Concept Confessions - Tacky & the Winter Games

Three snow days later . . . and I have been able to get a lot of things organized and cleaned up!

One of the things I spent time on, was an Olympic activity. Tacky is a infamous elementary character that many kids are familiar with and love to read about. This story, Tacky and the Winter Games, brings the Olympics into the discussion. I have been wanting to create some adapted reading materials to demonstrate comprehension for my students with multiple or significant disabilities. This is my attempt with a traditional trade book - as I have created some supplemental materials for content specific learning and I have created my own text or used resources like TarHeel Reader or Boardmaker Share.

Anyway, here is peek at Tacky and the resources that compliment the book . . .

So, at the beginning of the story, the penguins are training and preparing for the games

 

... and as you can see, Tacky is always up to something a little different!

Team Nice Icy Land marches at the opening ceremonies and the Olympic torch is lit. 

The games begin ...

Tacky gets in a little trouble . . . 

    and his team struggles to find a way to keep Tacky in line and show their skills.

By the end of the book, you can imagine that somehow, Team Nice Icy Land gets things to work and they are able to compete with the HELP of Tacky!

Check out the materials I made to go with this . . . you can get your hands on a copy over at TpT for $2.00!

Two versions of this "story element" board, depending on the skill level of the student. The answer cards are the same pictures as the second board - so students would be able to match the pictures.

I work on WHO, WHERE and WHAT questions a lot with my students. I tend to connect it with functional questions - for example, "Who is going to P.E. with you?" 

Again, two versions of this sequencing activity. One version of the picture cards are numbered, so some students will work on placing the cards in order. Other students might work on ordering the pictures by ordering the numbers 1-4. Finally, other students will work on ordering the pictures. Make sure you teach the skill of looking back at the story for this! My students have made such progress by flipping through the book and matching the scene - starting at the beginning and working through the story.

Here is a board to work on topic (main idea) and theme. I have three blanks on the board, but you could offer only two choices, depending of the ability of the student. Theme can be difficult - so this will be a challenge or extension activity for many of my students. 

I am excited to use this and will make changes as I go . . . but wanted to get it out while the Winter Olympics are current!

While I was working on this, I saw lots of advertisements for the iTunes App.

I have not purchased this nor have I looked closely at what it offers, but it did say it reads the story aloud and highlights some key words. 

Animal Adaptations or Bust

My fifth graders are starting work on biomes, ecosystems and animal adaptations. I developed a biome packet for students with significant cognitive disabilities . . . over at TpT. I also created a Farm unit to focus on food chains and animal resources. But the topic of animal adaptations was untouched. I was stretching myself - trying to think how to make this relevant for my two students who require extensive modifications to the curriculum. Every year, I go back and forth with myself . . . one of those philosophical struggles you have with yourself . . . how should I utilize the instructional time I have with these students. Hitting all of the curricular standards spelled out in the Extended Standards does provide these students access to the general education curriculum. It does hold all teachers more accountable to expose ALL students to this rich content and material. It does allow for more opportunities for "inclusive" teaching that is connected to peers' work and topics. BUT . . . I still think life skills need a place. I want to make sure my students can hang up their coats, follow a visual schedule to brush their teeth, find the specials classes in the building and identify their teachers, as well as many other skills not directly listed in the Extended Standards. I can stretch some of the standards to include some of these skills, but you catch my drift . . . I am talking about the basic skills - grooming, bathrooming, eating, greeting, even walking and sitting and requesting . . . the list goes on and on. These real life skills are SOOOOO important.
I am a huge advocate for balance . . . hit all of this and make the teaching meaningful. Embed these basic life skills within the curriculum. And I do believe that most of the time I can manage this . . . with a lot of planning, creating, searching & borrowing and resourcing. But, I get stuck once in awhile ...

Here's some of the wording:
Most Complex: 
LS.35.1a Describe how an animal’s
behavior helps it to survive (e.g., a cat will
stalk its prey so it can go undetected in the
hunt).
LS.35.2a List two or more survival
behaviors that parents teach their offspring.

Middle Complexity: 
LS.35.1b Given a physical trait, match the
trait to its specific function (e.g., birds have
wings to fly).
LS.35.2b Recognize one survival behavior a
parent teaches his or her offspring.

Least Complex:
LS.35.1c Match animal babies to their
parents.
LS.35.2c Identify a survival behavior.

To think through all of this and plan for how to meet each student at his or her learning level, well, it's hard!
I know many of you are out there trying to do it every week  - planning and prepare your lessons, your "stuff" - buying, making, borrowing.
Here are a couple things I made to go with some books I have access to . . . hoping to hit some of these ideas. I am posting them here, hoping some others can get use.

        

LLI book The Baby Animals - here are some activities for reading the book AND a animal baby/parent match (ABOVE)

Reading A-Z book Legs, Wings & Fins - two sorting activities (identify animals with wings and animals with fins) (ABOVE)

And, for those of you that made it all the way down here . . . I am posting my Farm Fun Unit - Extended Standards free - just download from google docs for a limited time! Hope it helps!

This freebie is no longer available - you can purchase at Teachers Pay Teachers.

                      

Forgot Your Password?!?

Have you forgotten your password? 

Tried passwords you have ALWAYS used in the past? 

Been stuck resetting your password ... over and over?

Do you have WAY TOO MANY passwords to remember? 

Sometime in the past year, I saw these really cute username/password cards that you could put on a ring and keep close at hand . . . but of course I didn't "pin" it or "tweet" it or "bookmark" it or "anything!"  So, now that I want to get organized and use them, I am stuck making my own :( 

Lucky for you, here they are, download these cards, before you pass them by and can't find them again!

You may not need all the exact ones I made, but there are some blanks at the bottom for you to personalize.

Hope they help you stay organized and may there be less resetting of passwords this year!

WARNING: I have to say this, you should not write down some of your personal passwords - banking, credit cards, etc, - I did make some cards for those but BE CAREFUL. Maybe you have a locked cabinet or desk . . . just a friendly reminder.

Clever Conclusions

I am preparing my plans for the return to school after Winter Break . . . 

I really need to hit some inferential comprehension skills in my small group reading, so I am starting with Drawing Conclusions. Now, my students have been exposed to this within their general education classroom, but I really need to break down these higher level thinking skills. So, I am starting with a GAME - high student interest, hands-on practice and ease into the school routine :)

Many of you have probably played this game or some version of it, but I wanted some directions, ideas and student forms all in one place - so here you go - CLEVER CONCLUSIONS!

Direction Page:

Student Form: