I wanted to give you an idea of what I'm doing with my groups this first week back to school.
Here's what my lessons have been covering this week:
5 Minute Artic 1:1 Sessions:
We've been talking about summer (i.e. collected conversational baseline data on their targets) and also reading The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle. I found this freebie on TPT for sequencing so we'll be doing that once we've finished reading it: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Very-Lonely-Firefly-991038 Right now, I'm taking data on productions while reading, answering questions, and conversation. Once we've finished, we'll sequence the events of the story and I'll have the students retell it using their best speech.
Speech & Language Groups:
We've been reviewing rules, procedures, and routines of the classroom. Then, we're having fun getting to know one another! I found these great (FREE) "getting to know you" cards on TPT (http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Quiz-Quiz-Trade-Beginning-of-the-Year-Activity-1273409). The questions are easy enough for even my language-impaired kindergartners to answer! I'm trying out Kagan Structures in my room this year and these cards were perfect for that! Here's how I did it (completely ignored the directions that came with it):
1. I gave each of the kids a number (1-4) written on an index card.
2. I asked one of the questions from the packet and gave some think time (3-5 seconds).
3. I spun a spinner (numbered 1-4). If it landed on number 3, number 3 went first. If it landed on number 2, number 2 went first (etc.).
4. They were getting a little antsy by this time so when it was their turn to answer the question, I had them stand up. Get the blood flowing!
5. We did a RoundRobin, so every one had a chance to answer the same questions and we all learned a bit about one another! I answered the questions too! They all thought it was funny that I was 31 years old!
We did that until our 30 minutes was up and I heard no complaints!
Autism Classroom:
We've been reviewing school supply vocabulary with this fun freebie on TPT: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Whats-In-My-Backpack-Adapted-Book-for-SPED-FREEBIE-1356100
I brought in a backpack from home and filling the backpack with actual school supplies and pictures as well. We've been answering function questions (What school supply do you use for writing?), following oral and written directions (put the X in the backpack, put the X under the backpack), answering "where" questions with and without PECS visuals (positional PECS), answering objective Y/N questions (Is there a pencil in my backpack?), asking questions (Do you have scissors in your backpack?), and using possessives (What's in John's backpack?). I love bringing in actual objects paired with pictures and drawings to help these students generalize skills across settings. Tomorrow, I'm taking this group on a scavenger hunt around the classroom to find various school supplies. You can grab a copy of my scavenger hunt for school supplies here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Scavenger-Hunt-for-School-Supplies-1402132
I'm excited to be back with my students! I love my job!
