Teaching Appropriate Reactions to Situations

Ever had a student explode with profanity (or tears) over a minor situation? Seems to happen every day in special ed, so I made this lesson for my kiddos. It's a visual that shows the strength of our reaction to various situations. The meter starts at "Flatlands" (every day nothing occurances) and goes all the way up to "Volcano" (the worst possible situation). During the lesson, we discuss various situations and what the proper reaction may be. Maybe a person accidentally bumps me in the hall. That's a tiny anthill of a situation and I can handle that myself. Perhaps someone is hurting my friend. If that's the case it's a mountain situation and I need to see the school counselor.

Click on the picture below for a larger view.

Given this starting lesson, there are countless lessons that can follow. You can take situations that have really happened and place them on the meter; then see how the situation should have been handled. For students that have daily issues with improper reactions, it can be useful to give them a copy of the meter to carry around as a reference when needed. It's very important to first use the meter when a student HAS acted appropriately, so they are able to understand it clearly, without the clouded judgement that behavior brings. Then, once they know how to use it, introduce it during a time when they've had an inappropriate reaction.

E-mail me at sara.kerbs.r@gmail.com if you would like the ActivInspire lesson that accompanies this.

Adaptive PE

I've found over the years, that the classroom teacher is usually responsible for creating and implementing all aspects of an adaptive PE program. So, when these opportunities come along, it's a great time to start thinking creatively. In my hopes to create a fun, stimulating program, I bought my classroom a Wii. There are endless possibilities for physical education (as well as just plain fun). For anyone familar with WiiFit, you can instantly see adaptive PE applications. Each student can keep their own profile with weight, body mass index, as well as their "Wii Fit Age". They can play exciting balance games, run with friends on-screen, do ski-jumps, along with dozens of other fun activities. Each month it seems they come out with a new fitness game geared at getting people healthy through gameplay. The kiddos enjoy it, it creates an awareness of overall healthy, and it's such a hoot! And when the kids aren't doing PE, the other games increase hand-eye coordination, help with fine and gross motor movements, and increase balance.. My students' favorite is Wii Bowling. Everyone can participate and have a wonderful time. If you're thinking that this sounds all to expensive, you're right. A new Wii console costs between $150-200, with games extra. In our class, we sell Otis Spunkmeyer cookies to buy classroom items (but that's a blog post for another time). Some schools will allow you to take this expense from your classroom budget, if you present a valid argument. If not, throw a fundraiser. I assure you it's worth it.

In Their Shoes... Control

There is a reason behind every behavior. As pointless as is may seem when a student tells you to "go to hell" or when they refuse to work... there is meaning behind it. Behavior is simply a way for a student to get their needs met.

The Problem

One of the biggest behavior issues I've seen stems from the need for control. A student may move very slowly getting her pencil out to make the whole class wait. A student refuses to complete his assignment, despite the fact he has the capacity and drive to do so. Why? Simply put, control. 

Students in special education (especially the more severe) have a life that is run by others. Their clothes are chosen for them each morning. Their meals are planned by someone else. They do not get to choose their classes in school. They have little independence and little control in their life. There is one thing they can control though. Their behavior.

The Solution

The struggle for control is usually pretty easy to identify. The problem arises when trying to come up with a solution to this problem. Obviously, the student feels like they have no choices in their life. So the goal is to introduce something they can systematically control. This may be in the form of a plant the student can grow and take care of. Maybe it's choosing from a list of snacks to choose from the store. Perhaps you get the family involved and the kiddo can choose their outfit each day. Whatever you choose to give them control over, make sure they won't have to relinquish that control too often (like letting them choose how long to take a break).

It may seem like it's just easier to do the opposite, because after all, don't kids need to learn how to behave when they aren't in control? True, but the first and foremost thing is that we meet our kids needs. Second, is teaching them. After meeting their needs is when we can address more complex things like how to react when we don't feel in control. Needs come first.

Special thanks to Jill Dolbeare, Kim Durrer, Fran Taylor, and Leah Green for input on this post.

Music Time

Music time is a very exciting part of the day for some of my students. While the older ones are out doing vocational training, the ones in the class get the pleasure of a fun filled 45 minutes of music and laughs.

Above is a picture of our music board. It's basically just a large, lightweight picture frame I picked up at Fred Meyer. Under the frame I placed 4 different colors of paper. On top of the plastic front is Velcro with picture icons (yes, they are hand drawn). Each color in the background corresponds to a different CD, containing that specific series of songs.

In case you're wondering how I keep track of which songs go to which CD's without looking each time, I write the song number on the back of the icon in that specific color. For instance, the icon for Five Little Monkeys has 31 (written in pink), so I know it goes to the pink CD.

This may seem like an overly complicated system, but when we are working on colors, I can put in the green CD and say to a student, "pick from the green section". This also allows me to have hundreds of songs to choose from, because I have 4 CD's worth of music. I have extra icons Velcroed on the back and can rotate them out at any time.

Survival Signs

A big part of life skills class, is training to be able to read and respond to survival signs in the community. Among other things, we like to use the Survival Words curriculum from Remedia Publications. It gives many good vocabulary words and starts many a conversations about what to do when you see certain signs.

A really fun activity is MAKING survival signs. The whole top half of my classroom is covered in signs my students have made. It's all about being hands-on. If you make a "No Loitering" sign, you are more prone to remember what it is and what is means.