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The Spring 2007 special education contest is completed! Congratulations
to ten lucky winners. In this round, the prizes are:
5 Grand Prize Winner: One Olympus Digital Camera
($500), and $300 in Tool Factory Software!
5 Second Place Prizes: $200 in Tool Factory
Software.
Below are the grant applications of our five Grand Prize Winners!
Click here to see the applications from the runner-up finalists!
Register at Digital Wish to enter 43 different
grant opportunities!
Digital Wish
Score: 5.00 out of 5.00
Debbie Sheppard
Lugoff Elementary School, 994 Ridgeway Road Lugoff, SC 29078
Idioms Galore!
I teach a self-contained classroom with students who are deaf
and/or hard of hearing. My students range from K to 3rd grade.
Literacy is the main focus of my program.
Since Deaf/h.h students do not usually hear speech; they do not
learn language strucures from hearing them again and again like
a normal hearing child would. Since they don't hear words, they
often form visual and literal pictures in their minds when something
is signed to them. For example, if a mom told a normal hearing
child, "It's time to take a bath", the child automatically knows
that a bath will follow that phrase. For a deaf child, who cannot
hear those words (Mom might sign: "It's time to take a bath".
The deaf child would likely put a visual and literal image in
his/her mind of someone perhaps moving a bathtub, hence, "taking
a bath"! The child may know that "take" means to move something
and that a "bath" is washing in a tub.
Without unlocking the meaning of these common idioms for deaf/h.h.
students it is almost impossible for them to become literate.
If one were to look at any reader published for lower elementary
students, one would likey find several idioms on every page. For
example, look at the idioms used for one word "run" :
I'll run to the store.I have a run in my hose. He will run for
office. I'll probably run into you later. The water is running.
In my present program, each student has an idiom notebook. Each
week, the students illustrate some of the idioms that are in their
reading story. They basically draw a picture to illustrate the
meanings. This is sometimes effective and soemtimes not (depending
on their drawing ability and their ability to understand my explaination
without visuals.) Since this area of language is so very crucial
to literacy for Deaf/h.h students, I want to utilize the awards
of this grant to improve my instruction in this area; that of
reading and writing idioms.
Use of Award and Implementation:
Instead of having students simply draw pictures to illustrate
idioms, I want my students to become totally engaged in reading
and writing idioms within the context of multiple activities:
1. The students will continue to investigate idioms as they appear
in their reading selection each week.
2. Students will initially search for the specific idiom in the
Idiom Track software and complete activities for that idiom.
3. If the idiom does not exist on the Idiom Track software, students
will create their own pictures to be imported to the Idiom Track
program. The students will actually take pictures with the digital
camera. The students will work together to set up the pictures.
For example, the idiom: "leave the book at the door" One student
will put a book at the door; while another student takes the picture.
A deaf child, otherwise, might think that the book is leaving
(as in going away)! The purpose of this activity is to create
an ever-growing bank of idioms that the students can coninue to
access and check meanings.
4. It would be reasonable for the students to investigate and
illustrate meanings (take pictures) of about 3 idioms per week.
The teacher/grantee can then use The Tool Factory Word Processor
to reinforce previously learned idioms and further practice with
the reading and writing of idioms. The teacher would import "idiom
pictures" created by the students at an earlier time into The
Tool Factory Word Processor program. Then the teacher can create
interactive worksheets using the Word Processor and the digital
pictures. The teacher could create many different formats: Ex.
matching idiom with picture; matching idiom used in a sentence
with picture; or give students fill in the blank format based
on the digital picture given.
5.Lastly, and also used as an evaluative tool, I would have students
pick a few "idiom pictures" imported into the Tool Factory Word
Processor program and have students write a paragraph using those
particular idioms. This activity would require the student, not
only to understand the meaning of the idiom, but also to write
creatively using it in a paragraph.
Expected Outcomes: I expect my students to make a years worth
of progress in reading comprehension within a years time, using
a formal reading assessment to measure each child's progress.
Score: 5.00 out of 5.00
Jennifer Morrison
Beaty Warren Middle School, 23rd. Ave. East Warren PA 16365
Thanksgiving Feast
The Life Skills class, which averages about 10 students, begins
planning for the dinner by mid-October. Under the direction of
the special education teachers and classroom aides, the students
decide who to invite, develop a menu, find recipes, make grocery
lists and begin to shop at the local grocery store. The students
make placemats, decorations, signs and a place card for each guest.
This homemade meal is made with caring hands peeling potatoes,
cutting bread for stuffing, making pie crust from scratch, and
much, much more.
When the first Life Skills Support class began this adventure
10 years ago, no one ever would have expected it to touch so many
lives. Students and parents from the past recall stories of Thanksgiving
feast and how those experiences carried over to the home. Some
parents have even stopped the teachers in the community and thanked
them for the “change” that they’ve seen in their children. Some
report more help at home, others are thrilled that their child
now will try new foods (even sweet potatoes and cooked carrots).
The students become more confident in using the kitchen and are
better prepared for following recipes and directions. The students
also have much more patience in waiting for food to be prepared,
especially after having personally peeled and cooked 20 pounds
of potatoes! Another plus for parents is that the students all
actively participate in hand washing the dishes…ALL the dishes
from preparation to clean-up after the dinner, so there are no
excuses at home.
Other teachers in the building stop by the LSS classroom daily
to check on the progress of the meal (and maybe to try to sneak
a taste). Homemade applesauce and apple pies are high on the list
of favorite smells during the week before the big day. Then there
is the turkey. At least 3 turkeys in large roasters fill the halls
with enough aroma to make the collective stomach of the student
body growl in anticipation. The Life Skills students can’t stop
smiling as they transport the crock pots of stuffing, corn pudding,
mashed potatoes, gravy, hot applesauce, sweet potatoes, squash,
and homemade breads to the buffet tables.
The students burst with pride when their loved ones enter the
school music room to find the smell of turkey wafting throughout.
For many of them, the grand dinner that they prepare at school
is the only Thanksgiving feast they will enjoy. Hard work and
perseverance finally are rewarded on that day when the students
share their excitement with the classroom teachers, school principals,
district superintendent, special education supervisors, parents,
grandparents, agency representatives and community volunteers.
Each year the students exceed everyone’s expectations by preparing
such a professional, delicious, homemade banquet. The personal
touches of artwork on individual placemats and place cards added
by the students bring ownership and pride for all involved.
Each student demonstrates the skills that are part of their Individualized
Education Plans including behavior, social skills, personal care,
and daily living tasks. From sending invitations to greeting guests,
the students actively engage in positive social interactions.
They participate in group activities focused on preparation of
the Thanksgiving meal which hone their ability to work with peers
and adults in a real-life setting which begins to prepare them
for future employment. The students also are given individual
responsibilities such as organizing ingredients, cutting food
with adaptive equipment, counting out silverware, and various
other duties essential to the success of the dinner.
We feel that our Thanksgiving feast is an outstanding opportunity
for the students to have hands-on experiences that could be enhanced
by the Olympus Special Education grant. The students would benefit
from the access to functional technology that can be provided
through Tool Factory software. With the Olympus grant we will
again plan this wonderful feast in an effort to incorporate real
life experiences into our Life Skills classroom. With the addition
of Tool Factory software and Olympus digital camera, we aspire
to integrate the technology gained through the Thanksgiving event
into other projects and activities throughout the school year.
The following sequence of activities will be implemented:
1 - the students will use TOOL FACTORY WORKSHOP to create a list
of family, faculty and staff who will be invited to the feast;
2 – the students will take various pictures related for the fall
season using DIGITAL CAMERAS;
3 – the students will then work cooperatively with regular education
students to create individual invitations using TOOL FACTORY DATABASE
and downloading the pictures from the DIGITAL CAMERAS;
4 – the students will make a grocery list of items needed to
purchase at the store on TOOL FACTORY SPREADSHEET. This spreadsheet
will help organize and will be easily used by the students to
check off the purchases as the place them in the cart at the grocery
store. The TOOL FACTORY SPREADSHEET will also help the students
calculate the total prices of items in order to stay in with their
budget;
5 – the students will use the DIGITAL CAMERAS to take pictures
of the individual food items and create visual recipes using CLIP
ART STATION;
6 - the pictures of the food items that were taken with the DIGITAL
CAMERAS will also be use to make a picture schedule/timeline of
events on TOOL FACTORY WORKSHOP that will be used to help organize
the order in which the food will be prepared and projects produced;
7 – the students will use TOOL FACTORY WORKSHOP and CLIP ART
STATION to make place cards for each individual attending the
feast;
8 - the students will make placemats using fall pictures they
will take using the DIGITAL CAMERA, download them to TOOL FACTORY
WORKSHOP, them print and have them laminated;
9 - the students will work with the school Yearbook Staff to
create a page for the yearbook using the pictures that will be
taken of students preparing the meal and on the day of the feast
using the DIGITAL CAMERAS.
Score: 5.00 out of 5.00
Natalie Oatts
Caldwell County Primary School, 1000 Marion Road. Princeton,
KY. 42445
Operation DIBELS Benchmark
My Story: The heat is on! I’m feeling pressured. Last summer,
our Reading Coach looked me in the eye and said “I want all kindergarteners
at benchmark by the end of the year.” This really freaked me out.
I tried my best, but some of my students didn’t reach that goal.
Our focus now is towards next school year.
I teach at Caldwell County Primary School, a Reading First School
in Princeton, KY. We are committed to teaching reading; each day
we have two hours of uninterrupted instruction. I teach special
ed. at the kindergarten level. I love my job! I look forward to
going to school every day. I have taught for 8 and a half years
and have worked with students with a wide range of disabilities
including Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism, Cerebral Palsy,
Developmental Delay, Down Syndrome, Emotional Behavior Disorder,
Mild Mental Disorder, Specific Learning Disability, Speech-Language
Delay and Visual Impairments. I love my students! My greatest
joy is watching them learn, grow and succeed.
I try my best to make my classroom a warm and inviting place
where all kids like to come and learn (pictures are on my website-
www.caldwell.k12.ky.us/natalieoatts.htm). I collaborate with other
teachers and regularly have their students visiting my class to
play hands-on fun and engaging activities on the SMARTboard. We
play literacy PowerPoint games like Jeopardy, Who Wants to Learn
About Reading (Millionaire), Caldwell County Squares, Weakest
Link, The Reading Chain or play a reading game from the Internet
(some sites are listed on my website); while focusing on letter
identification, letter sounds, beginning sounds, ending sounds,
blending, segmenting and word identification. I am devoted to
getting everyone involved, building on his or her skills, knowledge
and confidence.
When I heard about the Tool Factory Software available in this
grant, I got excited about thinking about the impact and gains
that will come with consistent implementation of the Reading First
aligned software. For approximate $300, Tool Factory Phonics 1,
Alphabet Track, Sound Activities, Phoneme Track, and Sound Stories
are the software programs I will employ in “Operation DIBELS Benchmark.”
My goal is to increase Dynamic Indicator Basic Early Literacy
Skills (DIBELS) test scores to ensure students success in reading.
My Project: All kindergarteners at benchmark by the end of the
school year. All of our kindergarteners are assessed for reading
at the beginning of the year and grouped by like needs (9 classes).
My students have the most needs, and nearly all of them fall in
the bottom 3 or 4 classes. Collaborating with all of their teachers
is vitally important to their success. Using Palm Pilots and the
DIBELS Benchmark book, we all assess our students for benchmark
status three times a year (beginning, middle and end of year).
Using DIBELS, we assess students on Letter Naming Fluency (LNF),
Initial Sound Fluency (ISF), Phonemic Segmentation Fluency (PSF)
and Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF). Students are then assessed using
Palm Pilots and DIBELS Progress Monitoring book through out the
year to assess how close they are to benchmark. My students struggle
the most with these tests and need all the help they can get.
DIBELS progress can be viewed and monitored on www.mclassreading.com.
Once the students are assessed at the beginning of the year. All
students who score at the intensive (deficit) level will be identified
and added to a schedule wherein students receive one-on-one intervention
as well as time-on-computer in which students perform an activity
from various Tool Factory software programs. Each day the students
will perform an activity from a different literacy program. Student
progress will be monitored through weekly DIBELS assessment and
on 4 of the 5 selected software programs (one doesn’t have monitoring
options).
On Mondays, the Tool Factory Phonics 1 software will be utilized
to help address Letter Naming, Initial Sound Fluency and Nonsense
Word Fluency portion of DIBELS. I love how letters and sounds
are focused on through 3 sequential activities for every sound.
Each week the students are challenged to focus on a particular
letter sound. This program will help address phonics and phonemic
awareness.
On Tuesdays, the Alphabet Track will be used to promote letter
identification (LNF). This program helps students learn letter
names and practice arranging letters in alphabetical order. The
eight engaging activities allow the students to work at their
own pace: practicing letters order, identifying the letter when
its’ name is heard, matching letters, etc. The alphabet arc is
great reinforcement for the alphabet arc mats used in their regular
classroom. This software records student progress and allows teachers
to choose from three difficulty level to fit student needs.
On Wednesdays, the Sound Activities program will be utilized
all four portions of DIBELS- LNF, ISF, PSF and NWF. The four appealing
activities of the program are designed to support literacy skills
of letter identification, letter recognition, listening skills,
phonological awareness (initial sound), sound correspondence,
segmenting and blending. The program permits teachers to select
letters and digraphs used in activities, while keeping track of
student progress.
On Thursdays, the Phoneme Track, software encourages student
confidence in phonemic awareness while supporting PSF and NWF.
Students hear phonemes in words and see the written representation.
They practice phoneme manipulation (substitution & deletion),
segmentation and blending. Teachers control difficulty levels
and track student records. This program will help students’ gain
critical literacy skills.
On Fridays, the Sound Stories program will thrill students with
thirty intriguing storybooks involving listening and spelling
activities focusing on letters and diagraphs improving ISF, LNF
& NWF. Skills center on letter identification, letter sounds,
initial sounds, the decoding and spelling of words. This software
provides a systematic approach to phonics in which teachers can
customize the program for student needs and keep a record of their
progress.
The students who score within the intensive range on DIBELS will
also be given the assignment of a “Beginning Sounds Portfolio”
for each letter of the alphabet (targeting LNF, ISF and NWF).
The students will be use the digital camera to survey the school
for beginning letter sounds. Either their teacher or paraprofessional
will guide the students in using the digital camera to take their
photographs. The students’ pictures are then downloaded to their
file on the server. When the students are ready, their pictures
are printed out and given to them to sort out for letter sound
correspondences. Students arrange their pictures on pages writing
capital and lowercase letters for each beginning sound. The students
then arrange their pages in alphabetical order and place in a
binder. The students’ portfolios are then placed in their classroom
libraries for others to share. Along the way, some of the students’
pictures will be used in PowerPoint presentations working on letter
recognition, beginning sounds, ending sounds, rhyme, sequencing
and positioning. The students will be delighted to find their
pictures being used by their teacher. The digital camera will
also be used to celebrate and commemorate student success throughout
the year.
My expected outcome of this project is success. When the students
are assessed for DIBELS in May of 2008, all students will score
Benchmark status on all subtests given. In addition, we will have
a significant amount of data through DIBELS progress monitoring
and software records to demonstrate student growth and advancement.
We will be building on literacy foundations insuring life long
learners. Our students will gain confidence, knowledge and skills
to succeed the following year in 1st Grade.
Score: 4.88 out of 5.00
Diana Whitlock
Vinson Middle School, 3851 Piedmont Road Huntington WV 25704
Expressions through Technology
We use pictures. We speak using pictures. We understand the world
around us using pictures. We use pictures to communicate. We have
autism.
I am the voice for my middle school students with autism who
are also impaired by moderate to severe mental retardation. Our
cognitive functioning ranges from 1 year old to 4th grade. With
60% of my self-contained class being non-verbal, photographs and
pictures are extremely important for daily living.
My students use pictures and/or photographs for not only communication
but also other life skills such as learning about their environment,
how they fit into their environment and transitioning from one
environment to another. Pictures also prepare them for what will
happen next in order to reduce frustration levels and prevent
behavior issues.
A great deal of my time is spent taking pictures of everything
from pencils to bathroom doors, even to steps for washing dishes.
Everything must be presented in the form of visual representations
and each task, academic, or life skill, must be broken down into
steps, which means a lot of photographs! Then, the wait time and
cost of developing photos reduces the effectiveness of learning.
If we had an Olympus digital camera, my students would directly
and immediately benefit and increase their learning. It would
help us in every aspect of our day. We could label students’ belongings
(desk, chair, assistive communication device, etc.) with photo
and name. Photos would be used in daily visual schedules to teach
students the school day routine and aide in the preparation of
transitioning from one environment to another. We could take pictures
of everything we need to gather in our backpack to go home at
the end of the day as a visual check-off list. It would also improve
our communication by taking photos for our Picture Exchange Communication
system. In this system, pictures of real and personal objects,
preferences, places, and tasks of relevance would enhance and
personalize each student’s mode of communication to convey his/her
needs, feelings, and choices.
The Autism Bundle, Life Skills, and Visual Discrimination programs
offered by Tool Factory would also bring learning to a new level
for my students with autism. They absolutely love working on the
computer, but we are very limited to what we can access without
paying annual subscriptions or expensive software programs. I
have learned how advanced one student was in problem solving and
I know he would excel using Tool Factory’s What’s the Time Mr.
Wolf? and Sequences. I also discovered another student’s unique
ability and interest in art and creativity; she would love Tool
Factory’s Factory Beep! Another student is motivated by music
and computer time so I know First Class Music and Musical Leaps
and Bounds would be a fabulous motivational tool for learning.
And, since we work on life skills and social skills daily, Idiom
Track, Tough It Transport and Smart Alex would help each of us
in these important areas to understand life situations and emotions
without the current stress of role modeling scenarios.
In conclusion, the Olympus digital camera would increase my
time and energy with my students reducing the time and expense
spent searching for similar pictures of relevance, photographing,
and waiting and paying for film developing. This grant would ultimately
maximize my time spent with my students and I could be a much
more effective teacher with the appropriate tools that would allow
me to be efficient. The Autism Bundle, Life Skills, and Visual
Discrimination programs from Tool Factory would help my students
discover and develop hidden interests, talents and abilities in
areas of academics, communication, life skills, problem-solving,
music appreciation, art and social skills that are all necessary
to foster independence and motivate learning. What a grand difference
this grant would make in my life as a special needs teacher and
the lives of students with autism! Thank you in advance for your
time and consideration.
Score: 4.88 out of 5.00
Laura Giovanetti
Cooperative Educational Services, 25 Oakview Dr. Trumbull CT
06611
Bam! Let's Kick It Up a Notch! We're Ready to Read!
Many people believe that individuals with autism cannot learn
how to read. They may think that reading is too complicated and
requires high levels of language and cognitive ability that individuals
with autism simply do not possess. Well our students are here
to prove them wrong! Here at Cooperative Educational Services
we have approximately 100 preK-5 students who have a diagnosis
of autism. Many of these students are non-verbal meaning verbal
language is not their primary means of communicating. So how do
we know if they can read?? We also have students who are verbal
but are hyperlexic, meaning they have the ability to decode words
well above their age and grade level but they don’t comprehend
what they are reading. How do we help them understand what they
are reading???
This award will help our teachers “Kick it up a Notch!” by continuing
to expand our in school project started in the Fall of 2005 called
Literacy Resources for Students on the Autism Spectrum. Using
the On Track Reading series we will be able to continue to teach
our preK-5 students who have varying levels of ability to improve
their reading abilities through a variety of programs. Our littlest
students ages 3-5 need lots of practice with visual attention
so the Eye Track program will help with visual perception and
discrimination. Some of our students are just learning their alphabet
and love learning about letters and words on the computer. They
have a favorite website that they use and I would love to show
them the Alphabet Track software that can help them learn their
letters in a fun way! Some of our students have begun to understand
the concepts of phonemic awareness. Since they have difficulty
learning in the more traditional ways through worksheets and group
read alouds, the Phoneme Track program and the Spell Track program
will be great additions to what they practice in their classrooms.
One of the most challenging pieces of teaching reading to student
with autism is moving from the single word to the sentence. The
Word Track program will provide great practice in developing that
skill for them.
One of the more functional ways that we have taught students
with autism to read is through the use of thematic units and social
stories. Our thematic units incorporate all subject areas for
learning including math, science and literacy. We make theme specific
books using digital pictures and simplified text. Our favorite
book this year was Take Me Out to the Ball Game! Our staff and
students spend a lot of time creating these books and printing
them out to send home for reading practice. The Tool Factory Word
processor along with a digital camera will continue to open up
opportunities for making these themed books. We would like to
“Kick It up a Notch” and give our students access to the camera
and help them create their own themed books with the easy to use
Tool Factory Word processor.
One of our most recent discoveries about our students with autism
is that they love to write! We have begun journaling time with
all off our students no matter what their age. Some just scribble
on a page, some draw simple drawings while others write sentences.
The Tool Factory Word Processor and access to a digital camera
with help the students “Kick it up a Notch! Bam!
All of our students have specific goals they we hope for them
to achieve each year. We take data on those goals 8 times per
year. Through the use of the Tool Factory software as supplemental
instructional material we hope that our students with autism will
achieve and exceed our anticipated goals for them for reading!
Read the applications
of the five runner-up finalists.
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