Self-assessments help students think about their own learning. It encourages responsibility, active participation, and critical reflection. In addition, it can strengthen a student’s judgment skill and provide the opportunity for a change in performance. When an adult enters the workforce, it is assumed that one understands what is expected of them. As a lifelong learner, a student must start by being able to identify the objective of the lesson and then judge if he/she met the expected goal. Since teachers are constantly striving for their students to be active learners, self-assessment is a critical component in the classroom, which is why the Danielson model (the current model used in various states to assess teacher effectiveness) includes student self-assessment in a lesson. A lot of teachers, however, struggle to find ways to get students to self-assess after or during a subject period, especially when a student has a language weakness. In my classroom, I have found that assessment cards guide my students through the self-assessment process successfully. When first teaching the self-assessment routine, I write the objective at the top of the card with the benchmarks that help guide the conversation. For example, when reading a story, my students need to ask and answer questions about the story. To do this, they must use question words and use details from the text to support their answer. An example of a card I would use at my reading center is below. Before starting my lesson, I present the yellow card with the objective as I state our goal (ie. reading a story and asking and answering questions). This card is multi-purposeful since it clearly states the objective, states what is needed to meet the objective, and serves as a visual model of what I expect from my students. I leave this cards at the place where my students are engaging in the specific activity. An example of a math card is below: Then, we do our lesson and activity. At the end of our lesson, the students at the teacher table do a special clap. The rest of the class stops what they are doing and claps back. Then, the students at the teacher table say “Please assess your own learning. Give yourself a 1, 2, 3, or 4.” All students read their individual yellow objective card. For each benchmark objective, they state if they did what was written or not. To promote higher-level thinking and independence, I leave a benchmark with a blank line for students to fill in their own benchmark objective. Since my goal is to have my students do this independently, the written card serve as a model when I am teaching the process. Students take turns sharing in their groups. After students read through the yellow objective card, they ask their group members “What did you do well?”. Students identify their area of strength throughout the lesson. Then students ask their group members “What do you need to work on?” Students state specific goals that they need to work on. If student responses are general, teachers provide specific feedback and tell the students to be more specific. Then, students at the teacher table clap again and say “please move to the next station”. All students at this point stop talking and move to the next station. This rotation and self-assessment piece can take place up to three to four times during one subject period, depending on the length of each center and the length of your subject period. Some examples of the cards I use are below: Throughout the year, I slowly fade the level of support given on the cards although for students with disabilities, the cards can be used as visual support/language script. In the article, “Leading and Learning: Metacognition as a Tool for Improving Student Success,” Youki Terada believes that self-assessment “can close a gap that some students experience between how prepared they feel for a test and how prepared they actually are.” While testing is not my ultimate goal, I believe it shapes a learner’s brain by accurately assessing and identifying his/her strengths and weaknesses. Then, this helps the learners make goals while learning.
Category Archives: Language and Lingustics
Reading Comprehension: Read All About It!
With the start of the school year around the corner, I always love to research new teaching strategies and skills I can incorporate into my classroom for the following year. My main research focus this year is how to increase comprehension within the classroom environment.
Below, are some of the best resources I have found for teachers and parents when it comes to understanding the word “comprehension” and how we can best support our children.
- At a basic level, providing graphic organizers can help students organize their thoughts and questions. I prefer graphic organizers with lines since spacing can be an issue for a lot of students.
- Students should make connections with the text. Simple prompts such as “What does this remind you of?” “Has something like this ever happen to you before?” can help students connect the dots and remember more details after they are done reading a passage.
- Students need to make a habit of asking more questions as they read. This helps create a purpose for reading as well as an interest. I do something in my classroom called “Stop and Ask”. After one paragraph, students need to generate a question about what they just read. This helps a lot of students reread the passage and create discussion.
- Students also need to dissect what type of question is being asked of them. According to reading rockets, there are four different types of questions. Please see the image below.
- Lastly, students should feel your excitement about reading. Decoding and comprehending texts is hard, and teachers and parents need to be constant cheerleaders. We should model out loud how we want our children to approach literature by stopping, asking questions, visualizing, and making connections with the text.
Here are some additional resources for further research:
*http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/comprehension
*http://www.benchmarkeducation.com/best-practices-library/comprehension-strategies.html
Four different types of questions: (courtesy of reading rockets)
The History of Autism (A Summary)
Autism was official discovered 60 years ago. Although still puzzling to many, professionals are learning more about autism everyday.
Some facts:
- Early accounts of individuals with autism are unclear
- The concept and definition of autism has greatly changed over the years
- Socio-political views as well as treatment available has evolved and continues to grow
- Symptoms may have been confused with schizophrenia in the past
Timeline:
- 1960s-Michael Rutter’s comparative study comparing the features of autism
- 1960s-1970s: Kolvin distinguished autism from schizophrenia
- 1970-Hermelin and O’Connor explored the “savant”
- 1971- first association of autism as a specific medical condition (Stella Chess was the first to discover that autism can be associated with a neurological disease)
- 1975- US Developmental Disability Act included individuals with autism
- 1981- Lorna Wing’s seminal paper discusses Asperger’s Syndrome
- 2000-Gillberg added to the knowledge of epidemiology, genetics, and clinical management
Early Accounts/History Records:
- Book: Autism in History by Rob Houston (discusses the legal case of Uta Frith’s analysis of Hugh Blair in 1747)
- The story of Victor “the wild boy of Aveyron” in 1798 with Jean Itard
- Paper: Observations on Madness and Melancholy chapter entitled “Cases on insane children” by John Haslam (discusses a boy with characteristics of autism published in 1809)
- Book: The Pathology of the Mind chapter entitled “The insanity of early life” by Henry Maudsley (discusses a 13 year boy who shares similar characteristics of an individuals with Aspergers in 1879)
- Ssucharewa’s account of six children in Germany during 1926
- Hans Aspergers’s account of four children in 1949
- Lorna Wing’s seminal paper in 1981
Outdated Ideas/Theories
- Autism is caused by bad parenting
- Autism is among the group of schizophrenia (we now know that autism is a developmental disorder rather than a psychosis)
- Autism is secondary to language disorders
Interesting Facts:
- Over 50% of children with autism are taking drugs/vitamins in the US (not the case in the UK)
Journals:
- The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (started in 1971 by Kanner and Chess)
- Focus on Autism and other Developmental Disabilities (started in 1985)
- The International Autism Research Review (started in 1987)
- International Journal of Research and Practice (started in 1997)
- Good Autism Practice (started in 2001)
Current Books to Read:
- “Pretending to be Normal” by Liane Willey
- “Growing up Severely Autistic” by Kate Rankins
- “An Inside View Of Autism” by Temple Grandin
- “Freaks, Geeks, and Aspergers Syndrome” by Luke Jackson
Reference:
Wolff, S. (2004). The history of autism. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 13(4), 201-8. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1007/s00787-004-0363-5
Introducing the First Nonverbal, Autistic Talk Show Host
The world has been watching Carly Fleischmann, and her viewers have just increased by becoming the first nonverbal, autistic talk show host. Carly speaks through her I-pad and communicates with others with the help of technology. After many hours spent with her therapists and supportive family growing up, Carly has found a way to communicate with the world.
Her first interview —with the famous Channing Tatum —-gave viewers a good laugh as she asked questions that could make some feel uncomfortable. Her sense of humor, love, and youthful energy comes alive through the interview. I am excited to see the other guests she invites to her show in the future.
For now, be sure to watch Speechless –the newest talk show featuring the one and only –Carly Fleischmann!
Introduction:
First Interview: Channing Tatum
Teaching Social Skills: The ILAUGH model
Social skills do not come naturally to most individuals on the autism spectrum. Many individuals with autism are categorized by their difficulties with language and peer interactions. Since individuals with autism need to be explicitly taught social skills that come naturally to others, it is important for professionals and families to consider the elements of social cognition when developing effective social skills programs for individuals with autism of all ages.
Social cognition includes components that include but are not limited to: initiating communication, listening actively with eyes and brain, abstract and inferential thinking, understanding perspectives, getting the gist, humor and human relatedness. These elements affect social and academic growth since most people with social cognitive delays experience difficulties with auditory comprehension. Since listening requires an individual to make sense of the information, many individuals with autism have a hard time integrating the information being said. In addition, most individuals with autism take what is being said literally, when in reality, much of language is meant to be interpreted beyond its literal meaning. The intended meaning can be too abstract for an individual with autism to initially understand.
Social thinking, in addition, depends on people considering the thoughts, emotions, beliefs, motives, intentions, and personalities of others. This can be very difficult for a person with autism since many individuals struggle understanding the perspective of others. This can cause problems in and out of the classroom since individuals may misread the intentions of others, which then causes them to respond in a way that was not expected by the original speaker. Individuals with autism may not know if someone is joking, making fun of them, or is trying to get them to laugh. Failure to see the bigger picture and to understand the intentions of another can cause an individual with autism to misread the situation and intention of the conversation. While we do know that individuals with autism can have a sense of humor, it may be expressed differently than their peers which can create a sense of isolation and loneliness that can develop into depression later on it life.
The ILAUGH model of social cognition was created to address the growing social needs of individuals with autism and to create an acronym that easily identified the elements listed above (initiations, listening, abstract thinking, understanding perspective, getting the gist, and humor/human relatedness). It was created since researchers found that as individuals with autism aged, they experienced difficulty to “think with their eyes”. This resulted in poor listening skills and difficulties in taking the perspective of others. Because of this, a lot of individuals with autism have a hard time understanding abstract information, making relevant inferences, finding the main idea, and problems summarizing. These deficients create problems socially and academically.
Some interventions that can address these difficulties include the use of: social stories, comic strip conversations, social behavior mapping, the incredible 5 point scale (to help students identify their anxiety), and understanding the zones of regulation. By incorporating social skills into the general curriculum, these skills can be reinforced through the student’s core content areas.
The ILAUGH model explains what social cognitive functioning is and how it impacts individuals with autism socially and academically. Realizing that social skills span and develop across a life time, it is essential for professionals and parents to understand the special attention needed to address various social learning weaknesses. Classroom curricula should address these needs as teachers engage in meaningful relationship with their students. Through this relationship and special attention to teaching social skills, individuals with autism may increase in their ability to relate to others over time.
Symbols and Signs
While touring Germany, Italy, and Spain, I was highly interested in the symbols each country used to signify basic street information. Here in the states, there has been much debate about if the Accessible Icon is legal since it has not been officially adopted as the symbol of access by the DOT or DOJ. While almost everyone will agree that the symbol represents movement, some argue that a new symbol is not needed or can cause confusion. Since I am now interested in exploring the different symbols that exist, I took pictures of the different symbols I came across while traveling.
Accessible Icon Updates:
- DOJ (Department of Justice) verbal approval of the icon during the National ADA Symposium. Read here (May 2015)
- New York State announcement of a slow phasing in of the symbol. Read here (August 2014)
- New Jersey bill in progress. Read here ( September 2014)
Seeing the world through a lens of Signs and Symbols
How a new International Symbol of Access can change the way we see individuals with disabilities
Background
The Accessible Icon Project is an international project that has collected a lot of informal data through the many conversations, presentations, and emails received from people around the world. This research initiative is one of the first formal methods of obtaining specific information about the types of words people associate with the International Symbol of Access (original ‘handicapped’ sign) and the Accessible Icon (new symbol created by Sara Hendren, Brian Glenney, and Tim Ferguson-Sauder). The two surveys used in this study asked participants to compare the current International Symbol of Access to the Accessible Icon. The first survey asked participants a series of questions regarding the words they would use to describe both images. The second survey asked different participants to rank a collection of 18 words from most positive to negative.
Survey 1: (Screen shots of the survey are found in paper)
At the beginning of the survey, participants were shown a picture of the original International Symbol of Access (ISA) and were asked two opened ended questions: 1. What do you see? 2. What words do you attach to the image above? On a new page, participants were shown the Accessible Icon and were asked the same two questions. Participants responded to the symbols in historical order.
Participants were then shown the original ISA and were asked to choose from a list of 20 pre-selected words to describe the image. Participants were given the following words: Abled, Active, Determined, Disabled, Engaged, Handicapped, Human, Life-less, Mobile, Motivated, Movement, Moving-Forward, Parking, Passive, Ready-for-action Robotic, Slow, Static, Stiff, and Symbol.
Survey 2:
The second survey asked participants to rank the 18 words given in the first survey from most positive (1) to most negative (18). Participants from survey 1 did not participate in survey 2. Additionally, survey 2 participants did not know survey 1 existed.
Findings
More positive language is associated to words describing the Accessible Icon. Out of the top ten words linked to the Accessible Icon, all 10 were listed as the most positive in the comparative scale. The only word that described both the Accessible Icon and International Symbol of Access was the word “symbol”, which was ranked 10 out of 18. I analyze symbol as a neutral word since it is ranked in the middle of the positive and negative scale. Not one person associated the words: passive, static, slow, and lifeless (which was ranked the most negative) to the Accessible Icon.
The original ISA was described with the words that were found to be the most negative. 52 people identified the ISA with the word disabled and 40 people identified the ISA with the word lifeless. Not one positively ranked word was mentioned in the top ten words associated with the original ISA.
Please read the full paper by clicking on the blue link above.
Speech and Language Difficulties
Hello all,
In one of my classes, I was asked to put together a presentation on various speech and language difficulties. The powerpoint below shares basic facts about speech impairments as well as tips for classroom teachers working with students with various disorders.
This Speech and Language Difficulties powerpoint highlights how teachers must be sensitive to those with language difficulties and how it is not safe for teachers to randomly and unknowingly to the child ask certain students to read out loud. This act can cause some students extreme anxiety and result in them not paying attention since they are constantly trying to read ahead to be prepared for the callout.
A lot of the tips included in the powerpoint come from my personal experience. Growing up, I went out for speech and felt very uncomfortable reading out loud since I could not articulate certain words. Instead of paying attention, I would constantly read ahead and ask my neighbor for help with words I did not know. This anxiety of being called on or reading out loud happened during round robin and anytime I knew the teacher was going to call on somebody to read.
While I know some teachers believe it is good practice for students to read out loud, teachers must understand how this makes some students feel. For one, I was not a shy student and loved interacting and performing in front of my peers; however, reading out loud was uncomfortable since all my attention went to articulating the words instead of comprehending what the text was actually saying. Although some teachers feel round robin and random picking help students pay attention, this did the opposite for me. My attention went to trying to predict when I would be called on and went to asking my neighbor words I did not know. I would literally sit there and skim the passage to ensure I knew how to say all the words that were written since I did not want to be embarrassed.
In addition, I hated how I was always forced to miss class. I was a student who hated to miss what was going on and did not per say enjoy the pull out. Although I am now thankful for the services and for all the help I received, I do understand how it can be uncomfortable for some students. I am not sure how to avoid this, but I do think it is important for teachers to keep in mind that every student sometimes pulled out of their class does not necessarily want to miss out on class time.
In conclusion, be sensitive to all students who have different learning needs and talk to the student if you feel they may be experiencing the same discomfort I felt in some of my classes growing up.
Best,
Teachertalk4all
Phonics Lesson: welded -all and bonus letters (s,f,l)
I started a new practicum and am now responsible for teaching phonics to three different groups of kindergartners. In our school, we use the two reading programs for K and 1st: Fundations and Lively Letters. These programs guide our whole and small group instruction. Below is a lesson plan I created that focuses on students practicing the welded sound –all and words that incorporate the bonus letters: s, f, and l. As you will read, the lesson is extremely detailed and incorporates three different activities that allow students to practice these skills. Throughout the lesson, I continually describe how I am checking for student understanding and emphasize the different modifications I made to adjust to students’ needs. At the bottom of this lesson, I included pictures of the games I created.
Lesson Title: Fundations-a focus on the Welded Sound -all and Words that use the Bonus Letter Rules
Essential Understanding: Students will practice reading words with the welded sound –all and words that incorporate the bonus letters: s, f, and l.
Student Learning Objective(s):
-Students will be able to identify words that use the bonus letter rule (f, l, s) in every activity listed below. -Students will be able to recognize words that have the welded sound –all in the Don’t’ Get Buzz Game, Popcorn Game, and “The Big Mess” reading. -Students will be able to read words with the welded sound –all and words that use the bonus letters: f, l, and s. |
Materials necessary for today’s lesson:
For Students | For Teacher |
Pencils | Fundation Cards (set), Popcorn game with sentence strips, Don’t Get Stung game with popsicle stick words, The Big Mess Reading |
Academic Vocabulary:
-Bonus Letters: added to the end of the word that ends in f, l, and s when the vowel is short -Welded Sound/Glued: All, is not one sound, it is two. The second l is silent. |
THE LEARNING ACTIVITY
Motivational and Review Procedures (the “hook”):
1. Review of Fundation Cards (3 to 4 minutes)
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Procedures to Accomplish Objectives:
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Closing Procedures:
How do we know when a word needs a bonus letter? Why do we need to pay careful attention to trick words? Summary Statement: Wrap Up Today we practiced reading words with the welded sound –all and words that use the bonus letter rule (f, l, and s). We will continue to identify words with these components in texts we read together. |
Framework Standard(s):
MA.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
MA.3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
MA.4. Fluency (The Big Mess Story and the Sentence Strips in the Popcorn Game)
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Teaching Techniques:
–Direct Instruction: Help with tapping out the words and reading words, Help with attention and having students get back on task –Collaborative: Popcorn Game, Don’t Get Stung Game, Review of Fundation Cards, Reading “The Big Mess” together as a group |
Learning Considerations:
Improving access to learning for all students (Hint: Consider UDL Principles) | Associated Accommodations(s)/Modification(s)(Supports and Challenges) |
Multiple Means of Representation
Multiple Means of Expression
Multiple Means of Engagement
1-2 most important factors for improving access to learning for all students Consider UDL and academic vocabulary
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Modifications for students who need additional support: A. Content:
B. Behavior:
C. For students who need to be challenged:
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EVALUATION- The Assessment Plan:
I will assess student understanding…. | |
Formative | During the lesson plan by:
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Summative | At the end of the learning opportunity by:
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The c/k spelling rule
I learned a great spelling trick today about c/k rule. The rules is as follows: k takes i and e while c takes the other three vowels: a, o, u.
To help students remember, point out that the k, which is made with a straight line, goes with the two vowels made with a straight line: i and e. As the document shows above, a triangle (a shape made with straight lines) surrounds the three straight-made letters to reinforce this concept. When introducing the c rule, show students how c is made with a curved line. Allow students to trace their finger around the curve. Then show the three vowels: a, o, and u. Point out how these letters are all curved as well. Have students draw a circle around the three letters to reinforce that c, a curved letter, takes the other three curved letters: a, o, and u. Tricks like these are helpful for students who have trouble memorizing basic spelling rules and facts.