Noise Ball Activity - Kristin Dibler

Despite what some may think, people with visual impairments can enjoy recreational activities, such as playing toss, basketball, softball, dodgeball, etc.

You can purchase a "beeper ball", or make your own "noise ball". To make your own, you just need to purchase a ball (select the ball that is most appropriate to the activity you will be doing), deflate the ball, add bells to the inside, and then re-inflate the ball.

Now let's try playing a game of toss, with a "noise ball", and with goggles that depict various visual impairments.

.... This is an example of an expanded core curriculum activity that requires both an auditory and a kinesthetic approach.

Mat Man

I use Handwriting without Tears with my preschoolers (and my own kids for that matter) and my favorite part of that program is Mat Man.  I love that there is a song that goes with Mat Man.   Handwriting without tears is a multisensory based program that teaches children handwriting.  It starts with pre-writing skills.  Mat Man helps kids not only learn how to draw a person but also helps them recognize body parts.

This is to the tune of "The Bear Went over The Mountain"

Mat Man has one head one head one head, Mat Man has one head, so that he can think

Mat Man has 2 eyes, 2 eyes, 2 eyes, Mat Man has 2 eyes so that he can see

Mat Man has 1 nose, 1 nose, 1 nose, Mat Man has 1 nose so that he can smell

Mat Man has 1 mouth, 1 mouth, 1 mouth, Mat Man has 1 mouth so that he can eat

Mat Man has 2 ears, 2 ears, 2 ears, Mat Man has 2 ears so that he can hear

Mat Man has 1 body, 1 body, 1 body, Mat Man has 1 body to hold what is inside

Mat Man has 2 arms, 2 arms, 2 arms, Mat Man has 2 arms so that he can reach

Mat Man has 2 hands, 2 hands, 2 hands, Mat Man has 2 hands so that he can clap

Mat man has 2 legs, 2 legs, 2 legs, Mat man has 2 legs so that he can stand

Mat Man has 2 feet, 2 feet, 2 feet, Mat Man has 2 feet so that he can walk

After building Mat Man, I ask my students to draw him.  I love it when I hear them singing Mat Man as they draw him!

An Example of a Multi-sensory Lesson

This lesson demonstrates how a multi-sensory approach can be used to teach a single lesson.  Pay attention to the beginning because the students are singing a song as they transition to sitting in a circle for the math activity.  The children clearly have been instructed how and when to respond to their teacher.

Combining Art, Music, and Movement

This is likely an activity that is geared more towards the preschool age student or early elementary student.  However I suppose that variations could be made to use it with older students.

I love this activity to combines art, music, and movement.  It is a musical chairs game with the use of art. This a great way to not only teach students about different art concepts such as texture and concept but also allow students to move and burn some energy!  This version does not eliminate a player, which is great for allowing students to work together as a team.

During the winter months I love to pull several students together for a social skills group to build Frosty the Snowman.  I hand out the parts of Frosty and we sing a song to build Frosty.  If you are familiar with the song Mat Man (to the tune of the bear went over the Mountain), I typically sing the song as "Frosty has one nose, one nose, one nose, Frosty has one nose so that he can freeze".  I end every verse with so that he can freeze.  I hand out the parts of Frosty to different students.  As they build Frosty, they need to request the items from another student.  It allows them to work together and they often love singing the song.

Ball toss for engaging in group activity --Sue Bank

Using a ball toss with a few students provides movement when eliciting responses as a group.  This method allows for turn-taking and teamwork.  It can be used with students of all ages.

For example, when teaching a problem-solving process I like to have my high school students come up with a problem in need of solving.  Rather than asking individuals to answer, we start with a prompt such as "One day when I was in (name a place), I realized that I didn't have my (name something I needed) and that if I showed up without it, I would (name a consequence)."

Each time someone answers, they would toss the ball to another participant for the next answer.  Everyone has ownership of the activity and all are engaged in movement while processing thoughts.

Vision Skill - Expanded Core Curriculum - Kristin Dibler

Expanded Core Curriculum

"Educators define 'core curriculum' as the knowledge and skills expected to be learned by a student by high school graduation. Generally, the core curriculum consists of knowledge and skills related to academic subjects.... With respect to blind and visually impaired students, the existing core curriculum, as developed for sighted students, is entirely appropriate and generally available... But most professionals hold a strong position that there is an expanded core curriculum for visually impaired students that requires additional areas of learning. There are experiences and concepts casually and incidentally learned by sighted students that must be systematically and sequentially taught to the visually impaired student. The core curriculum for visually impaired students is not the same as for sighted students. Indeed, it is much larger and more complex."

The Expanded Core Curriculum includes:

• compensatory or functional academic skills, including communication modes
• orientation and mobility
• social interaction skills
• independent living skills
• recreation and leisure skills
• career education
• use of assistive technology
• sensory efficiency skills
• self-determination

Information provided by AFB

Visual

Visual schedule/steps to tasks

Videos/Modeling of Task

Auditory

Reading about designated task

Movie with speech about task

Tactile

Writing about task

-the steps of the task

-as a reflection after performing task

Bodily-Kinesthetic

Actual performance or acting out of task

 

AFB Expanded Core Curriculum 

Daily Living Skills Checklists

Vision Skill - Tracking/Scanning - Kristin Dibler

Tracking & Scanning

Tracking is the ability to visually follow horizontally, vertically, and diagonally without head movements and with smooth eye movements. This is an important skill for reading. 

 

Scanning is the ability to visually search for an object and then systematically from one object to another. This is important for scanning text when reading.

These skills tend to overlap at times, which is why they are listed together. In order to properly scan, you must be able to properly track in all directions. For students with visual impairments, we teach them the systematic tracking & scanning approach, which is top to bottom, left to right - the same pattern we follow when reading! This skill can be important for students with unstable eye movements, and/or vision field loss.

Visual

Paper activities-

   -dot to dots

   -mazes

   -tracking worksheets - letters, shapes, numbers, etc.

iPad activities

Hidden Pictures or Look & Find books

EyeCanLearn.com

   Clown Tracking

Auditory

Verbal description of specific activity

Verbal description of techniques

Verbal review of areas for improvement, skill improvement

Tactile

 Paper activities that involve drawing-

   -Dot to dots

   -Mazes

iPad activities that involve tactile input

Bodily-Kinesthetic

Hide & Seek related games in various environments

Eye Spy in various environments 

Vision Skill - Braille - Kristin Dibler

 Braille Instruction

One important skill that I teach is Braille. We are required to teach Braille for students with a diagnosis where they currently have severe vision loss OR if they have a prognosis where their vision will progressively diminish. Most of my students that I am currently working with do have functional vision, but their diagnosis is progressive, meaning in the future they could lose most of, or all of their functional vision.

There are a variety of skills involved with Braille, not just learning the letters, numbers, contractions, etc. You must enhance tactile identification skills, tactile tracking skills, learn to read and write Grade 1 Braille, and then Grade 2 Braille.

It is important to incorporate a variety of modalities for Braille instruction, not only to provide a variety of activties and to touch a student's preferred modality, but to also ensure that the student's tactile sense is not "overwhelmed". For Braille learners, their fingertips can become sore and sensitive, until they work on prolonging their tactile skills.

Visual

Braille Flashcards - enlarged image of contraction

Color-in Enlarged Braille Template

Tactile books, papers, etc. with images

iPad activities for Braille contraction learning

Auditory

Verbal review of lesson, contractions

Verbal identification of flashcards or Braille images

Tactile

Braille Flashcards - actual Braille contraction

Braille images

Tracking Paper

iPad activities for Braille contraction learning that involve tactile selection

Braille using Brailler

Bodily Kinesthetic

Board activities-

 Select/circle the appropriate contraction

 Draw the contraction

 Match print letter(s)/number(s)/word(s) to appropriate Braille contraction

 Pictionary - draw image of contraction or a word containing the contraction 

Braille Code

Bodily-Kinesthetic - Jackie Steer

A bodily-kinesthetic learner uses their body and senses to explore the world around them. These students like to think out their problems while they are moving and learn best when they are taking a hands-on approach. The best example that I have in my classroom to tap into a student's bodily-kinesthetic learning style is when my students are out in their practical experience in a real preschool setting. These students are actually learning by doing. In this setting, all four learning modalities are covered; movement, tactile, visual, and auditory. 

They have similar responsibilities that reflect a teacher's assistant. Learning modalities is such an  important topic to cover for my highschool students to learn because they need to know how they learn best so that they can be successful. They also need to realize that children learn in many different ways and it is their job to plan and adapt for a variety of intelligences in the preschool classrooms. 

Everyday, the preschool children engage in a fine and gross-motor activity. What better way to see the value in movement, then to watch it first hand with the children that they are teaching. A special part of our curriculum is adapting gross-motor activities for developmental delayed children because we work in a preschool special education setting. These children are getting an early intervention in all areas of development. The high school students really appreciate the fact that they get to see children improve their skills as time goes by. Most of the activities that the high school students plan and develop work on the preschoolers fine-motor skills. When they are creating their activities, they are the ones that practice on each first before they carry it into the preschool classrooms.

Although it is not always possible to have my students get up and move in a lesson, I try very hard to incorporate some form of movement so that they are interacting with their environment. Bodily-kinesthetic learners perform a task much better after seeing someone else do it first such as myself, the instructor and the preschool teachers that they work besides. The Early Childhood Care and Education task list has a lot of competencies to teach, for each skill I provide many opportunities for my students to explore. Many situations that occur in a childcare setting can be practiced in a role-play scenario which we often do in my theory classroom.

 An obstacle course is one of the best ways for the preschool students to work on their gross-motor skills!

Mr. Paul Eugene

I always loved building in movement breaks into my classroom and when my school invested in Promethean boards it opened up a huge opportunity for me to use You tube videos.  I loved to supplement science topics with a quick You Tube video.  I then discovered the wonders of Mr. Paul Eugene for movement breaks.

My students had this fascination with Mr. Paul Eugene and I was not sure why, actually I still am not sure why.  I thought maybe it was unique to students on the autism spectrum and then I tried it at home with my own overly energetic child.  She has always been a child that comes home needing to expend that extra energy at some point.  So one day I popped up Mr. Paul Eugene on You Tube and she was also fixated.  It offered a quick 10 minutes for her to expend some energy and it also made her feel like she was getting that ever important "screen time" that every modern kid thinks they are entitled to receiving.

And so I present you with Mr. Paul Eugene.


I often used this after lunch and prior to an extended period of time that students needed to sit.  I often built in movement breaks into my classroom every 20- 30 minutes.

Adding movement into your routine can be fairly simple- the following are a few examples
Chairs needed to be carried over to their desks in the morning, move to centers by jumping, hopping, taking long steps, add some stretches and jumping jacks to circle time, attaches some words for the day to movement (when you hear me say "apple"- jump up).

Visual Cue Chart for Listening Skills

When I taught in an Autistic Support classroom I used a listening poster.  I reproduced a poster that I found on this website.  The below picture is the poster that she used.





 I created my own version with velcro pull off signs.  I also made a most later using a picture of one of my student's showing me good listening posture.  I have suggested posters like this for some of the preschool classrooms that I visit.  Simply having the poster in the classroom though is not adequate, it is also the practice behind it.

Every morning during circle time my Autistic support classroom would practice one of the steps to better listening.  Sometimes we would practice two.  I started out the process by role playing the proper way to sit, or raise your hand, or where to keep your hands and then I would ask them to show me.

I included this poster in both the categories of movement and visual input because the role modeling and pulling off or putting on the poster components often added some extra movement to our circle time.  Role modeling often provides both visual and physical input to learning a skill.