Past projects 9
Pumped and Prepping for Primary Pals!
Funded Sep 29, 2023It cannot be overstated how helpful these items have been this year. As I said before, this is an exceptionally large class of 1st graders, each requiring different supports and services to be successful.
Many of our 1st graders receive Occupational Therapy services for sensory needs, including self-regulation. It is unknown if some of these deficits are due to the children being young during COVID and having limited social opportunities, but many lack social, self-regulation, and self-awareness skills. In addition, many struggle with knowing how to be learners, including expectations of how to be a student. These sensory tools help us to teach our early learners how to regulate.
These tools have also been helpful in the general education setting. Teachers have been thankful to have access to these tools, and have reported positive outcomes as a result of students accessing these tools in the general education setting. Often, we teach how to use the tools for self-regulation in small group so that they may be used effectively in the general education setting. Some examples of tools that have been shared between settings include the weighted snake, stress balls as fidgets, tactile sensory stickers, and the stretchy strings. Students also really love the fidget slug.
We have also shared academic tools like rekenreks, finger highlighters, and number lines. While classroom teachers do have similar tools, these are so nice and such a treat! Students enjoy using them because they feel special. Like with social emotional tools, we practice using these academic tools in a small group setting in order to build independence using them when the small group teacher isn't present.
Even something seemingly small like the velcro has allowed me to create token boards for students who require reminders of class rules and, if rules are followed, the students earn reinforcement. We are fortunate to have one 1st grader in particular with a physical impairment, and the velcro has come in so handy. We use the velcro to hold items onto her power chair, including tools created by the Assistive Technology team, which allow the student to better access her education.
Though it has only been a couple of months since the school year started, with intensive interventions, consistent expectations, and holding students accountable, we are already seeing so much growth. Thank you so much for giving us access to these materials. Not only is my special education teaching team thankful to have them, but the general education teachers are thankful as well.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Slaughter
This classroom project was brought to life by Windows of Hope Foundation.Rewarding Struggling Learners for Their Hard Work!
Funded Aug 16, 2023When students come to small groups to receive specially designed instruction in literacy, math, writing, and social-emotional learning, we know that we are pushing them to work hard doing something that is difficult for them. No student is the same. Some are thankful for the opportunity to grow their skills in a safe space. Others need more extrinsic motivation. But all students enjoy the prize box!
In the way that all students work on different IEP goals, all students must earn different numbers of stamps on their cards before taking a trip to the prize box. Some students require more frequent reinforcement; others may go longer before earning their reward. The common thread for all students, though, is that all must complete work in order to earn their stamp. There are photos attached of examples of different cards for different students, each with different stamp numbers required.
When it comes to the prize box, is important for all students to have something they enjoy from which to choose- otherwise, the prize box loses its effectiveness! After having this project funded, students were so excited to see the soccer spinning balls, the shoe charms, the shoe charm bracelets for those who don't have shoes for the charms, and the animal erasers.
Another hit this year have been the scented bookmarks! I gave one to each student to use in their novels when we do novel studies in reading group. Students loved them! It is so nice to see them excited about something that involves reading, which again, is something that is really difficult for them!
Similarly, the rainbow pencils have been a treat, as we use them for editing our writing or correcting workbook pages. It gives them something special to use to make those tasks more enjoyable.
We are all so, so thankful for your generous donation.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Slaughter
This classroom project was brought to life by The SONIC Foundation and 3 other donors.Make Core Math Accessible!
Funded May 11, 2023As I have started planning for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade math groups this year, it is so helpful and such a relief to have access to the Eureka Math/Engage NY digital resources. Using these worksheets, which are aligned to each module students are doing in their general education classroom, will allow us time to practice grade-level math skills at a modified pace (and with fewer problems on a page!) so that when students return to their classrooms, they can feel successful and able to access general education curriculum.
We have gotten positive reviews from students who agree that this format makes general education grade level standards more accessible and scaffolds previously-learned material. The combination of these worksheets with supplemental IEP goal-aligned materials will be great for our students this year as we work to close the gap with our students' math skills.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Slaughter
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and one other donor.Supplementing Grade Level Curriculum with Engaging Novels!
Funded May 11, 2023A curriculum planning project I started last year which has continued to this year is not only working on IEP goals in small group, but also taking time to pre-teach and re-teach core content. This is a new approach to small group instruction at my school, and it takes a lot of planning to coordinate across all grade levels, but the feedback I got from general education teachers was overwhelmingly positive. They reported that when we cover core content in small group, students return to class feeling confident and eager to participate. These novel studies are a huge part of that confidence!
Our 5th graders do a unit on the Maya, Inca, and Aztec people; Late Lunch with Llamas is such a fun way for them to learn more about Machu Picchu and the importance of llamas living in the Andes mountains. It was a fun, accessible way for them to enhance the learning they're already getting in their general education classrooms while also learning about narrative text features like setting, characters, conflict, plot (rising action, climax, falling action), and resolution.
Our 4th graders loved Revolutionary War on Wednesday. With a Lexile level of 490, it is in most 4th graders' instructional reading level, meaning that the teacher can read aloud and they are able to follow along. It isn't quite at their independent level (yet), and that is perfect for a guided reading book selection!
Having high interest texts that are accessible via read aloud and group discussions are a valuable addition to the content we cover in small groups. Due to the reading level of most of our students, this looks like the teacher reading the text aloud, but then posing comprehension questions for the group to discuss together. These activities are often what allow students to feel successful when they take their Accelerated Reader quizzes at the conclusion of the novel study. Students who struggle to comprehend what they're reading benefit from additional discussion and written activities to help them remember what they've read. These discussions also allow students to make their learning "sticky" and make connections to their own lives and backgrounds.
This coming school year, I'm excited to introduce new texts, such as Warriors in Winter for the 3rd graders' unit on Rome. Every year, it is fun to see a new group of students get excited to read engaging text which is also aligned to their core academics. Knowing how these students struggle to access text, it makes me so happy to think of how excited they are to be able to read these books. They cannot wait!
We are so thankful for your generous donation, allowing students the ability to physically hold and turn pages of age-appropriate novels! I am excited to be able to use these texts for upcoming classes and students for years to come!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Slaughter
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 3 other donors.Growing Students' Love of Reading Through Novel Studies
Funded Oct 14, 2022One project I've been working on this school year is creating a pacing guide across all grades and all content areas. As a component of this project, I have been trying to align novels to ELA content, so that we can reinforce grade-appropriate skills and grade level standards within the small group resource setting. The Magic Tree House books selected for this project, including Viking Ships at Sunrise, The Knight at Dawn, and Tonight on the Titanic each align to a grade level unit. Third grade learns about Vikings, and fourth grade learns about the middle ages (knights) and the Titanic. Magic Tree House is a high-interest way those students can get additional exposure to that grade level content. So far this year, fourth graders read the MTH book about the middle ages and they loved it! It was a fun, accessible way for them to enhance the learning they're already getting in their general education classrooms while also learning about narrative text features like setting, characters, conflict, plot (rising action, climax, falling action), and resolution. Currently, our third grade group is reading Viking Ships at Sunrise, which is a unit they will begin in February. Fourth grade will start Tonight on the Titanic in February, which will align to their 4th grade informational writing performance task. Using these resources, we are able to preteach so that hopefully, when they hear the information again in their gen ed classes, they'll say, "Oh! I already know this!"
Having high interest texts that are accessible via read aloud and group discussions are a valuable addition to the content we cover in small groups. Due to the reading level of most of our students, this looks like the teacher reading the text aloud, but then posing comprehension questions for the group to discuss together. These activities are often what allow students to feel successful when they take their Accelerated Reader quizzes at the conclusion of the novel study. Students who struggle to comprehend what they're reading benefit from additional discussion and written activities to help them remember what they've read. These discussions also allow students to make their learning "sticky" and make connections to their own lives and backgrounds.
In this pacing guide, I allow for 3-4 novel studies per year. The Tale of Despereaux and Wonder are to be read by 5th grade over 2nd and 3rd trimester, and Escape from Mr. Limoncello's Library is planned to be read by 4th grade during 2nd trimester. We typically read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing with the 4th graders in the spring. The 4th and 5th graders we have in group know this is coming, and they are so excited to read these books! They are especially excited since so many young adult fiction novels have movies based on them! Students are very excited to read Wonder and Escape from Mr. Limoncello's library because they knew the books had been turned into movies. I made them promise to wait until they had read the books before watching the movies!
Also, since we now have group sets of these novels, I am looking forward to having a group schedule of which books to read by grade level. Then 2nd graders will know which books they have to look forward to reading in 3rd grade; 3rd graders will know which books they have to look forward to reading in 4th grade, and on and on. Our students thrive on predictability and are excited by access to texts. When I opened the cabinet so that they could see all of the books we have now, their faces lit up! I told them they'll have new books to read from now until they leave us to go to middle school!
Knowing how these students struggle to access text, it makes me so happy to think of how excited they are to be able to read these books. They cannot wait!
We are so thankful for your generous donation, allowing students the ability to physically hold and turn pages of age-appropriate novels! I am excited to be able to use these texts for upcoming classes and students for years to come!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Slaughter
This classroom project was brought to life by Windows of Hope Foundation and 3 other donors.Self-Soothing Strategies for Students With Special Needs
Funded Nov 8, 2022These tools have been SO helpful for students! What's amazing is that students I knew they would benefit are only a handful of the students who have wanted to use them!
At our school-wide assemblies in December, one for the "Husky Pride" assembly and another for a holiday sing-along, students requested to wear the headphones. This allowed them the opportunity to stay in the assembly though they are typically loud, sensory overload experiences for them. In small group, students are rushing to be first to arrive, so that they can access the wobble seat, vibrating pillow, weighted lap blanket, or weighted snake.
What's most amazing is that students are using these tools appropriately! They come to group, ask if they can use it, pick it up off of the cart, get a pencil from the cup, and sit at the table, ready to work. In that way, these tools are just that: tools. They are not being misused or used as distractions. Students also share them! They may say, "__, when you are finished with the weighted snake, could I use it?"
Students who may have never identified themselves as kids who would benefit from self-soothing tools have been given an opportunity to try them and see what may work for them. This happens in a safe, non-stigmatized space with other students who also appreciate and benefit from the tools. It gives students the opportunity to experiment with these tools and how they can aid in self-soothing while learning, and then students also have the opportunity to use them in their general education classrooms or in an assembly setting when they may feel overwhelmed.
Another student who struggles with hyperactivity LOVES the weighted vest. He especially likes wearing it when he does his heavy work activities. I have talked with his Occupational Therapist, who was so excited to have access to these resources for our shared students. She is supportive of him wearing the weighted vest and we were able to collaborate on what types of activities would be most helpful for him to engage in while wearing the vest for maximum input.
Thank you, thank you for giving my students access to these self-soothing tools! I've even had a parent ask how she can get a weighted lap pad for her daughter to use at home due to her daughter saying how much she loves it! The self-soothing tools students are learning to use now will help them to use these skills independently (hopefully!) for the rest of their lives. The only problem is that now I need more resources to cover the demand... but this is a great problem to have!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Slaughter
Growing Students' Love of Reading Through Novel Studies
Funded Oct 3, 2022One instructional project I've been working on this school year is creating a pacing guide across all grades and all content areas. As a component of this project, I have been trying to align novels to ELA content, so that we can reinforce grade-appropriate skills and grade level standards within the small group resource setting.
Having high interest texts that are accessible via read aloud and group discussions are a valuable addition to the content we cover in small groups. I am so thankful for the flexibility to be able to read and discuss age-appropriate novels with our elementary students. The benefit of being a special educator is that I am able to plan instruction based on student need, aligned to their IEP goals. With this flexibility, I am able to be intentional not only about the texts we read, but also be intentional about how I teach and reinforce grade level standards.
Another issue that these novel studies address that I didn't even consider when I wrote the project is that some students spend so much time in small group that they miss independent reading time. When students miss independent reading time, that takes away opportunities for them to take and pass Accelerated Reader (AR) tests. These tests are a way for students to show that they comprehended what they were reading when they read independently, and there are AR tests for all levels of books. One 4th grade student in particular was worried that she wasn't able to earn stickers for passing AR tests- a general education class incentive. By taking time in small group to do a novel study, not only do students benefit from talking through text components like theme, setting, and characters, but now they also have the opportunity to access taking AR quizzes just like their general education peers– AND pass them!
One 5th grade small group read The BFG around Halloween. Since the book talks about scary giants, it was a fun thematic fit. Reading that book was so much fun; the 5th graders loved talking about characters, emotions, experiences, and environments while also introducing vocabulary. In fact, after we finished the book, students were asked to rate the book on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being did not like the book at all and 5 being it was the best book they'd ever read. Four of five students gave it a 5! Those ratings made me feel good too, because it confirmed for me that they enjoyed the book I selected for them.
The teacher guide is very helpful because it allowed me to meaningfully lead a discussion with minimal preparation. When we prepare for 5-8 groups daily, any time we can save with material preparation is helpful!
Another 5th grade small group read Because of Winn Dixie, and they loved it! They took turns reading aloud and discussing characters, vocabulary, and plot features, which aligned to their grade level standard of learning about narratives. These students all experienced success with their AR tests: each student passed! General education teachers were equally excited!
Dragon Masters and Charlotte's Web are both on the planning/pacing guide to be read by 3rd grade and address grade level standards such as ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding using text evidence; Recount stories; determine the central message, lesson or moral of the text; escribe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events, and
determine the main idea with supporting details and explains how they support the main idea.
We are so thankful for your generous donation, allowing students the ability to physically hold and turn pages of age-appropriate novels! I am excited to be able to use these texts for upcoming classes and students for years to come!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Slaughter
This classroom project was brought to life by Windows of Hope Foundation and one other donor.Rewarding Struggling Learners for Their Hard Work!
Funded Oct 3, 2022I can't begin to tell you how much students have enjoyed earning these prizes. All students work toward a different number of stamps, depending on the number of small groups they have. When they are in the small group setting, we target skills they struggle with most across content areas, including writing, reading, and math. For students to earn a small token after completing work or struggling through a difficult task shows them that we see them and recognize their hard work. The water bottle stickers, mochis, and scented ice cream cones have been big hits!
The golf pencils (with erasers!) were so popular, I ended up offering them as a daily alternative to typical yellow pencils. Often, students comment that they like the way the smaller pencils feel in their hands, or that the smaller pencils are easier to control than a larger one. So while it was my intention to offer those pencils as reinforcers, it has worked out that everyone benefits from having them as an alternative to our typical writing utensils!
My paraeducators were also very thankful for all of the treats! Typically, we buy things when we find them and think students would like them, but I've always felt bad that my paras would need to spend their own money to buy these reinforcers for our students. The paras were so excited and thankful when we divided up these prizes. They knew how much students would want to work for these items.
Since we've received these new additions for the prize boxes, students have started negotiating how they can receive stamps faster, which is adorable. They ask if they work extra hard or do extra work if they could earn an additional stamp to be able to go to the prize box sooner.
We are so thankful for your generosity. While of course our goal is always for students to work hard for intrinsic rewards, I do think there is still value in small tokens, especially for our young students who work so hard daily despite their disabilities.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Slaughter
This classroom project was brought to life by Windows of Hope Foundation and 3 other donors.Self-Regulation and Sensory Strategies for Student Success!
Funded Sep 3, 2022The resources provided have been so helpful in teaching coping skills and prosocial behaviors. They have been used across various settings, including small group instruction, in the general education environment, and for 1:1 de-escalation.
Students who qualify for special education services for social emotional or behavior receive small group instruction. These small groups are when we explicitly teach prosocial behaviors. We talk with students about how to make and keep friends, how to identify and regulate emotions, impulse control, effective communication, empathy, and cooperation. We also teach coping strategies. In order to teach these skills, we need resources! Instructional resources provided through this project, including the Spot of Emotion books, the Social Skills Activities for Special Children book, the "My Day Is Ruined," and the "What Should Danny Do?" book allow us to explicitly teach social skills to those students through daily 20-30 minute lessons. These skills must be taught when students are functioning at baseline.
In the general education setting, after receiving instruction in small groups, students put these skills to work. In the event of an escalation or needing a break, we work together to create small "break bags" or "break boxes" that students may use. Students pick 3 items at a time and they rotate the items for novelty. These break boxes should have fun and exciting fidget resources included! Items provided through this project, including the theraputty, bubblers, and stringy balls are all items students enjoy using for their 5-10 minute breaks. Additionally, students who struggle to maintain attention in a general education setting are given bouncy bands to attach to their chairs as a "fidget" for their feet. This is another tool to support students' self-regulation.
Sometimes, students struggle and require a 1:1 setting for de-escalation. If students come to my room for de-escalation, we fill out a reflection sheet together. On this sheet, we talk about what happened, what alternate actions could or should have been taken, and then we talk about a coping strategy that would have been more effective. Working through these situations can be stressful, frustrating, or uncomfortable for students. Having items like a weighted lap pad, the activity cube, the marble maze mat, and theraputty available are helpful for students to access during those conversations.
The resources provided through this project, even just in the first month and a half of school, have already been so helpful. I am so thankful for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Slaughter