Sarah Burmeister - Resource Specialist

Going Deeper: Creative Techniques

Many students need a little extra help with handwriting (dark enough, within the lines…).
• In kindergarten, the teacher can allow a student to use a fat crayon broken down to its nub. This forces the student’s fingers to hold the writing implement properly.
• In first grade, you may design a creative project for almost every major unit. The kids are able to experience everything they learn!
• In second grade, try preparing lined paper for your student by applying Elmers glue to the top and bottom lines. The student is able to feel a physical boundary when she writes.
• Sixth grade may require a visual aid poster for your child’s seed/fruit/plant project. Tri-fold boards are sold half-size. (Available at Office Depot) What a PERFECT size for making a project manageable!
• When Eighth grade roles around, employ the L.I.E. method for science journals: Label, Illustrate, Explain. The students is able to define and envision the vocabulary efficiently during independent work time. Check the journals each week for thoroughness and mark the grade on the inside cover. This you’re your student is aware of their progress.
A student needs to see it, hear it, and do it in order to have a full experience with the material. Let me assure you, you have the freedom to go deeper! Have fun with your creativity!

Modification Reminders

If your student struggles with remembering information day to day (like with auditory processing disorders), consider:
1. PowerPoint slides as fill-in-the-blank notes
2. Use their class notes or a note card on a test or quiz
3. Take the quiz or test orally
4. Shorten the test
5. Give an alphabetized word bank for the test
6. Divide up the test into segments (even between days)
7. Give a writing assignment in advance
8. Give small daily goals for a project or essay (i.e., “tomorrow I need to see your outline”)

If your student struggles with sustaining attention, consider:
1. Using a study carrel
2. Giving extended time
3. Changing the work space (seating)
4. Allowing student to eat first
5. Clarifying the directions in a variety of ways
6. Reducing the paper/pencil tasks
7. Assigning a peer tutor
8. Putting a poster in the room with the note-taking formula or directions for them to refer to at any time
9. Reevaluating the student’s diet and sleeping habits

If your student struggles with handwriting, or simple organization, consider:
1. Using a “slant board” for writing (i.e., a 3-ring binder facing outward)
2. Using a shortened or fattened pencil/crayon
3. Standing up while writing notes or taking an exam

Whole Part Whole Instruction

A college professor of mine was extremely adamant about one thing (as most professors tend to be): whole-part-whole instruction. She swore this was the only way to teach reading. “NEVER, never, NeVeR teach an idea in isolation…the student will have a disjointed understanding of the whole language.”
Whole
Begin your reading by introducing the book by its cover: title, author, illustrator, nonsense pages, title page, etc. Then read the story aloud. Allow the student to get starry-eyed and fidgety — they’re daydreaming about this.
Part
Next, you may focus on the isolated facts or ideas (i.e., spelling words) in your own style. Ask the student to identify the word in isolation and then point out where it came from the story.
Whole
Lastly, bring the pieces back together again. Reread the story aloud, placing emphasis on the words or facts as you taught them in isolation. You may ask sequence, detail, or inference questions at the end as well.

Sarah’s Tool Box

If you want to cozy up for an amazingly inspiring documentary, my all-time favorite is about a rural French school teacher. “To Be and To Have” is simply an invitation to join teacher George Lopez in his one-room school house in the farming community of France, as he balances small group instruction between the “young ones” and the “older ones.” [This can be helpful for home school families who have more than one child to teach.] He has a discovery approach to learning, a knack for discipline, and is genuinely invested in the children, the parents, and the community. Charming moments: teaching them to make omelets, and drying mittens on a string. It’ll rekindle your love for teaching. This movie is available to rent at your local video store.

Websites on Disorders:

The A List
ADHD
http://www.adhd.com
http://eklhad.net/adhd.html

Autism/Asbergers
http://www.autism.org
http://www.autism-society.org
http://www.autism.com

Auditory Processing Disorders
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/central_auditory.html
http://www.ncapd.org/php/