Pasco+-+Laura

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Three questions that began a new thought process for me was the special education teacher has suggested that I use red for all of the vowels when I put words on my Word Wall. She says it will help my students with disabilities learn the vowel patterns and improve their spelling, I recently saw software that would let me put a picture, like a rebus symbol, with every word in the materials we use. How can I use that software to support my student with disabilities, and Won’t using a computer for writing keep my students from learning to write with a pencil. It was interesting the reasoning behind not using red on the word wall. It makes sense to not use red so kids will examine word structures themselves and be able to identify spelling patterns themselves. I was surprised to read that pairing the picture with the words could take away from the student learning the words paired with the picture and that it will take their attention away from the print. The use of computers for writing question was interesting because it makes sense that if the student understands how important it is for the audience to read what they have written, it will help them progress more rapidly.
 * Week 1**

The book was written for educators to teach students with a broad range of disabilities to read and write and access the general curriculum. The Four Block Literacy Framework was also created to support professionals that are in the field of assistive technology.
 * Week 2**

10 AT Strategies 1. BIGmack 2. Acrylic eye gaze frame 3. Color-coded word wall 4. Adjustable easel 5. Hook and Loop Tape 6. Mouse House 7. Raised line paper 8. Step-by-step communication device 9. Triangular pencil grip 10. Talking word processor for the computer
 * Week 3**

The sample day lesson had a lot of materials created to assist the students with disabilities be successful during the day. One benefit was collaboration between school personnel.
 * Week 4**

Mini-lessons are so important in the Self-Selecting reading process because it can expose children to books and build a lifelong interest in reading. An example of a mini-lesson that can be used for: A mini-lesson for selecting- bringing a few books for individual “blessings” during conferences A mini-lesson for reading- Give students a choice of several books that are on CD provided by RFBD and have them sit and listen to the story being read. A mini-lesson for sharing- modeling how to use story structure guides to prompt book discussions
 * Week 5**

1. Inspiration- Students can utilize templates to help organize what students want to say about a particular book.- [] 2. ReadPlease- the computer reads aloud Internet sites and digital texts- [] 3. Starfall- Model how to manipulate animations and talking text options in the stories- [|www.starfall.com] 4. WriteOut:Loud- Model how to cut and paste a digital text into a talking word processor- [] 5. BookWorm- A tool for integrating students with severe disabilities into partner reading experience- [|www.ablenetinc.com] 6. Bookshare- A service offering access to digital text for individuals with disabilities- [] 7. My Own Bookshelf- Software you can utilize to provide support for independent readers that struggle- [] 8. Joe Rickerson’s Accessible Book Collection and Benetech’s Bookshare-Digital book collections for students with disabilities- [] and [] 9. The Belevedere-Tiburon Library in California –Offers links to more than 100 children’s books on CD and thousands of books on tape- [] 10. Scholastic’s Interactive Clifford’s storybook- Provides Interactive texts for multiple levels- []
 * Week 6**

Conferencing is so important with students with disabilities because it gives students one-on-one time to allow students to pick out books that fit their interests and abilities. Conferencing also allows students to be taught how to ask and answer questions. Teachers during conferencing can find out why students pick certain books as their favorites.
 * Week 7**


 * Week 8**

1. Taking a picture walk- Take out a book and look through the book at the pictures and discuss what you see. An example would be to take out a book and look through it with the student and discussing the story as you flip through the pages.

2. Building and accessing prior knowledge- This is when the teacher ties in the child's past experiences, prior knowledge, to what they are teaching. Using pictures the student is familiar with is a way to access prior knowledge.

3. Starting a graphic organizer- The teacher can use visual representations of a student's background knowledge and add new information after they have read. K-W-L is an example of a graphic organizer.

4. Developing vocabulary essential for comprehension- It is important as you introduce new vocabulary, that you connect it with the student's prior vocabulary. Model the use of the vocabulary. Encourage students to relate the new vocabulary to any words they already know. An example would be to for the teacher to write two words on the board and have the students think of all the words they could relate to the two words.


 * Week 9**

Choral- All of the children read the text at the same time.

Echo- The teacher or another trained adult reads a line and the child reads the line back.

Shared- The children and the teacher share in repeated readings of a book, the teacher gradually gives the children more and more control over the reading.

Partner Reading- Children with disabilities are carefully paired with supportive partners who read more of the text than they might in other partnerships. Students with disabilities are responsible for reading a few words and then their partner chimes in.


 * After reading strategies**

1. K-W-L Charts- It is a three column format that guides children to identify what they know about the topic, what they want to know, and and what they have learned.

2. Predictions- When teachers have students guess what they think they are going to learn or what they think the book is about.

3. Graphic Organizers- Are visual representations of information that can be for supporting memory, understanding, and communication.

4. Acting out the Story- Students act out the story by memorizing lines, make or find costumes, and construct sets. The goal of acting out the story is a means to support comprehension.


 * Week 10**

Emergent Writing- This is when students are beginning to write by making marks or their paper or phonetically spelling words. Students may also use pictures.

The “Write” Stuff- Technology that can assist students with writing that have physical and/or cognitive difficulties. An example would be a labeler.

Simple Adaptations- Simple devices that help students to write. This includes pencil grips. Other adaptations are pencil and paper variations such as Magna Doodle, portable chalkboards, miniature white boards, blank boards, typewriters, magic markers, paintbrushes, crayons, etc.

Writing/Revising/Editing/Publishing- Revision allows for repetition. It allows teachers to help students expand on their thoughts, explore word choice, and practice their use of writing technologies. Publishing allows the student to share their writing with other students.

Writing for Real Reasons- The teacher makes sure that the student is clear about why they are engaged in the writing activity. This is accomplished through applying skills taught in min-lessons immediately and repeatedly and for a wide variety of authentic audiences.


 * Week 11**