheet in the lesson includes clear, simple directions along with a visual icon to help students who struggle with reading. Many of the exercises involve situations that middle and high schools students will encounter in the future, such as finding an apartment, interpreting advertisements, and determining what to wear based on weather forecasts. Activities cover specific sections of the newspaper and integrate basic skills, such as locating necessary information, identifying facts and opinions, following a sequence when writing, placing information into categories, and identifying the meanings of abbreviations in classified ads. Most activities require students to find or cut out information from a newspaper and use that text to complete an activity, adding a hands-on component to the program.

Explore Your Newspaper is a flexible program designed to use either as a complete newspaper exploration program or as a fun basic skills supplement to any unit. The sections and most of the lessons can be completed in any order. Several lessons are designed to build on each other and should be taught in the suggested order. An index of skills is provided so that teachers can easily locate lessons that reinforce specific skills.

Because this program was designed for students with learning differences and struggling readers, the materials are already modified to their level of understanding and age appropriateness. Explore Your Newspaper is relevant to everyday life making the articles and activities meaningful and the lessons applicable to building and retaining basic life skills.

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