Pasco+-+Kim

**Week 1 Reflection**
The three questions that started a new thought process were; if students who haven’t learned to identify letters or developed concepts about print should be included, using picture software and using red for the vowels on the word wall. It has been my understanding that handwriting should begin after the student could identify the letters, but the reasons presented in the answer made sense and offered another perspective. Additionally, many teachers use software to insert picture representation to text to assist in the reading process. Again, the ideas and suggestions in the answer had a different perspective on this idea. I was surprised to read that children will learn words more quickly when not paired with pictures. Lastly, many teachers use the practice of “color coding” parts of a word to make it more understandable for the student, but as an adult reader, I never realized how distracting this “help could be for a student who is trying to master reading.

**Week 2 Reflection**
The authors wrote this book to offer support to general educators who are using the Four-Blocks Framework in their classroom in supporting students with disabilities. It’s also designed so the special educator can have more success in teaching their students to read and write. The book will discuss how to incorporate assistive technology into the classroom and how to adapt the Four-Blocks Framework to meet the needs of all students in all settings. This introduction briefly touched on some assistive technology which could assist in achieving this goal.

**Week 3 Reflection**
BigMAC Eyegaze frame Step-by-Step communication device Word prediction software Adjustable easel Triangular pencil grip Raised line paper Talking word processor Switch (switch scanning) Multi message communication device (CheapTalk 4) “mouse house” Adapted books for the computer

**Week 4 Reflection**
A self contained setting where the exceptionalities are varied presents the teacher with many different challenges. It is obvious from reading the sample day in the classroom that there has to be lots of preparation by the teacher to make the day go smoothly. For example, the books all need to be adapted, communication devices need to be programmed with the vocabulary needed for the weekly reading and communication boards need to be created for the individual students. It seems from reading the sample that this teacher has a lot of assistance from PT, OT and SLP staff in implementing instruction in the classroom and creating these materials. I am unsure if this support exists today in our school settings. Thus the task, many times, becomes too overwhelming and less effective accommodations are used such as asking the student "yes/no" questions only. I could list many benefits but the one that I was most impressed by was collecting remnants to connect new learning to previous learning experiences.

**Week 5 Reflection**
Mini lessons are important in the self selected reading process because for many students with disabilities this is the first opportunity they have had to select readings for themselves. For those of us that have been readers all our lives that may seem like a simple task but for students with disabilities it can become overwhelming. Mini lesson for selecting; have students make advertisements for a book they have read to sell the book to other students Mini lesson for reading; read books of interest by category on Tarheelreader.com Mini lesson for sharing; use index cards with important parts of the story to sequence the story once it has been read aloud

**Week 6 Reflection**
Edmark's Make a Story website - has the option of animated illustrations and the ability to modify the storyline (www.riverdeep.net/language_arts/edmark_lang_arts/MakeAStory.html) Starfall - interactive texts on multiple levels (www.starfall.com) Clifford's storybook website - interactive texts. (http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/index.htm) Eduscape's electronic books and online reading - interactive online books (http://.eduscapes.com/tap/topic93/htm) Internet Public Library's Kidspace - interactive online books www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/) Accessible book collection - Children's digital book collection (www.accessiblebookcollection.org) Bookshare.org - digital texts for adults and young teens (www.bookshare.org) My Own Bookshelf - Aloows the user to make digital text with pictures, movie and sound (www.softtouch.com) Read:OutLoud - used to create electronic texts (www.donjohnston.com) PowerPoint - used to make create electronic texts (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857971033.aspx)

**Week 7 Reflection**
Conferencing about reading is important to students with disabilities because many students struggle with the concept of reading and many times it is an undesirable activity. I believe that taking an interest in making reading fun, accessible and enjoyable will engage the student more fully in the reading process. Conferencing also;
 * Helps students find books that meet their interest an abilities
 * Allows the teacher to gather informal reading rate information
 * Allows the teacher to encourage and guide independent reading
 * Helps the student and teacher explore technology supported reading strategies
 * Allows the teacher to gather informal assessment data

**Week 8 Reflection**

 * Making connections to personal experience** - prior to reading a selection, engage the students in conversations in cooperative groups about experiences they have had that would be related to the story topic. For students with disabilities, it may be necessary to talk with the family to assess if they have had prior experiences and possibly the family could send in pictures or objects to help the student remember.
 * Vocabulary development** - create a vocabulary book that instead of definitions has synonyms or pictures that describe the words. this will help the child with disabilities put a picture to a word or connect an already known word to the new vocabulary word.
 * Graphic Organizers** - Have the student add to the graphic organizer in words, drawn pictures or pictures cut out a a magazine after each reading session. this way the information just presented can be added instantly and not forgotten.
 * Setting Purpose** - Kids always like to know why they need to learn things and when they will need it again. Tying the reading to others areas studied in class, or to real life situations makes the students feel like there is a connection between the things they read and the other things they study. This will also help them build there background knowledge and understanding of the concepts the reading covers.

**Week 9 Reflection**

 * Choral Reading** - All the children read the text at the same time.
 * Echo Reading** - A teacher or adult reads a line and the child reads the line back.
 * Shared Reading** - Children and teacher share in repeated readings of a book and teacher gradually gives children more and more control.
 * Partner Reading** - Children are paired up with supportive partners. The partner (who may be an adult at first) will read most of the text, while the other student reads words he/she are more familiar with, or repeating words. It is important to focus on the students assigned to partner reading.


 * After Reading Strategies**
 * K-W-L** - Prior to the reading the students fill in the chart about what they know and /what they want to know about the selected reading. After the reading the students go back to the chart and fill in what they have learned. It is a nice way in the beginning to build background knowledge for all teh students so they start on an even playing field and a nice way to set areas or topics for them to focus on during the reading. In the learned column, you can be sure that all key points and concepts have been learned.
 * Acting out the Story** Have the students perform a play or skit to tell the class a summary of the story. Can be as simple as a few students getting in front of the class and as elaborate as constructing sets and having costumes.
 * Predictions** - Prior to reading a selection, the students write down predictions about what they think they will learn from the selection based on the title, pictures etc.. After the selection is read the students as a group go back to these predictions and see if what they thought they were going to learn is what they really did learn.
 * Graphic Organizers** - this is a great way to organize events that occured in the book, or to dissect characters in a story. There are many different graphic organizers available. Be sure to choose the one that best organizes the information you want the children to know. A great website for interactive graphic organizers is http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm.

Week 10 Reflection

 * Emergent writing** is the term used for learning to use the written form of language in useful situations. It means that children begin to understand that writing is a form of communication and that the marks they make on their paper can convey a message.
 * The "Write Stuff** refers to teachers and therapists seeking out technologies and supports for reducing the physical and cognitive difficulties that they have with their writing so they can focus on communicating meaning.
 * Simple Adaptations** refers to finding easy, non-expensive adaptations to make to the pencil, pen or paper to assist the child in the writing process. Some of these adaptations may also serve to motivate the student about the writing process.
 * Writing/Revising/Editing and Publishing** allows the student the repetition he/she needs to successfully convey the message. Revision allows the teacher to help students expand on their thoughts and look at word choice. This step allows the teacher to help the child express the message he/she intended.
 * Writing for Real Reasons** allows the student to connect their writing thoughts to real situations, which enables them to focus more on word choice, while trying to convey their own message.