Keeping It Simple

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

MAKING IT EASY

SIMPLE ACCOMMODATIONS

TRIED ANDTRUE IDEAS

I. Independence or “Welcome to the Real World”

When students start in our program they are told that the two most important things they will learn are to be INDEPENDENT and RESPONSIBLE. Squeezing daily living skills and job skills into our daily lives isn’t easy but we manage. When most of our students arrive they are used to having everything magically appear at their desks. They are the center of their own universe. They do not even think of doing something for someone else.

The first skill our students learn is that we will not baby them! “Welcome to Junior High” or “Welcome to High School” or “Welcome to the Real World.” They are no longer allowed to be the “Poor little blind kid”. They must learn to get to and from their locker and find their own materials. (We have “lockers” in our classroom for the students to use.) Assorted paper is in a box on a shelf. Braillers and Brailler stands are also on a shelf. I do not get paper or pencils or Braillewriters or Brailler stands for my students. I do not put them away. The students must learn to do this themselves. This is the beginning of becoming INDEPENDENT. I also do not collect work. I have a basket to put all finished work in as well as notes from home. Work must be stapled (another skill they need to learn) and labeled with their complete name and date and the assignment heading. I do not remind students to turn in homework, it is their responsibility. The students can do this, and they begin to realize that they can be independent. It is well worth the academic time wasted to learn this skill. The older kids often help the younger kids. They think I don’t know, but actually it is good for them to help others. (Responsibility, Job Skills) It makes them feel important by sharing something they learned.

My older students, who when they started with us could not (or would not) do anything on their own, now take the responsibility for teaching the younger students how to use a hole punch, stapler, BrailleNote, the computer with JAWS, or the internet. They even occasionally will sit and read or practice math facts (they usually need the review anyway) with a younger student who needs extra help. My older students take the younger students to PE and teach them to maneuver the locker room. They introduce them to the PE teacher (this is worked out with the PE teacher ahead of time) and locker room assistant. They also take the younger kids to lunch and teach them to purchase their lunches, find a table, and throw away their trash. My assistants and I spy on the kids and can jump in and assist if needed.

I usually make my Seniors TA’s, and they get credit for helping out. (Responsibility, Job Skills) They learn to stock paper and keep it stocked, make sure the printers have paper and ink, let me know when we are running low on supplies, deliver messages or materials to teachers, pack boxes, help move furniture, set up computers, sort and organize materials. Some of our low vision students are typing up materials to be Brailled. They type work up, save it, and deliver it to the Braillist to finish. (Job skills)

Students are responsible for bringing their BrailleNotes to school and remembering to charge them. If they forget, they carry a Brailler with them to class. They learn quickly. (Independence) They learn to connect their BrailleNote to the printer. (I put a sticky dot on the cable to make it easier to tell which way the cable faces.)

My high school students must remind their mainstream teachers to get materials they will need to me to be Brailled. (Self advocating-responsibility-independence). (I set this up with the mainstream teachers ahead of time.) I actually make this an IEP goal for them all through high school. I tell the students this is a skill they will need for college. By the time students are seniors, I try not to allow them extra time for assignments. They need to be in class on time, ready to work just like their sighted peers. They need to turn in their work on time. The real world will not wait for them. Who will hire you if you need double time to do a job?

We cook for special occasions or sometimes just for fun. The kids all learn to make lemonade, hot chocolate and popcorn independently and can do so whenever they have time, (between classes, after PE, etc.) Students learn measuring, basic cooking, using a microwave and a stove safely, cleaning up and doing dishes. Students can prepare snacks during their Tutorial period if their work is completed. They can make sandwiches, toast bagels, heat up soup, make Mac and Cheese or make cookies. My students who have extra time at the end of the day actually beg to do our dishes. This provides good practice and saves me time. One year our 3 Junior High students actually made 25 Pineapple upside down cakes for our Special Ed. Prom. It took a few days, but boy were they good at following a recipe, measuring, baking, and cleaning up. They were so proud when their cakes were served at Prom.

At the end of the day, my students are “responsible” for turning off the computers, locking up the classroom, and turning off the lights. The students learn how to use a key in a lock, and how to safely turn off a computer. My sub-plans always read, “Have students lock up” and I know that my kids are responsible enough to make sure it is done and done right!

II. Test Taking Made Easy--Keeping It Simple--Making It Easy

We teach our students to circle answers on their test pages. This works well for Multiple Choice test, but for matching and True or False answers this doesn’t work. My former print users, can write their choices on the line and usually do. (This keeps the handwriting skills up) However this does not work for those who have not learned print. So, we have simply modified the test so that the student has answers to circle or underline. This is a time saver for both the student and teacher yet does not change the test.

For True and False answers, we Braille a T F in front of the questions for the student to circle. For Matching, we Braille A B C D E in front of the questions for the student to circle. If their are more than 5 answers, I usually give 5 choices, so we might Braille A C E G I, or B D F H J.

Examples:

The original read as follows:

Part B Match the terms in Column A with the descriptions in

Column B. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line.

Column AColumn B

______1) planta) contains a beginning plant and stored food

______2) embryob) first classified plants and animals

______3) Aristotlec) nonflowering seed plants

______4) seedd) a beginning plant

______5) gymnosperme) divided into vascular or nonvascular

We changed the test to read as follows:

Part B Match the terms in Column A with the descriptions inColumn B. Circle the letter of the correct answer.

Column B

a) contains a beginning plant and stored food

b) first classified plants and animals

c) nonflowering seed plants

d) a beginning plant

e) divided into vascular or nonvascular

Column A

a b c d e 1) plant

a b c d e 2) embryo

a b c d e 3) Aristotle

a b c d e 4) seed

a b c d e 5) gymnosperm

For the True or False section the original read as follows:

Part C Read each sentence. Write T if the statement is true

or F if it is false.

______1) A fruit surrounds the seeds of gymnosperms.

______2) Mosses help to form soil.

______3) Seed plants are the largest group of plants.

______4) Sori are found on the underside of a fern’s fronds.

______5) The major group of angiosperms is conifers.

We changed it to read:

Part C Read each sentence. Circle T if the statement is trueor F if it is false.

T F1) A fruit surrounds the seeds of gymnosperms.

T F 2) Mosses help to form soil.

T F3) Seed plants are the largest group of plants.

T F 4) Sori are found on the underside of a fern’s fronds.

T F5) The major group of angiosperms is conifers.

This simple accommodation allowed the student to complete the test in the same amount of time as her sighted classmates. This gave her much more independence. She did not need to flip between the Brailled document and the Braille-note or Braillewriter. She did not disturb the class flipping pages around or pounding on the braillewriter. Answers were easily transferred to the answer document. This helps to prepare our students for the CST’s and other standardized tests where they can also independently circle their answers, saving time.

The following worksheet was difficult and time consuming for our student so we simplified it.

Chapter 10

Activity 28

Chart for North, South, and West

Directions: The events or items listed in the box took place or were

common in the South, West, or North in the 1800s.

Write each statement under the correct heading below.

• covered wagons • ironworks

• clothing factories • a strong antislavery movement

• the Georgia-Florida border • wide open spaces

• sugar crops • declining political influence

• few roads • cities Vesey planned to attack

• rocky soil • dangerous traveling conditions

• the cotton gin • fights for lower tariffs

• fishing • fights for higher tariffs

• plenty of rainfall • the results of the Adams-Onís treaty

• plantations • Jackson's battle against the Spanish

North South West

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

______

Simplified it looked like this:

Chapter 10

Activity 28

Chart for North, South, and West

Directions: The events or items listed in the box took place orwere common in the South, West, or North in the 1800s. CircleN for North, S for South, or W for Westbefore each statement below.

N S W covered wagons

N S W ironworks

N S W clothing factories

N S W a strong antislavery movement

N S W the Georgia-Florida border

N S W wide open spaces

N S W sugar crops

N S W declining political influence

N S W few roads

N S W cities Vesey planned to attack

N S W rocky soil

N S W dangerous traveling conditions

N S W the cotton gin

N S W fights for lower tariffs

N S W fishing

N S W fights for higher tariffs

N S W plenty of rainfall

N S W the results of the Adams-Onís treaty

N S W plantations

N S W Jackson's battle against the Spanish

Student had only to circle the choice instead of copying all the answers. This too saved the student time yet truly did not change what the student was learning.

III. I Love Stickers

We use all types of stickers in my classroom, not for rewards, but to help the students become for independent. We use the APH Feel’n Peel Stickers, as well as stickers from Dollar Tree, 99 Cent Store, and anywhere else we find them.

I use Bumps, or other stickers on USB cords so the students can independently plug in their cables. (The Bump goes to the outside.)

We used APH number and letter stickers on the Microwave so students can use the Microwave independently. I also send matching stickers home with the student so that they can modify things in their homes.

Students put single letter stickers on their CD cases for their text books. (B for Biology,H for History, etc.) They can quickly identify which book they are looking for.

The students put Braille Letter Stickers on their BrailleNotes to tell them apart.

We use stickers on Flash Drives for easy identification.

Since many of our students have other learning disabilities, added stickers help to remember which button to push on the computer, or CD player. I use bright colors for my Low Vision students. (Green for go).

We putLARGEnumber stickers on a BrailleNote for a student who was struggling with transition from print to Braille and did not have the strength to use a braillewriter. This helped her find and keep her fingers on the correct keys.

My Algebra and Geometry students use Dots for graphing. They simply stick the dots onto the graph paper and then draw their lines. This makes it much neater and the student is independent.

We use stickers and dots for many diagrams for science. We cut shapes from foam and apply APH Sticky Dots Die-Cut Adhesive #1-08452-00 to make our own stickers when needed. Dots can become nuclei, Vacuoles, and Golgi Apparatus. They can be DNA bases for students to match. They can be volcanoes or cloud formations or cycles of the moon. Stickers becomewhatever we can imagine.

IV. IMPROVISING

APH Pocket Folders #1-04294-00are wonderful, but have other uses.

First, using a paper cutter, I cut them in half.

1. For my emerging Braille readers, I use the right half as a back cover for a Braille book. I cut the folder to 11 1/2 X 11, punch and bind as I would any other cover. The pocket folder is then used to hold a print copy of the Braille for the student to take home or to class for help as needed.

2. I use the left half of the folder as a pocket folder in a binder. I cut it to 11½ X 11 for the Braille students or to 9 ½ X 11 for Large print. (It gives just a little more space to hold the folded large print, yet fits into a standard binder.)

3. I save the scraps for other miscellaneous activities...counters, art, shapes to trace, textures...whatever.

APH Floppy Binders #1-04259-00

4. I cut them down to 11 X 10 for the Large Print users. The binders then “look like other binders”, yet hold punched and folded Large Print and the above pocket folders (see number 2). Kids will use them if they look like everyone else’s. See number 3, also.

Other Weird Ideas That Work

Mouse Pads make good makeshift drawing pads for quick raised lines. Use a ballpoint pen to draw on the back of the page.

Rubber bands make circles for grouping or beginning division. Using cubes or other small objects, divide into the rubber bands.

Kids use Post-Its to keep their line when copying answers or looking up words or as a bookmark.

Use individual Whiteboards for math instead of scratch paper. Black and Blue markers are easy for the kids to see. It is easy to put one large problem on the board for the student to solve. Then they can copy their work or just answers on to their paper.

Added bonus: White Board Cleaner removes ink (even Sharpie Ink) from hands and desks.

Brightly colored ponytail bands attached to the zippers of backpacks make zippers easier to find.

Large, thin headbands go around Braille pages easier than large rubber bands and do not crush the Braille.

Scrap booking folders are great for Braille pages. Keeps them dry in the rain when running between classes.Scrap book pages make fun pages for Brailled assignments, report covers, etc.

We keep dish soap in one shape bottle and hand soap in a different shape. This makes it easier for the students to distinguish.

SUDOKU

When asked to transcribe a Sudoku book for a 5th grader, we decided that she needed a way to manipulate the numbers as well. So, using materials on hand, all from APH, we became creative.

Sudoku Board:

- First to we took a Grid Board #61-219-00-1 that we were no longer using. We do not waste anything.

- Then using Graphic Art Tape # 1-08878-00 we marked off thegrid, like a tic-tac-toe board, into sections of 9 squares. (One row on the top and one on the side were left blank.)

- Next, using Black Velcro Hook Squares #61-220-030, we put one square in each of the 81 squares.

Tiles:

- Using Red Circles #61-219-006, and Blue Squares # 61-220-030 (Any colors will work, but they need to be two different shapes and the different colors make it easier for the sighted person to set up the board.)

- I then attached White Velcro Loop Coins # 61-220-03 to one sideof the circles, and Feel ‘n Peel Numbers # 1-08865-00 1 through 9, to 81 red circles and to 81 Blue Squares, 9 of each number on each color. (We had students stick the Velcro and numbers for us.)

The board is now ready for use. Using one color (shape), place the numbers on the grid as shown on the print page. Using the other color (shape) manipulate the board to completethepuzzle.